MAYOR GOODWIN APPLAUDS STEPS TAKEN TO RESTORE AMTRAK CARDINAL RAIL ROUTE TO DAILY SERVICE, THANKS SENATORS MANCHIN AND CAPITO
(Charleston, W. Va.) – Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin today applauded the steps that have been taken to restore the Amtrak Cardinal passenger rail route to daily service, thanked Senators Manchin and Capito, fellow mayors, and the West Virginia Municipal League (WVML) for championing increased Amtrak service for the Mountain State.
“Earlier this year, I joined Senator Manchin at our Charleston Amtrak station to celebrate the completion of a $4.5M project which improved accessibility for visitors to the station. Now—with the support of Senators Manchin and Capito, mayors from across the state, the WVML, and the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority—we are celebrating the steps that have been taken to return the Cardinal to daily service. Not only will this increase in rail service better connect our Capital City to destinations between Chicago and New York City – providing business travelers with a convenient, scenic mode of transportation, but also allowing more visitors to experience West Virginia’s natural beauty,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “We are truly fortunate in West Virginia to have two Senators who are deeply connected with our communities and who understand the needs of our state. Thank you to Senator Manchin and Senator Capito for helping secure this funding and thank you to the many mayors and representatives who advocated for the Cardinal’s return to daily service.”
The US Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Announced on December 8, 2023 it had awarded a $500,000 Corridor Identification and Development Program Grant (Corridor ID) to Amtrak as a key step toward restoring the Amtrak Cardinal train route from Chicago to New York City – by way of nine West Virginia communities – to daily service.
In Fall 2021, the WVML and other key leaders called for the inclusion of provisions in federal law to return the Amtrak Cardinal back to daily service. Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Shelley Moore Capito were both active in this effort, and secured language in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed into law in November 2021 and now known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to create the FRA Corridor ID program, and authorize a study to evaluate ways Amtrak could restore Cardinal daily service.
In early 2023, the WVML urged Amtrak to restore daily Cardinal service, with the support of Senator Joe Manchin, and the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority.
In March 2023, the WVML met with the Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose and other US DOT officials to urge FRA to push Amtrak to restore the daily Cardinal service, and to use the Corridor ID program to fund this return to daily service.
In June 2023, Amtrak announced it would seek a US DOT Corridor ID grant to start the process of restoring the Cardinal to daily service. In August 2023, the WVML wrote a letter to the State of West Virginia and US DOT to urge approval of the Corridor ID planning grant for Amtrak.
Mayor Amy Goodwin, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, WVML Executive Director Travis Blosser, St. Albans Mayor Scotty James, Montgomery Mayor Greg Ingram, Smithers Mayor Anne Cavalier, Alderson Mayor Travis Copenhaver, Thurmond Mayor Melanie Dragon, White Sulphur Springs Mayor Kathy Glover, Hinton Mayor Jack Scott, and Jina Belcher and Andy Davis of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority were instrumental in these advocacy efforts.
Background on the Amtrak Cardinal
The 1,146-mile Amtrak Cardinal long-distance train has been in place for 50+ years, operating from New York’s Penn Station to Chicago’s Union Station along one of the most scenic rail routes in America, including through West Virginia serving Huntington, Charleston, Montgomery and Smithers, Thurmond, Prince, Hinton, Alderson, and White Sulphur Springs. The route also goes through St. Albans, which is home to a historic station the city hopes to reopen for service. This Amtrak route is the only route in America with stations inside a national park, with both Thurmond and Prince in the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve. The route also serves the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve and its national and international Scout jamborees.
In 1982, Amtrak attempted to end Cardinal service altogether, but West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd took action to keep it running, although the Cardinal Route dropped to tri-weekly service, rather than daily service. In 2010, Amtrak conducted a statutorily required “Performance Improvement Plan” (PIP) to determine if Amtrak should restore the Cardinal Route to daily service. The PIP found that tri-weekly service is “inherently inefficient” and identified that substantial cost, operational and customer satisfaction improvements would result from moving to daily service. Amtrak’s PIP also found that moving to daily Cardinal service would improve Amtrak’s cost-recovery ratio on the Cardinal Route from 27% to 35%, and drastically reduce loss per passenger mile by 31%. Amtrak said in 2010 that daily service will increase systemwide annual ridership by 135,000 people, a 96% increase. Amtrak also identified opportunities for West Virginia to boost Cardinal ridership – including partnerships with the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve, the National Park Service, and many business owners in towns serviced by the Cardinal.
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