Rail Passengers Association slams Trump proposal to cut Amtrak funding

The Rail Passengers Association (RPA) on Monday decried President Trump's fiscal-year 2019 budget proposal to halve federal funding for Amtrak.

The proposal would cut the national passenger railroad's budget from $1.4 billion to $738 million, which would lead to the "virtual elimination of Amtrak's national network," RPA officials said in a press release.

As a result of those cuts, more than 220 communities could lose passenger-rail service, according to the association. Those communities primarily are smaller and rural towns without airports.

"Donald Trump campaigned on a message of bringing America's infrastructure into the 21st Century," RPA officials said. "He specifically cited passenger rail, saying it was embarrassing how far behind the U.S. has fallen compared with China, and promising to close that gap."

RPA continues to urge the Trump administration to make good on that campaign message. The association also will hold rallies at stations nationwide to show support for passenger-rail service.

In summer 2017, RPA hosted similar rallies across the country.