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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 1996 Reduce east-west rail passenger service, Amtrak _._-~-_.~----.-.-- , .~ . ~ ~-',,-----------'~~'.-------..--.. -., -~~- ... -- 016 COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 1996 WHEREAS, the Interstate Commerce Commission is currently considering a petition to reduce east-west rail passenger service in Montana by eliminating either the northern or southern route of Amtrak; and WHEREAS, a public hearing on this petition was held in Butte, Montana, on July 10, I 1978, at which the Mayor of Bozeman and the City Manager appeared (among many others), voicing both their and the City's objections to this petition; and WHEREAS, Bozeman, Montana, is on the southern route of current Amtrak service trackage, and absolutely opposes the elimination of this route -- but in the same breath must oppose elimination of the northern route as well; and WHEREAS, the present service to and through Bozeman is only several times per week -- not daily -- but is always well-reserved and at many times fully-reserved, requiring reservations well in advance of departures; and WHEREAS, the existence of Montana State University in Bozeman, and the arrival and departure of students to this, the largest campus of higher education in the state, generates virtually a year-around clientele and need for rail service; and WHEREAS, the ski resorts just outside Bozeman, continually being expanded and more intensely used, also require rail service to an ever-increasing number of skiers from the Midwest; and WHEREAS, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, just a few miles south of Bozeman, generate and attract bikers, hikers, tourists, and others all summer long, using Bozeman as a jumping-off point for forays into the parks and the surrounding Rocky Mountain wilderness areas, all of whom utilize rail service as one means to reach this area; and WHEREAS, Montana is a large state, even though sparsely populated, and is in a position to supply a vastly disproportionate share of the nation's energy needs for many years to come, so to suggest that one of only two remaining passenger rail service lines in the state I be eliminated, in exchange for this huge export of energy power resources is a blatant irony, and virtually defies logic; and WHEREAS, this proposed reduction in rail service would further short-change a state which is already short in public transportation. It's true that Montanans are accustomed to long distance travel -- they must become so because of the distances involved in the fourth largest state in the country. But in an era of attempted resource conservation, individual travel should/must be minimized in favor of more efficient, more energy-conserving methods; and WHEREAS, it was the feeling of nearly all who appeared at the public hearing in Butte that, although ridership is high on both routes at present, ridership would be much higher if service was more frequent and schedules were observed more closely (trains are 2~ to 3 hours late more often than on time); NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that, for these and other valid reasons cited by those who appeared at the public hearings conducted in Butte and Havre, the City Commission of the City of Bozeman respectfully submits its vigorous and profound opposition and objection to the discontinuance of ANY Amtrak rail service in Montana, on either the northern or southern route; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, rather than to reduce such rail services, emphasis should be placed on improving and increasing both the frequency and quality of service provided, in order to increase the ridership on these Amtrak ro.utes, thereby con. S. erVin.g energy as I demonstrated through the use of public vs private transportation. ADOPTED BY THE CO;MMISSION OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN ~,/MONTANA, at a r~gular session of said ,. Commission held on the 26th day of July, 1978. j ~'..'. ~.. - ~~g~ .~ DUNCAN S. MACNA , ATTEST Acting Mayor t/ (~/ / .....-zr~- /'. ~c.~-c&.~ ERNA V. HARDING, ClerkM the City Commission CQMMISS~QN ~ESQLUTION NO. 1996 ~-_.,-,-~---_._-~_..............~~.,~._-~~--~---~ .~" ~~.,~,_.,_.,,',.,~ ~~--"'---~,- -- -...... ._~.__._.~. ,~. --,--~--,~-,-_._.._.,..,~- ~.. -- .. .-. ._-~~- . . - -- ~".... ,~._~..