WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., is fighting the Bush administration's Amtrak budget cuts, which he says would leave millions without passenger rail service.
Wisconsin currently has 20 Amtrak stops across the state including the popular Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee. Illinois also contributes state subsidies for the rail line.
"At a time when Amtrak is improving its service, cutting costs and increasing ridership, we should be supporting these improvements with adequate funding, while continuing to help Amtrak with the enormous amount of work that remains," Feingold wrote in a letter to the chairman and ranking member of Senate Budget Committee.
Feingold said Amtrak carries more than 25 million people nationally and has made progress in controlling operating costs and improving service.
He warned work on maintenance, infrastructure, cars and equipment cannot be put off indefinitely without endangering public safety.
