May 5, 2002 By Bryan O'Keefe For The 3 min read

Last year, Amtrak sold 3,946 tickets to people either getting off or on its Connellsville train station. However, that number could be reduced to zero if Amtrak makes good on its promise to eliminate numerous lines across the country, including the Capitol Limited, which runs every day from Chicago to Washington, D.C., and back, with stops in Connellsville each way.

The nation’s only rail passenger carrier, Amtrak says it needs to more than double its federal subsidy, and without the extra funds, it will be forced to make massive service cuts.

While the fate of the line is being debated in Congress, passengers aboard a recent run of the Capitol Limited expressed shock, anger and frustration that such cutbacks were even being considered.

Sitting in a window seat in the lower level of the train, Eva Jean Kuhns, a lifelong resident of Connellsville and frequent Amtrak traveler, just shook her head.

“It would really bother me and upset me if they eliminate this train. We need it for so many different people. For many of us, it’s the quickest and most affordable way we have to travel, and it should be there for future generations.”

In the second level of the train, Dula Kumar, a Greensburg native and second-year medical student at George Washington University in downtown Washington, D.C., took advantage of the dining car to do some homework.

“It would be a real inconvenience. A lot of people from Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania are in D.C. and they would be in a bind. I have been taking the train for six years, and it’s just a straight shot from D.C. to Connellsville,” Kumar said.

In the section of the train for those with disabilities, Susan Parker, a disabled woman traveling to Chicago, and Jennifer Sutton, a blind woman traveling to Martinsburg, W.Va., both agreed that Amtrak is the best way for them to reach their destinations.

“I have an incurable heart disease, and I can’t fly. Disabled people are treated like second-class citizens as it is, and it would be just horrible if they cut train service. Amtrak is kind and helpful, which is rare anywhere for disabled people,” Parker said.

Sutton agreed: “If they are going to subsidize anything, it should be this. The customer service aboard trains for blind people is better than any airport.”

Kuhns also praised the Amtrak employees for their professionalism and willingness to help senior citizens.

“You name it and they have someone to do it. They are very dependable,” Kuhns said.

Like Kuhns, Kumar has found the Amtrak employees to be helpful and attentive to her needs: “The employees are excellent. I have never had a problem with anyone.”

Kumar also dreads the thought of having to rely on buses or the airport for her transportation back to the area.

“I hate the bus. The conditions are horrendous, and it takes forever. Flying isn’t bad, but the Pittsburgh airport is so far away from us as opposed to the train station,” Kumar said.

Having traveled in Europe, Kumar envisions a domestic train system in America much like the one she saw in France.

“If they would just put the money into it, trains would be used a lot more. I’ve been to France, and the trains there are amazing. They go so fast,” Kuhns said.

“This country has real travel problems, and instead of cutbacks, they should enhance Amtrak.”