This came in from NARP.
Things continue to move fast for passenger trains on the Senate Floor
Senator John Ensign (R-NV) continues to push a hostile amendment that would eliminate unspent Amtrak funds from the current (FY 2009) appropriations law and the Recovery Act. This would threaten millions of dollars used to provide train service throughout the country.
It’s not too late to take action. Call your Senator and let them know your strong support for passenger trains, and ask them to vote against the Ensign amendment and any others hostile to American trains.
The Senate also approved an amendment (by a 68 to 30 vote) offered by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), which gives Amtrak until March 31, 2010 to begin checking guns as checked baggage, or see their funding eliminated. Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper has written a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation warning that Amtrak does not have the infrastructure, nor the systems in place, to meet this request in such a short time frame across its entire network.
Sean Jeans-Gail
Communications Director
NARP
Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics
Trains For America 
Looks like some Republicans voted in favor of Amtrak for the first time in a long time. Fine. Now let’s ask them to expand checked gun…I mean, baggage service to those routes that lost their baggage service.
Second, if Amtrak used to offer this service then took it away, why is it so hard to reinstate it?