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Transportation Group Asks Amtrak To Keep Local Window Open

Provided: Amtrak/Doug Riddell
Customers board the Cardinal at Prince Station, West Virginia. The Cardinal operates between New York and Chicago three days a week.

Hamilton County leaders are pleading with Amtrak to keep the local train station staffed. The rail carrier announced plans to close Cincinnati's ticket window because of declining walk-up sales. Hamilton County's Transportation Improvement District (TID) approved a resolution on Monday calling on Amtrak to reconsider.

Stakeholders will ask Ohio's U.S. senators to intervene to get a one-year delay.

Amtrak's move was to stop staffing ticket windows at stations with less than 40 people boarding a day. The budget cut affects 15 cities, including Cincinnati. The TID's resolution says the renovation of Union Terminal has hurt the local boardings and numbers will return to normal when that work is done.

The resolution also says irregular service by Amtrak doesn't help. The eastbound Cardinal line stops in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The westbound train stops Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. All stops are overnight.

The resolution says the "inconvenient service" by Amtrak contributes to low ridership.

Read the full resolution below. 

Amtrak Resolution 06052018151034 by WVXU News on Scribd

Bill Rinehart started his radio career as a disc jockey in 1990. In 1994, he made the jump into journalism and has been reporting and delivering news on the radio ever since.