Calif. To Pay More For Amtrak In New Agreement
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California taxpayers will be paying $19 million more a year to finance Amtrak service in a 19-state agreement announced Tuesday.
The agreement puts the states in compliance with federal Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. The law mandates that the states pay about 85% of Amtrak's operating costs of their state routes.
A spokesman for the California Department of Transportation says that means California will now pay about $109 million a year to operate its three intrastate routes. That's up from about $90 million before the agreement.
The three routes that Amtrak operates in California are the Capitol Corridor, which runs between San Jose and Auburn; the San Joaquin Corridor, which links Oakland, Sacramento and Bakersfield; and the Pacific Surfliner Corridor, between San Luis Obispo and San Diego.
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