A federal budget outline from the Trump Administration looks to slash funding for rail transportation, including a complete elimination of federal funds for long-distance Amtrak routes like the Empire Builder, Southwest Chief and California Zephyr. 

The map above, adapted from my Amtrak as Subway Map project, shows what the “national” passenger rail network could look like under this proposal: isolated, separate rail services, with no cross-country connections and over 220 stations without Amtrak rail service. Chicago, once a thriving national rail hub, now only directly serves its immediate region and loses connections to New York, Boston, Washington DC, New Orleans, California, Seattle and Portland.

As well as this defunding of Amtrak, the budget proposal would cut almost $500 million from the TIGER grant program, and $2.3 BILLION from the successful New Starts funding program, often used by cities to kick-start new transit projects.

Read more in this National Association of Railroad Passengers press release, and make your voice heard if you oppose massive transit infrastructure cuts like this that affect so many people across America.