(Posted February 13, 2013)

The fate of the Amtrak route between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg has been called into question after recent funding changes made the route expensive to maintain. Because this Amtrak route is a prominent source of Huntingdon's public transportation, Juniata students are particularly concerned about this possible change:

Amanda Epstein '13, Glen Head, N.Y.:
I am a little bit discouraged by this fact. I called Amtrak personally as soon as I heard the news and said, "Hey, I've heard that there's the possibility of losing service to Huntingdon." Immediately the representative cut me off and said, "But that's our most popular route!" and I was like, "Exactly!" There is no reason to cut off service to this route. What we need to do instead is upgrade it so it doesn't take nine hours to do a five hour drive. So we need efficiency and repairs, not getting rid of it entirely. The state of Pennsylvania needs to work with Amtrak.

Olivia Millunzi '15, Frederick, Md.:
I don't really have a train station near my house, so it's not a big deal to me, but that's how my roommate goes home all the time. It would suck, because that's also how a lot of my friends get home, or how they get to Pittsburgh so they can get to an airport to fly home. It's just a way simpler solution and I don't see how they can cut it, because it seems like a lot of people here use that train.

Ian Darby '13, Blairs Mills, Pa.:
I think it's awful that they're thinking of stopping the Amtrak service to Huntingdon. It just makes it more difficult for students to get home if they live far away.

Becca Weih '14, Portland, Ore.:
I've lived in a town where Amtrak stopped (service) and the town is now a ghost town. It's terrible, and they've composed songs trying to get it back. So we don't want to go there.

Alexandra Hanbury '16, Newington, Conn.:
I'd be really in a lot of trouble because it's pretty expensive to drive down and back for small breaks, so if Amtrak stopped running through Huntingdon I'd kind of be stuck here. It's six hours to get home by car, so I need the train.

~Laura Bitely '14, Juniata Online Journalist

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.