KEEP 'EM ROLLING. Amtrak's budget request goes to Congress.

While Amtrak carried a record 24 million passengers in fiscal 2003, it still operates money-losing routes, most of them in the nation's heartland.

Supporters of enhancing long-distance rail service point to growing congestion in the skies and on the nation's roads, where more than 40,000 people die in accidents each year.

The federal government spends more than $35 billion on highways and more than $15 billion on civil aviation each year.

The Bush administration, eager to reduce Amtrak's federal funding to about $900 million a year, has proposed cutting up Amtrak into smaller pieces and allowing private investors to operate profitable routes.

David Gunn, Amtrak's chief executive, said, "We have been able to control operating expenses for the first time in a while."

About 3,400 jobs have been eliminated, reducing Amtrak's workforce to about 20,000 positions. Over the last two years the railroad's infrastructure also has been upgraded and its rolling stock modernized.

Amtrak's 2005-09 strategic plan counts on federal assistance averaging $1.65 billion a year.

"We desperately need an appropriation that is near $1.7 billion," Gunn said. "If you don't get it, the ability to restore the system to a good state of repair is jeopardized. We are approaching the moment of truth for Amtrak."

That's consistent with what Mr Gunn reported last week.

The corridor development is also as he reported, with these additional developments.

Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan have already acted to fund additional service and infrastructure improvements for higher-speed rail service in the future. Illinois spent $83 million to upgrade the Union Pacific Railroad's Chicago-St. Louis line where Amtrak operates, according to IDOT.

Wisconsin broke ground on Monday for a train station that will offer service later this year on Amtrak's Hiawatha line to Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.

The Hiawatha line operates seven round trips a day between Chicago and Milwaukee. A federal matching grant would enable extension of service to Madison.

The Mitchell Airport station represents a new station for Amtrak, not a reuse of a steam-era stop. It also puts some Chicagoans closer to Milwaukee's Mitchell Field timewise than it does to O'Hare, and it will bring to five the Chicago area airports served by rail. But to use Amtrak for Milwaukee-area commuting? That's a bit of a stretch. On the other hand, in the early days of Mitchell Field, which were in the last days of the North Shore Line, only the two Wisconsin Division local cars in each direction called at Grange Avenue. The new service would be more frequent. On this map, the North Shore Line ran along the east side of Sixth Street.