CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Boy Scouts of America organization is getting on board with support for daily service on Amtrak’s Cardinal line, citing the transportation need for the National Jamboree at Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.
“I know I speak for all when I say that enhanced service would be a welcome addition offering the possibility of increased ridership and visitors to the New River Gorge,” wrote Michael B. Surbaugh, chief scout executive for the Boy Scouts of America.
MORE: Read the letter from the Boy Scouts of America
A push for daily service for Amtrak’s Cardinal, which runs between New York and Chicago, has been taking place in communities along the line. The Cardinal serves West Virginia stations in White Sulphur Springs, Alderson, Hinton, Prince, Thurmond, Montgomery, Charleston and Huntington.
Earlier this fall, supporters from communities along the Cardinal line gathered at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce in an effort to get the ball rolling. The Boy Scouts had representatives at that conference.
“As such, the BSA is aware of the obstacles to the Cardinal running daily on a permanent basis,” Surbaugh wrote in a letter of support to Charles “Wick” Moorman, president and chief executive officer of Amtrak.
“However, the Jamboree period next July provides a unique opportunity to attract visitors to travel by train to the Jamboree and the New River Gorge area. I hope Amtrak will consider the opportunity to to take advantage of the Jamboree window to operate daily service on the Cardinal and to work with local tourism representatives to maximize this unique opportunity.”
The Boy Scouts letter was copied to Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, both of West Virginia; Congressman Evan Jenkins, who represents the southern part of the state; current Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin; Governor-elect Jim Justice; and to Amy Shuler Goodwin, West Virginia’s tourism commissioner.
The letter notes that the National Jamboree, which is held every four years, will take place again in the summer of 2017 in Mount Hope, Fayette County.
In 2019, the Summit will be host to the World Scout Jamboree.
“These Jamborees and the other annual adventure opportunities at the Summit will continue to add to the growing list of visitor destinations in Southern West Virginia,” Surbaugh wrote. “The Boy Scouts also believe that increasing number of Scouts and visitors will utilize the Cardinal to travel to and from the Summit as others have over the years to Philmont (Scout Ranch in New Mexico and other destinations.”
The Boy Scouts organization received a warm welcome from Amtrak in 2011 in anticipation of the first Jamboree in West Virginia two years after that, Surbaugh wrote.
“Unfortunately, a bridge crucial to transporting Scouts from the train station to the Summit was taken out of service and prevented significant use of the Cardinal during the Jamboree,” Surbaugh wrote.
That issue has been resolved, so many are already planning to use train service for their Jamboree travel next year, he wrote.
Boy Scouts representatives have been working with Amtrak on a group rate, an option that will be promoted in pre-Jamboree information.
The controversy over Amtrak has been its level of subsidy by the federal government.
Amtrak’s record number of passengers in the past fiscal year helped it post its smallest operating loss in decades, according to the Wall Street Journal. Amtrak reported an operating loss of $227 million, improved from a loss of $306.5 million a year earlier, the newspaper reported this fall.
Amtrak has watched the push for daily Cardinal service with interest.
“Shortly after the Cardinal Conference (in Cincinnati), the (West Virginia) Governor’s Conference on Tourism unanimously passed a motion in favor of daily Cardinal service,” Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods wrote in an email. “The current tri-weekly Cardinal service was brought back from the dead in 1981 by West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, so it seems appropriate that West Virginia is taking a leading role in working with Amtrak and the host railroads, CSX, to improve the service.
Woods continued, “Discussions on future of Cardinal comes as ridership continues to be robust for intercity passenger rail. For fiscal year 2016, a record 31.3 million passengers traveled on America’s Railroad – nearly 400,000 more than the previous year. This is the sixth consecutive year Amtrak has carried more than 30 million customers throughout its national network.”