--- title: Donald Trump's Budget Cuts Amtrak Funding in Half description: Amtrak trains have been involved in three fatal crashes since December, with crashes in Washington, South Carolina, and Virginia. canonical: https://time.com/5144561/trump-budget-cuts-amtrak-half/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-12T20:12:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:14:50.850Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump's Budget Cuts Amtrak Funding in Half og:description: Despite a recent string of deadly crashes og:url: https://time.com/5144561/trump-budget-cuts-amtrak-half/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98a684a766f6ae17/6988f66fbc6cfcb0d03e47e8/amtrak-train-derail.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Amtrak Train Derailment South Of Tacoma, Washington Leaves Train Car Dangling Onto Highway og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump's Budget Cuts Amtrak Funding in Half twitter:description: Despite a recent string of deadly crashes twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98a684a766f6ae17/6988f66fbc6cfcb0d03e47e8/amtrak-train-derail.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump's Budget Cuts Amtrak Funding in Half Despite a String of Deadly Crashes > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=aff3008f-cc7b-42dd-90c3-8c52d297e449&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Feb 12, 2018 8:12 PM UTC  The scene of the Amtrak train derailment on December 18, 2017 in DuPont, Washington. The scene of the Amtrak train derailment on December 18, 2017 in DuPont, Washington. Stephen Brashear—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Feb 12, 2018 8:12 PM UTC President Trump unveiled his [budget for fiscal year 2019](http://time.com/5146313/donald-trump-budget-plan) on Monday, along with a 55 page infrastructure plan. And despite his calls to increase railroad safety, his budget proposes cutting federal grants to Amtrak by over 50%. Under the budget, the federal subsidies to Amtrak would be cut by half, from $1.495 billion that was given in 2017 to $738 million for FY 2019, which would begin on October 1\. While the infrastructure plan does not mention Amtrak specifically, it does propose $200 billion in federal investments in infrastructure—including railroads—but its plan is centered on states taking the lead. “Amtrak continues to rely exclusively on Federal subsidies to operate long distance train routes, which have large operating losses and serve a small number of passengers,” the budget states. “The Budget proposes reforms to Amtrak to improve efficiencies in long distance services and reduce reliance of the Federal Government.” The budget proposal say states should chip in to help subsidize the long distance routes. But the proposal comes at a perilous time for the railroad; Amtrak trains have been involved in three fatal crashes since December, with crashes in [Washington](http://time.com/5069706/amtrak-train-derailment-seattle/),[Virginia](http://time.com/5127148/republican-train-truck-crash-west-virginia/), and [South Carolina](http://time.com/5132466/amtrak-south-carolina-what-to-know/). Investigators said the crash in South Carolina, which left two dead and more than 100 injured, [could have been prevented](http://time.com/5133095/amtrack-crash-preventable-carolina/) with positive train control, a system that knows all train locations and switch positions to prevent crashes. Amtrak did not immediately respond to request for comment. The budget, however, is unlikely to become law. 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