House Majority strikes down Campbell’s amendment to protect the passenger rail compact

Today, Feb. 6, State Rep. Chris Campbell (D-West Lafayette) offered an amendment to House Bill 1272 to remove the language in the legislation withdrawing Indiana from the Interstate Rail Passenger Network Compact. The compact is a partnership between Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, New York and Georgia to study and facilitate the operation of a passenger rail system connecting each state’s major cities. The amendment was voted down by the House majority. 

Campbell released the following statement on her amendment:

“I proposed this amendment to keep Indiana’s options for transportation open. Any Hoosier who’s driven on I-65 knows that traffic is awful. Each year our state spends exorbitant amounts of money to repair hundreds of miles of county roads, state highways and interstates. We’ve all almost lost a wheel on our cars from hitting a massive pothole on an Indiana road. 

”Gov. Braun included $40,000 in his 2025 state budget proposal for the High-Speed Rail Development Fund. We owe it to Hoosiers to be able to study high-speed rail with this allocation. Indiana should adapt to meet the constantly evolving world of public transportation. Interstate rail is growing in popularity, and many Purdue students in my district take the Amtrak to Chicago. 

“High-speed rail is also a powerful economic development tool. We could connect the LEAP innovation district with airports across the state by rail. 40% of Indiana’s population lives within 25 minutes of a rail line. This is a powerful workforce solution for those who commute by giving them the option to take a train. 

“It doesn’t hurt our state to remain in the compact. In fact, it’s in the best interest of our future as a state.”