Amtrak needs to improve, not cut, service

In an article about the closing of the Amtrak ticket offices in Havre and Shelby in the May 7 Great Falls Tribune, Havre city councilwoman Sarah McKinney is quoted as saying that if Amtrak can justify the savings, it is “probably OK,” and added, “but I could be wrong.”

Let me erase any doubt Ms. McKinney has. She is wrong.

Here is what Havre will lose when the Amtrak ticket office is shuttered:

  1. A wage and benefit loss of over $200,000 annually to the Havre community.

2. Loss of checked baggage service. This will result in all baggage being stored inside the passenger cars o...