SIUC students say that spending their breaks stranded in Carbondale is not what they want to do, but it is a possibility if Carbondale is cut from the Amtrack route

According to an Illinois Department of Transportation official, a task force will look at the long-term status of Amtrack and decide if some of the routes should be cut. Several Amtrack routes, including Carbondale, could be cut if Illinois does not provide Amtrack with $2.3 million by February.

Kourtney Davis, an undecided sophomore from Chicago, said if Carbondale is cut from the route, a lot of students will have no way home for breaks.

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If you don’t have any other way to get home, it stinks, Davis said.

Andrea Bonanno, a sophomore in anthropology from Chicago, said she has taken the train home five or six times. She said although it is expensive to take the train, students in the dorms depend on the train to get home.

It would be a big inconvenience to people who don’t have a car, Bonanno said. There would be a lot of angry parents.

One student says he would not be stranded in Carbondale if the route is cut, but it would cause some problems for him.

Darrell Booton, a senior in psychology from Naperville, said he would still be able to get rides home from friends, but life without Amtrack would be inconvenient.

Booton said the train helps him because it lets him schedule when he leaves and returns to Carbondale around his work hours. He said if the route gets cut, he would have to try to work around other people’s schedules for rides home.

I rely on the train. It’s nice. It’s consistent, Booton said. I can always rely on it.

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Kelly Geistler, a senior in English from Minneapolis, Minn., said she was planning to take the train home for Spring Break, but if the route is closed, she would be forced to buy a plane ticket. She said the plane ticket would be too expensive for her.

However, some students say the train is not relied on and cutting Carbondale from the route would not cause them any problems.

Danielle West, a freshman in athletic training from Chicago, said she plans to fly home from now on. West said she could take a shuttle from Carbondale to St. Louis for $35, and when she buys her plane ticket 21 days in advance, it costs $22.

It’s cheaper to take a plane, West said. I don’t like the train anyway.

According to Amtrack, a round trip ticket to Chicago ranges from $79 to $138 for adults depending on timely rates.

Greg Sadler, a graduate student from Milwaukee, Wis., also said the cost of Amtrack prevents him from using its services.

It cost more over Thanksgiving break to take Amtrack from Carbondale to Milwaukee than to fly to Milwaukee, Sadler said.