Politico website notes findings of SMART TD survey

The following appeared on the website Politico, which covers political news with a focus on national politics, Congress, Capitol Hill, lobbying, advocacy and more, on its Morning Transportation blog.

“The passenger rail service has strong support in North Dakota – not exactly the first state one thinks of when pondering where Amtrak’s loudest boosters live. North Dakota has one daily train that runs to the West Coast and east toward Chicago. Eighty-three percent of the 400 respondents said they haven’t ridden on Amtrak in the last two years – but 80 percent support an extra train heading to somewhere relatively close, like Minneapolis.

“Seventy-three percent want Amtrak funding to stay the same or increase – even after being informed that Uncle Sam kicks in over $1 billion each year to keep the trains running. And don’t think the survey, partially funded by the SMART Transportation Division, checked in only with liberal, train-loving residents.

“Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed called themselves a Republican; only 28 percent identified as a Democrat. The poll is the latest in a series showing high levels of support for Amtrak in several Republican districts.”

To view the SMART Transportation Division’s survey conducted by DFM Research, click here.