The Mirror remains committed to the opinion that Amtrak should beef up its east-to-west, west-to-east service across Pennsylvania, particularly in the Harrisburg-to-Pittsburgh corridor.

An editorial in this newspaper’s July 9-10, 2022, edition expressed the point that “expanded Amtrak service can become a cost-effective and popular option, even if an overnight stay in Pittsburgh might be necessary. Most area business people, as well as recreational travelers, are well aware of the headaches associated with trying to access that city by way of virtually every major vehicular-access route.”

That opinion squared — and squares –with the issue of high-speed rail, which was discussed in a May 19, 2019, Mirror editorial. That editorial pointed out “for the Keystone State as a whole and other states in close proximity to the eastern seaboard, it would be great if there were high-speed-rail access to places like Washington, D.C., and New York.”

On March 1, 2019, under the headline “For Amtrak, an exciting possibility,” the Mirror made the point that “it’s reasonable to believe that Amtrak could compete more effectively with other modes of transportation here if rail-travel opportunities were beefed up.”

Fast-forward to Oct. 2 of this year, when the Wall Street Journal announced the national passenger railroad is launching a long-delayed spiffing-up spree at some of its busiest stations as it seeks to double overall ridership nationwide by 2040.

That is excellent, but moving forward cautiously is necessary.

The spiffing-up getting underway is being made possible by 2021’s $1 trillion infrastructure law, which, according to the Journal, has left Amtrak “flush with cash.”

The Journal said Amtrak is trying to take advantage of potential profit centers. According to the newspaper, real estate clusters around central train stations around the world have enjoyed high values and reliable tenants, including apartment dwellers, restaurants and hotels.

But a legitimate concern, at least for places like Altoona and Johnstown, must be whether such an approach, while valuable over the long run, would be best for dealing with Amtrak’s current ridership and equipment challenges up and down its travel corridors.

Ways must be found to ensure that decisions made on behalf of the largest rail-

passenger markets do not ignore the needs of the smaller rail communities along the way.

The bottom line, then, is the cash currently on hand must be put to work in the most productive way, and that means smaller communities must not be relegated to looking up and down the rails and wondering, “What about us?”

It also is important to note that people want to feel safe and comfortable when they travel. A gloomy, dingy train station is counterproductive to the goal of building ridership — in smaller rail-passenger centers as well as in larger ones.

In Philadelphia, Amtrak and its developer partner, Plenary Group, are working on a $400 million renovation of 30th Street Station that, the Journal says, will overhaul seating areas, add new restaurants and retail, and rebuild pedestrian infrastructure around what is regarded as a landmark building.

Amtrak has gotten plenty of bad PR over the years, and it won’t be immune to receiving more in the years ahead.

Pursuing a broad focus that includes Altoona and Johnstown, rather than a narrow one, will put the 2040 ridership goal much more within reach.