LETTER: WV congressional delegation must help Amtrak during COVID-19 - Charleston Gazette-Mail

On my latest trip between Chicago and my family home in West Virginia, I saw that many people are starting to ride trains again.

Amtrak's Cardinal is an affordable way to get from Southern West Virginia to D.C. or the Midwest. Amtrak has made safety improvements for coronavirus, including better ventilation and distancing of seats.

One big local problem needs attention, though: the crowded conditions at Charleston's station, which is now being renovated. The work is going very slow. Passengers must wait in a separate, boxlike metal shelter, which seats fewer than 10 people with inadequate distancing space. The limited parking doesn't allow many passengers to wait in cars, either.

Now that Charleston's beloved ticket agent is back at the station, he can't sell tickets because there's no space for a ticket office.

I call on our members of Congress, Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., along with Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., to help Amtrak resolve this unhealthy and inadequate situation before summer travel season gets busy. We need daily Cardinal service with good facilities for passengers at every station. Our trains connect everybody and can help us recover our regional economy.

Bonni McKeown

Huntington