LANSING (WKZO) -- Legislation approved by a State House committee would allow the Pere Marquette Amtrak line to continue operations through September. There had been some doubt whether enough funding for the partly subsidized passenger line could be found by the Department of Transportation in time to get through the summer, but State Representative John Proos says the money has been secured.

Proos has been making the Pere Marquette an issue since earlier this year, when it was learned that sections of the line could be phased out by MDOT as part of a regional rail initiative. He sent a letter to the department head making an economic case for keeping it open in West Michigan:

Proos says that the Pere Marquette has shown increased ridership in recent years, noting the benefit it has on tourism in many Southwest Michigan Communities, like New Buffalo, Niles, and Saint Joseph.