INDIANAPOLIS — Odds of saving Amtrak’s Hoosier State continued to fade Tuesday as the Indiana Senate left funding for the train out of its version of the two-year state budget, the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier reports.

State Sen. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) had said he would offer an amendment to continue the state’s $3 million in annual funding [see “State senator to offer amendment to restore ‘Hoosier State’ funding,” Trains News Wire, April 16, 2019]. But Alting was not given the opportunity to present his amendment before the Senate passed its bill by a 40-8 vote.

The budget now heads to a conference committee to sort out differences between the House and Senate versions, and Alting said he was not giving up. The authors of the Senate bill “are keeping an open mind in terms of possibly adding the funding during a conference committee,” Alting said in a statement. “We’ve faced some obstacles, but I’m not giving up. This is about persistence, and I will continue to work to obtain funding for the Hoosier State rail line.