This Was The Week That Was, Vol. II No. 16, 2002-02-26
Volume II Number 16 - This Was The Week That Was - An Amtrak Saga
February 26, 2002
It’s time to take a moment and review, just to make sure we all understand what we’re fighting for and fighting against.
- I’ll Keep Mine and Take Yours Department: Amtrak senior management and its board of directors on February 1st made a public announcement that the company needs a $1.2 billion dollar subsidy of free federal money, effective and in hand no later than October 1, 2002.
If the company does not receive this money and on that very date, of which over $800 million of the amount is for capital improvement projects on the Northeast Corridor, then the company will discontinue ALL national system long distance trains effective October 1st.
Yes, you read that right. If the transit-loving bureaucrats who currently are in charge at Amtrak don’t get what they want almost solely for the NEC, then all of the rest of the Lower 48 states will lose their long distance train service.
In effect, it’s a hostage situation, with a healthy dose of extortion. To make sure possibly reluctant lawmakers and the Bush administration fully understand their ransom demands, legal six month train-off notices for all long distance trains except the Auto Train will be filed on March 29th, just a few short weeks away from today.
In the meantime, outside of the NEC, station staffs have been slashed, and operating hours have been greatly reduced to the point that many stations will have trains stopping at closed buildings.
On top of that, also outside the NEC, onboard train attendant staffs have been virtually eliminated in many instances or cut so far they become invisible to passengers.
All of this is in the name of PRESERVING the bloated staff of 11,000 employees which somehow collectively run the NEC without tripping over themselves because there are so many of them, and keeping almost 100% of the NEC service intact.
- So, what are you fighting for and fighting against? You’re fighting for the basic preservation of long distance train service in this country as a vital part of our domestic transportation network.
What you’re fighting against is a conniving cabal of transit officials who have highjacked Amtrak and tried to make national policy by declaring war on long distance trains which these people neither understand nor care about. This group of Clinton Administration warmed-over, out of date, leftovers is determined to force the issue in their favor.
The good news is that fewer and fewer people and members of the media are believing their claptrap.
- The Mayor and the Silver Fox Department: Ironically, it’s the sons of Mississippi which are defining much of this battle over the NEC and the rest of the country. John Robert Smith, a pharmacist by trade and now in his third term as Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, was just elected the new Chairman of the Amtrak Board of Directors. His Honor has been serving on the board since being appointed immediately after the Amtrak Reauthorization of 1997 became law.
Former FRA Administrator Gil Carmichael, the hero of our story, is Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council, a group of patriots just finishing their five years of hard and difficult work creating a good and strong strategy for the restructuring of Amtrak. Mr. Carmichael is also from Meridian.
These two gentlemen’s hometown newspaper, the Meridian Star, ran an editorial last Sunday, which said:
Amtrak: Time to move
February 24, 2002, The Meridian Star Newspaper
Now that Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith has been named chairman of Amtrak, he has an ideal opportunity to help implement the new concepts of national rail passenger service detailed by the Amtrak Reform Council. That council, chaired by Meridian businessman Gil Carmichael, reported to Congress that the current Amtrak was fatally flawed and needed restructuring. Amtrak lost $1.1 billion last year and is seeking a $1.2 billion appropriation from Congress this year. If it doesn’t get the money, Amtrak has threatened to stop operating long distance trains, such as the Crescent which makes two daily stops in Meridian.
That two of the major players in the future of national rail reside in Meridian would be unbelievable if not for their expertise in transportation matters. Both Smith and Carmichael have extensive knowledge of intermodal transportation systems where each component complements another. It is a credit to the community that these recognized national experts are serving in these positions.
The daunting issues they, and, indeed, the nation face over national rail policy will largely determine how people and products move about the country well into this century. At this point, Amtrak and the Amtrak Reform Council are not exactly running on parallel tracks and Congress will ultimately have to throw the right switches to determine the destination.
If you believe that a national passenger rail system is good for the country, then you must also know that Amtrak as it now exists has a history of poor management and inefficient operations. Amtrak owns relatively few miles of the track on which it runs trains. It operates a passenger rail system whose trains are forced to weave through a tangled network of freight track, which helps account for frustrating delays. It maintains, purchases and in some cases remanufactures equipment. It deals with union personnel issues. And, Amtrak currently has 4,000 managers in a total employment of 24,000 people.
The Amtrak Reform Council recommends, among other things, that a new Amtrak focus on core business opportunities, such as moving people, mail and express freight. The council recommends that a new oversight authority be named with real rail policy-making ability and that some operational aspects of passenger rail service be spun-off or farmed out to new, perhaps, private providers. The council recommends that new partnerships among federal, state, local and private sources be formed and that various components of a restructured system could be financed with bonds.
Amtrak has identified a backlog of about $5 billion in work needed right now to buy equipment and improve tracks, tunnels and bridges. The American taxpayer cannot possibly be expected to fund this effort alone.
If the true potential of a real intermodal system is to be explored, if all pieces of the transportation puzzle are to fit, if Meridian is to develop into a distribution hub for rail freight, if the national economy is to benefit from the efficient movement of people and products, then Amtrak must accept reform and restructuring. The old system should fade away, replaced by a solid management organization willing to embrace new concepts and ideas, policies and technologies.
Congress has a duty to make it happen.
The editors of the newspaper have eloquently and effectively made their case, and deserve strong support.
- Another voice was heard from this week, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, addressing a union group in New Orleans:
“I know that another top priority for all of you is resolving the ongoing fiscal challenges at Amtrak. It is a top priority for me, as well. Intercity passenger rail service is a critical link in our transportation network. We need to take action to restore it to long-term health and stability. Amtrak’s current financial difficulties call for an early reauthorization of Amtrak and formulation of a national rail passenger policy. Some ideas have already been put on the table, and we are examining all of them. We are looking forward to working with Congress, the industry, and all of you to develop a solution.”
- So, rational people have spoken. The ARC has suggested change. The Bush administration is willing to look at change. Members of Congress are talking about change, and, in the end, they will hold the final solution.
The only people not talking about change is a dizzying collection of Amtrak senior management, its board of directors, and those lapdog organizations blindly loyal to Amtrak which appear unable to think clearly and do anything but support the Amtrak status quo.
It’s past time for change at Amtrak. It’s past time to sweep away all of the failures of the past, and those who helped create those failures. It’s time for Congress to act quickly and boldly to rid Amtrak of its horrid management personnel problems and install forward thinking and visionary leadership that will focus beyond the constant clamor for free federal monies.
Wednesday afternoon at 1 P.M. will be interesting when both Mr. Carmichael and George Warrington will testify before the House for Amtrak’s annual appropriations hearings. One can only hope the members of Congress will have the fortitude to ask some very tough questions and at the same time listen to the wisdom of Mr. Carmichael.