Volume II Number 26 – This Was The Week That Was – An Amtrak Saga

April 05, 2002

It’s Friday, April 5th and no train-off notices have been posted. Instead, Amtrak has sent letters to 46 of the nation’s governors telling them of its financial woes and letting them know train-offs might still happen.

That’s a start.

1. Amtrak blinked in the giant game of chicken regarding its extortion attempts to guarantee at least $1.2 billion in free federal money for the next fiscal year.

   On February 1st, Amtrak promised to issue train-off notices for 18 routes in the national long distance system if Congress and the Bush administration refused to pony up the full $1.2 billion (mostly for use in the Northeast Corridor).

   There has been a hue and cry since then, with many members of Congress reminding Amtrak who is really in charge in Washington.

   So, just before Friday, March 29th, the original threat day for posting train-offs, Amtrak instead issued a notice saying it would issue a notice later, most likely yesterday, Thursday, April 4th.

   Yesterday came and went with no notification of a notice. But today, a letter was made public, addressed to 46 governors that Amtrak, the kind and benevolent institution that it is, has been heartened by recent actions in Congress, and perhaps it won’t have to issue the train-off notices, after all.

   The result? Amtrak has put the issue to rest for now, and things can run their a natural course through the legislative process. This is something that should have happened weeks ago.

   Note to Amtrak: If you’re still so hard up for money, perhaps you may want to take a look at the staggering 11,000 employees it takes to run the NEC under current circumstances? Considering Metro North’s much more realistic 6,000 person staff, perhaps Amtrak may want to reassess its true needs in the NEC.

2. Snookered Department: Oops. It really was a cruel April Fool’s joke after all. The alleged story from the Baltimore Sun that was reported here in issue number 25 regarding new checked baggage handling at all stations in Maryland appears to be a very well crafted joke after all.

   The material came to your humble correspondent from several sources, all of which are normally 100% reliable. It had what appeared to be the imprint of a respectable newspaper on the information. No further investigation was done after that point because of the usual high validity of the sources.

   Wrong, again.

   Further investigation has shown that the story was false, just an April Fool’s joke.

   Apologies to all for any problems caused by this. It’s time to review the normal sources a little more closely.

3. Here’s a hot item: Word from Washington on Thursday that the Bush administration is about to recommend franchising for Amtrak has sent the Association of American Railroads into emergency meetings.

   No other details are available, but that would not be too far off from the recommendations of the Amtrak Reform Council.

4. You’ve gotta admire spunk: Soon to be departing Amtrak President and CEO George Warrington, headed to New Jersey Transit as executive director, will probably be looking for housing in New Jersey larger than a studio apartment.

   The Associated Press has reported that his first day at NJT will be May 6th, and he will be paid an annual salary of $275,000, which is $82,000 a year more than his Republican predecessor made in the same job.

   According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Mr. Warrington is hailed by Democrats and Republicans as a mass transit expert hired for his qualifications rather than any political connections.

   The paper quotes James Fox, the NJ station Transportation Commissioner as saying, “You’ve got to pay for the best and obviously, George Warrington is the best. While it’s a nice salary, it’s comparable to what he was making when he was running Amtrak …”

   Now we know why it took so long for him to leave Amtrak. He wanted to find someone who would cough up the big bucks for his services. If only that offer had come a few months earlier …

   In reality, this is a low salary for the size organization he will be running. Many transit agencies, like Amtrak, have the problem of low salaries for higher executives because they are considered public servants. Perhaps if salaries came more in line with private enterprise then more experienced business people would help solve the myriad of problems in these industries.

5. From the keyboard of Andrew Selden (written on Thursday, April 4th):
   

   “Here is a snapshot of why Amtrak needs to be torn apart and reconstructed from square one:

   As of 7:45 AM CST today,

   No. 8 (the Empire Builder) was 30 minutes early into St. Paul;
   No. 6 (the California Zephyr) is running 2:46 late;
   No. 4 (the Southwest Chief) is 10 hours late; and
   No. 22 (the Texas Eagle) is 2:38 late.

   Combined, these four trains represent well in excess of $120,000,000 in annual revenues to Amtrak, with a potential of at least triple that.

   Instead, today there will be vouchers by the Roadrailer-full.

   It is a wonder to me–on this performance–that anyone uses them at all. No. 22 is ALWAYS late. Nos. 4 and 6 are usually late. All of them by hours.

   No. 8 is most often on time, over single track railroad in the worst weather environment in the U.S.

   What accounts for the difference? Just paying attention? Pride? Discipline? A tradition of excellence? $843 million a year of public subsidy? No public subsidy?”

   There are many answers to Mr. Selden’s questions. Perhaps the most glaring answer is a combination of just paying attention and discipline.

   Once again, Mr. Selden needs to be the next President and CEO of Amtrak. Mr. Selden continually demonstrates both his vision and ability to lead the New Amtrak into an era of prosperity.

That’s it for another week. The giant game of chicken is over. Now, let’s get on to the business of selecting new leadership for Amtrak. Time is running very short.