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{ 2004 12 17 }

This Week At Amtrak 2004-12-17

Vol. 1, No. 16 - December 17, 2004

  1. A federal-state public finance program to fund the public benefits of rail infrastructure improvements through public-private partnerships and provide financial incentives to the private sector to participate in joint investments.
  2. Public benefit funding to support expanded rail infrastructure capacity for improved intercity rail passenger service where it is economically justified.
  3. Special financing for investment in commuter rail-related renewal and improvement requirements on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) infrastructure, funded through the transit component of the Surface Transportation Program.

Carmichael looked to the future, saying, “This may not be the last you hear from us.”

# # #

We can only hope this is not the last we hear from this august group. This is America at its best; a group of learned citizens, who have already volunteered their time, talents, and wisdom, standing up for what they believe is right and making themselves heard. The usual Amtrak apologists and cultists may try to shout them down, as they do anyone they believe goes against their narrow beliefs, but this group will not be bullied by rhetoric. The Amtrak Reform Council reconstituted has given our nation and visitors from abroad a great Christmas gift. We should all welcome this gift with open arms, and even more importantly, an open mind.

  • Here’s the other extreme this week, also in press release form from the Train Riders Association of California, one of the competing rail fan groups on the Left Coast:

    TRAC E-Bulletin [#04-41]
    TRAC Members & Associates–

    At the recent TRAC rail conference in San Francisco, Amtrak Director of Government Affairs West Tyrone Bland warned us of the dire state of Amtrak funding, made even more dire by the re-election of George Bush, whose starvation policy towards Amtrak would now be perpetuated for another four years.

    With the Bush administration making wholesale changes in the inner cabinet and rumored failing health of the transportation secretary, many rail advocates held hope of an ouster of Norm Mineta and the possibility of a more sane Bush policy towards Amtrak. Late last week any such hopes were dashed with the announcement Mineta would be retained. To give you an idea of the deterioration of his mental facilities, here is a Mineta quote from a December 10 article in the San Francisco Chronicle regarding the Bush policy towards long-distance train funding: “If a train goes through a state and that state is not willing to pony up the state’s share, then we would run the train through that state, not stopping and keeping the doors closed.”

    Huh?!? This would improve Amtrak’s service and finances how?

    Mineta said he would press a plan to overhaul Amtrak financing in order to end “a drain on the budget” by shifting a greater burden to states. As anyone involved with the Cascades can tell you, just getting two states to agree on annual funding for an interstate train is a major challenge, much less multiple states. For the full text of the article, follow this link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/12/10/MNG1BA9L9D1.DTL

    With this, 2005 may be our harshest year yet to work to save Amtrak, support the reforms of Amtrak President David Gunn, and do whatever we can to save the national network. Enjoy your holidays, and be ready to write some letters of support for Amtrak when the budget fight begins again in 2005.

    - Alan C. Miller
    Executive Director
    Train Riders Association of California

    Official TRAC Website: http://www.calrailnews.com/

    A short time later, the following was also released:

    TRAC E-Bulletin [#04-41a]
    TRAC Members & Associates–

    With some humility I reminded that stating someone has what I would consider a “crazy idea” is not the same as implying that they themselves are literally crazy. The previous email implied the later, and neither I nor TRAC have any such belief. My sincere apologies for the wording. That is not the sort of tone I wish to represent our organization with.

    - Alan C. Miller, TRAC

    Well. Pretty strong stuff. It should be noted that the distinguished DOT Secretary, Mr. Mineta, was the previous mayor of San Jose, California, and then became a member of Congress, representing California. If you were a Washington or state capital bureaucrat, or elected politician making decision about the future of Amtrak, which group would you pay attention to, the ad hoc ARC, or TRAC?

    The first question is, why is an Amtrak employee, such as Mr. Bland, publicly speaking to a group criticizing the Bush Administration, which is part of the control process of Amtrak’s purse strings? Does Amtrak continue to be so politically tone deaf that it doesn’t realize not to bite the hand that feeds it? There are many other ways to get your point across without throwing stones at your banker and owner.

    Mr. Miller, while realizing his mistake, still fairly represents the “group think” of so much of Amtrak’s various attendant wholly owned lapdog organizations around the country.

    Amtrak apologists and cultists insist that everyone should speak with “one voice” when it comes to passenger rail. Why? What’s wrong with other opinions and ideas? What is there to be afraid of when it comes to new ideas? And, if everyone speaks with “one voice,” whose voice should that be? The voice of those who have been wrong, lo, these past three decades? No one has stopped to think about the past four years. Yes, the Bush Administration policies and proposals for Amtrak have been unpopular with many people. And, yes the Amtrak Reform Council proposals have certainly been thinking that takes place outside of the box.

    Right or wrong, as least someone is thinking and acting on new and fresh ideas. New ideas take time to percolate and develop; attempting to shout them down at the beginning serves no purpose.

    For over 30 years, Amtrak has been doing the same thing, year in and year out. And, it hasn’t been working. Amtrak is a deeply dysfunctional and flawed organization, which needs major reforms. Throwing money at Amtrak will not solve the problem, but only make it worse, similar to giving a glass of Christmas cheer to an alcoholic. New thinking, discussion, and arrival at new conclusions is mandatory for the ongoing existence of Amtrak.

    Hopefully, the new Amtrak Board of Directors is moving in this direction, creating its own plan for Amtrak’s future.

  • It looks like it’s finally time for Amtrak’s long overdue Congressional reauthorization to surface this session of Congress. The presidential elections are over, Congressional elections are two years away; now is probably the time. Forces on both sides will be lining up. Almost all of the Congressional players are new, either through retirements or new committee assignments. Stay tuned; this is going to be interesting.
  • Last week, we explored the many virtues of Paul Tellier, the former head of CN, and then head of Bombardier. Alas, the corporate world is even more fickle than the world of politics. On Monday of this week, Bombardier announced that Mr. Tellier, 65, had left the company amid falling stock prices. Mr. Tellier had the final year of his contract bought out, with the company saying that it wanted more long term stability in its leadership than the final year of his contract. It’s interesting to note that two Bombardier board of director members resigned concurrently with the departure of Mr. Tellier. No matter what the current circumstances of a corporate spat, the many past accomplishments and achievements of Mr. Tellier will never be erased. Any company which makes use of his talents in the future will be better than it is today.

    • Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004. Filed under This Week.