Amtrak Board Releases Gunn

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

News Release

National Railroad Passenger Corporation

60 Massachusetts Avenue NE

Washington, DC 20002

www.amtrak.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Media Relations (202) 906-3860

ATK-05-090

November 11, 2005

Amtrak Board Releases Gunn

Railroad Begins Search for Experienced Reform Leader; David Hughes will run Amtrak until Successor is found

WASHINGTON - Amtrak's Board of Directors today released its President, David Gunn, saying that the passenger rail service needed to intensify the pace and broaden the scope of its reforms. Amtrak said that David Hughes, Chief Engineer, has been named Acting President and CEO, and that its Board of Directors has launched a national search to find the railroad's next leader.

Announcing the Board's decision, Amtrak Chairman David M. Laney said: "David Gunn has helped Amtrak make important operational improvements over the past three years. Amtrak's future now requires a different type of leader who will aggressively tackle the company's financial, management and operational challenges. The need to bring fundamental change to Amtrak is greater and more urgent than ever before. The Board approved a strategic plan in April that provides a blueprint for a stronger and more sustainable Amtrak. Now we need a leader with vision and experience to get the job done."

Gunn came out of retirement in May 2002 to lead Amtrak after a career that included running transit systems in New York and Washington, D.C.

The strategic plan produced by Amtrak's Board and management calls for fundamental change with the goal of delivering better service for passengers and an improving financial performance. The plan calls for competition in U.S. rail passenger service, shared federal-state financial responsibility for passenger rail, as is the case with highways and aviation, and predictable multi-year federal funding.

A report released last week by the Government Accountability Office credited Amtrak's management with some positive changes in recent years, but also was uncharacteristically blunt in concluding that more far-reaching changes were needed along the lines of those proposed by Amtrak's Board.

 

[Guest_Amtrak_flyer]

No doubt anymore where Laney stands...

 

[Arkarch]

"

The Board approved a strategic plan in April that provides a blueprint for a stronger and more sustainable Amtrak. Now we need a leader with vision and experience to get the job done."

...in otherwords, shut down all long distance train service.

 

[AlanB]

Let's concentrate our discussion and any further news in this topic, which I'll pin to the top of the forum for now.

Thanks.

 

[Guest_Amtrak OBS Employee]

Oh boy! Here we go! Did I not say it is gonna get ugly? OBS...

 

[trainboy325]

I have received word this morning from my crew base in NOL within the last few minutes about the release of David Gunn. I must inform you that local management has been issued an "informal" notice that regional operations will cease within a few weeks. At this time, no one is for sure what "regional operations" are. As of now, I believe that my long standing doom and gloom picture for Amtrak is right on the money. I'm extremely concerned at this point that passenger railroading is in extreme danger. It's time not to concern ourselfs about diners, sleepers, first class emenities, etc. The time to fight for these things are over. There won't be these services on-board very soon, if long distance trains at all!

Secondly, at this point, speculation by local Amtrak personel in NOL (I'm one who has this belief) is that Amtrak will not seek funding from Congress. Instead, if Congress issues funds to Amtrak that doesn't serve the board's agenda, they will refuse the funds and let NRPC go into bankruptcy. At this point, as law allows, Amtrak will file for bankruptcy, seek labor agreement abolishments and seek an exemption on the 180 day service abolishment notice that has to be posted on train stations losing service. Many on this forum, me especially, have been encouraging all to ride trains, take pictures and quit squawking on the little things. To modify a quote my good friend and co-worker OBS likes to get out: "The time to get your home in order was yesterday, if you haven't started, you're too late!" Everyone, get out and ride trains ASAP! If you'd didn't believe us then, maybe you'll get the hint that Amtrak is serious about ending non-NEC operations. :angry:

 

[Guest_Amtrak_flyer]

Guess Laney and the cronies on the board, didnt go to the ethics classes yesterday. What a friggen joke, what is it going to take to convince everyone Bush doesnt have the our (American citizens) best interest at heart. Bush is starting to make Nixon look like a boy scout.

No use in complaining here tough, let your senators know. Our best hope is having congress mandate all trains continue to be run for the time being..theres another election next year and Bush is gone in two years.

THIS IS ALL ON BUSH NOW especially after Lotts bill passed 93-6 last week. For those of you that contend that Amtrak didnt fair well under Clinton, it again comes down to Amtraks leadership. Where as Gunn said "Amtrak needs funding, Amtrak will never make money". I remember watching Warrengton on cspan saying how Amtrak was on "glidepath" to self sufficiency and basically everything was roses. So of course only min appropriations were aloted. If Warrengton called it like it was, maybe funding would have been greater. Whats scarry now, the current board is going to skew all finincial numbers to make Amtrak look alot worse then it is.

AGAIN I STATE LET YOUR SENATORS, REPS, LOCAL PAPERS, BLOGS, KNOW HOW OUTRAGEOUS THIS IS..

 

[Viewliner]

This is an outrage, Gunn was doing well at the helm.

Now we need a leader with vision and experience to get the job done.

Well said, but we had a leader with the vision and experience to get the job done, but he was just fired. Gunn had tons of experience dating back to the pre-Amtrak era, and he had the right visions going, improving the state of repair and repairing wrecked equipment. Gunn was a great President and CEO, the best we've had since W. Graham Claytor Jr. (who was the best IMHO) in making Amtrak efficient. Now I can't help but feel that we are truly at a crossroads and that this may indeed be the beginning of the end. I hope that this is not the case, but we must be more vigilant now more than ever. I hope Amtrak will have a future and that we will get someone who cares and knows as much as Gunn and Claytor did.

What concerns me is a piece of legislation proposed by a Republican Congressman from Dallas is proposing legislation to eliminate certain routes (Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, Empire Builder, and Silver Star) as well as eliminating food service, sleepers, and checked baggage as well as on board entertainment. Isn't it convenient that a representative from Texas proposed this and yet not one of these routes run through there? Granted this probably has no chance of passing but it's part of a trend that concerns me.

My apologies if the following was posted already, but this is the first thread that I have looked at today.

Here is the official press release from the Reps website:

SESSIONS INTRODUCES RAIL ACTLegislation will save taxpayer dollars by requiring Amtrak to eliminate

money-losing routes and services

Washington, Nov 3 - U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) today

announced that he introduced the Reforming Amtrak's Inefficient Lines

Act (the RAIL Act, H.R. 4214), a bill designed to cut Amtrak's operating

costs by eliminating money-losing routes and services.

Sessions, a Member of the House Budget Committee and Chairman of the

Results Caucus, introduced the RAIL Actas part of his effort to trim the

nation's fiscal burden by eliminating or significantly reducing wasteful

and inefficient government programs that burden American taxpayers.

"Congress has a duty to be responsible with taxpayer money," said

Sessions. "If we continue to spend it to subsidize services that do not

operate efficiently, we are giving the taxpayers a raw deal.

"Instead, we should lessen the burden on taxpayers by reducing or

eliminating wasteful and inefficient government spending," Sessions

continued. "One way we can do this is by eliminating routes and services

on which Amtrak consistently loses money."

In 1997, Congress passed and the President signed the Amtrak Reform and

Accountability Act. The bill required Amtrak to operate without federal

subsidies beginning in January 2003. Over the past 35 years, Amtrak has

cost taxpayers approximately $29 billion. Today, Amtrak still relies on

taxpayer subsidies to stay afloat.

In October 2004, Amtrak's Monthly Performance Report named Amtrak's five

most money-losing trains, the Southwest Chief, the California Zephyr,

the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, and the Silver Star. During

just fiscal year (FY) 2004, these five routes accounted for losses of

over $274 million.

In addition, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General has

indicated that eliminating sleeper cars, dining cars, onboard

entertainment, lounge seating, checked baggage service, and food and

beverage service on long distance routes could save taxpayers as much as

$790 million in operating costs and $395 million in capital expenditures

over five years.

Taking these findings into account, the RAIL Act will require Amtrak to

lessen its dependence on American taxpayers by:

· Discontinuing service on the Southwest Chief, the California Zephyr,

the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, and the Silver Star.

· Discontinuing food and beverage service unless revenues from the

service exceed its cost, including labor.

· Eliminating sleeper cars, dining cars, lounge seating, checked baggage

service, and onboard entertainment.

Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

joined Sessions as original co-sponsors of H.R. 4214.

Sessions has fought to trim waste at Amtrak since 2003, when he offered

an amendment to FY 2004 Transportation Appropriations legislation that

would have prohibited funds appropriated in the bill from being used to

operate any Amtrak route that failed to generate at least 50 cents in

revenue for every one dollar in cost. The House failed to agree to the

amendment.

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Now we all need to take action to make sure Amtrak stays as a whole.

 

[AmtrakLoverAndHater]

Now we all need to take action to make sure Amtrak stays as a whole.

I concur, everyone needs to write letters to their elected officials expressing our disgust with this hypocritical action.

"We have to trim wasteful spending such as Amtrak, but we will give $100m to Alaska to build a bridge for some Eskimos"

 

[user 5784]

I can guarantee you that my boss, the ranking member of the senate finance committee, will fight tooth and nail to keep the Empire Builder and other long distance trains running.

 

[AmtrakFan]

Amtrak needs to keep moving write to your congressmen. AND PRAY! That Amtrak will make it thru this period.

 

[AmtrakLoverAndHater]

I can guarantee you that my boss, the ranking member of the senate finance committee, will fight tooth and nail to keep the Empire Builder and other long distance trains running.

It is reassuring to hear there are people in power that are not subject to Bush's croneyism!!!!

 

[Superliner Diner]

When I awoke today and went online, and saw this news, I at first rubbed my eyes and rechecked the calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st. This sounds like a sick April Fools joke. I'm half expecting somebody to jump up and shout April Fools!

But I know that won't happen, and that the press releases are very true and the numerous communications from various rail passenger organizations don't lie.

It is indeed a dark day in Amtrak's history. It is probably no accident that this announcement was made the day after Election Day, but before the lame duck members of the Amtrak Board step down.

Still, I wonder, if I was being tried in court, and only several members of my 12-member jury were present, would any ruling by that body be valid? Would I not be entitled to a re-trial or appeal?

Something tells me too that David Gunn might have requested the board to take this action, as the recent news about added DOT oversight meant diminished power for his position.

 

[trainboy325]

I know that ALL OF YOU want to help, but I don't think that it can be done within the existing Amtrak model anymore. Even if Amtrak gets billions of dollars, all the pro-train legislation that could possible be written and routes that go to and from every possible city pair, if the Amtrak Board of Directors continues to have the ultimate authority over intercity passenger train operations in the United States, nothing that anyone does today or tommorrow will change the fact the Board HAS developed a plan for shutdown and they're going to find someone who'll do their bidding. The time to SAVE AMTRAK is gone beyond funding and its management, but rather the legislation that makes Amtrak's Board of Directors a pure monopoly over the jurisdiction of the passenger train business. If we want to save long distance trains from future Amtrak Board values that don't include them, then Americans are out of luck. I can't see at this time what, if any, plan can change the trend to kill long distance trains. However, if NRPC is completely destroyed and rebuilt as a new corporation with dedicated funding sources, chartered routes (as NRPC had originally, but were removed in 2001) and minimum service standards that include traditional on-board services, we could begin having to avoid these huge pendelum swings that occur periodically in Washington. I think all of us need to think of new ideas and be be aggressive in thinking, rather than always having to be defensive and fighting for scraps from Washington.

 

[Arkarch]

The NARP response...

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/news...s/more/nr05_36/

... I thought it was a bit too soft. They need to lay it on the line.

Unless they really want to drop 'National' and change their name to North East Corridor Association of Rail Passengers.

-- Karl

 

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Never say never also never give up things can happen at the last minute if we can put enough pressure on these people they can break because the last thing they like are people calling there offices and e mailing them all the time.The way i know this is i have been told by Reps in MI this is the way it can only take 5 phone calls and 5 e mails for them to change.

 

[Sam Damon]

I can guarantee you that my boss, the ranking member of the senate finance committee, will fight tooth and nail to keep the Empire Builder and other long distance trains running.

Any chance of a call for hearings to ask Mr. Mineta why DOT hasn't done its job in appointing representatives to Amtrak's board, among other things? Might Gunn have needed some help, given the most recent GAO report? And might the GAO report have turned out differently if DOT might have given a rat's behind about Amtrak, instead of mindlessly trying to kill it like in some bad 1950's sci-fi flick?

May we hear some insight (as much as it is safe to disclose for you -- we certainly don't want to see you liquidated like Gunn) as to whether some hearings might be called concerning Gunn's firing? I don't expect Gunn to get his job back. But I would like to see Mr. Mineta and his minions held accountable for their part in Amtrak's woes, especially after the recent overwhelming vote of Senate support for Senator Lott's Amtrak reauthorization bill.

 

[Superliner Diner]

New York, NY Times article, 11/10/05, which includes some reaction and quotes from David Gunn himself:

Amtrak's board fired the company's president on Wednesday morning, widening a divide between the Bush administration and Congress over the future of the railroad.

The article is here. Free registration required.

 

[Superliner Diner]

But I would like to see Mr. Mineta and his minions held accountable for their part in Amtrak's woes, especially after the recent overwhelming vote of Senate support for Senator Lott's Amtrak reauthorization bill.

Sam, perhaps the recent Senate 96-3 approval of the reauthorization bill was a catalyst for today's action. It might have been the Administration's means of fighting back at the Senate for going against their wishes.

It was cowardly though, as I said before, to make this announcement the day after Election Day so that there could be no political reprecussions. And speaking of public announcements coming from Amtrak's board, this one leaked out this morning, a little before Gunn's termination actually took place. Apparently Senator Shumer of New York knew something before others did. But it proves that this "board", if you can call it a "board" with just one or two legitimate people on it, is capable of communicating with the public. They demonstrated something different when they voted to spin off the Northeast Corridor but did not tell anyone.

I really thought that when the day came that David Gunn would leave Amtrak, he would do so on his call, that is retirement or resignation. I'm digging up another article that says he was in fact asked first to resign by the board, but he turned them down so they fired him.

 

[Superliner Diner]

Railway Age Magazine got to interview David Gunn today after his termination. He said:

“The Board members came in this morning and asked me to resign. I refused, so they fired me,” Gunn said in an interview this afternoon with Railway Age Editor William C. Vantuono. “I feel at least that I did the right, honorable thing. I wasn’t going to abandon our people.” He said that the Bush Administration’s people wanted to implement their plan, “which is destroying Amtrak.” “I stood in their way,” he said. “That’s why they fired me.”

You can see more comments by Gunn and others who reacted to his termination in this article. Note that you will have to scroll down past other news of the day to find the article, entitled, 'David Gunn: “I did the honorable thing”'.

 

[Sam Damon]

New York, NY Times article, 11/10/05, which includes some reaction and quotes from David Gunn himself:

Amtrak's board fired the company's president on Wednesday morning, widening a divide between the Bush administration and Congress over the future of the railroad.

The article is here. Free registration required.

From TFA:

"They want at least one transportation mode that is totally free market," Mr. Gunn said.
But highways, airports and ports are all federally subsidized, he said, decrying "all this angst over an operating deficit of 500 million bucks for the whole country, and the bulk of money going into capital or infrastructure."

Clearly, Gunn "got it." To be sure, $500 million is no small sum, but in the grand scheme of things, it pales in comparision to what has been doled out by the politicians to competing forms of transportation. Even the whole sum of Amtrak subsidies pales in comparison to what has been spent on highways, airports, and waterways.

It also demonstrates the anti-rail mentality at DOT. DOT needs a thorough housecleaning. What's profoundly sad is how much transportation policy affects energy policy; you just can't have a national energy policy without talking about how to cut the amount of fuel used for transportation. Since a great deal of US railroad trackage has been taken out thanks to some 1950's-vintage decision making, reducing the amount of fuel used for transportation will be problematic at best.

All the reason more to preserve Amtrak. As the GAO report points out, the company has flaws. But at least the US has passenger rail service in a deep freeze of sorts, awaiting a time when it needs thawed out.

 

[Golden Spike]

This is just great. On the one hand, we have the man who gave us the Transportation Security Agency feeling up our wives and daughters, and on the other hand we have a man who was concerned with "doing the honorable thing." So who gets his walking papers?

"...history is written by those who have hanged heroes." -- Braveheart

 

[Gunn to testify next wed before]

Keep the calls coming, that hearing could have alot of repercusions both polictical and with Amtraks future, although at this point I think there one in the same.

 

[amtrak flyer]

Gunn to testifly next week before congress.