Countdown to Boardman's departure

[railbuck]

How do you accumulate enough points to afford a sleeper? Wouldn't that require a lot of travel = a lot of $ (or maybe your job pays for it)? You may not be filthy rich but if you can get a $201 roommette on just points I know you spent way more than that on travel to get it.

$201 is worth, in round numbers, 7000 points. You can earn those points by charging $3500 in travel (any kind of travel, not just Amtrak) or $7000 of anything on the AGR card. Shopping portal purchases, promotions, manufactured spending, and signup bonuses can generate additional points.

The "point" is, it's not difficult to be in a position where you are points-rich and cash-poor.

 

[me_little_me]

Philly, some of us use points to book our sleepers. I can't afford to pay for one out of pocket, so I use points.

How do you accumulate enough points to afford a sleeper? Wouldn't that require a lot of travel = a lot of $ (or maybe your job pays for it)? You may not be filthy rich but if you can get a $201 roommette on just points I know you spent way more than that on travel to get it.

I would suggest that since you do not know what you are talking about in this thread, that you refrain from continuing. You are being very insulting. I also travel almost exclusively on points also and would never have enough to travel on them if I only earned them on Amtrak travel.

If you put almost all your spending on your Amtrak card, you'd be surprised at how many points you can gain on things like your cell phone and satellite bills, groceries, gas and many other basics in life. And, note, we have minimal phone and TV plans. We just put everything on the card and pay it off every month.

And our income is mostly from Social Security so it is not high.

 

[afigg]

If I may get this thread back to something at least related to the topic of Boardman's departure and not discussions of the fine dining options on Amtrak or collecting AGR points, Fred Frailey of Trains Magazine has posted a short column on a "tidbit" he heard about who might serve as an acting president after Boardman's retirement date.

Amtrak's acting president? Excerpt:

So this is the tidbit whispered in my ear: that Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s executive vice president for Northeast Corridor development, may get an interim appointment, as acting president.

Amtrak's Board was given plenty of advance notice to search for Boardman's replacement, so if they have to pick an acting president, that indicates that the search for a new CEO is taking a long time.

 

[jis]

At least Stephen Gardner would be a relatively well known person.

 

[Bob Dylan]

At least Stephen Gardner would be a relatively well known person.

Is he any kin to Earl Stanley? ( Perry Mason Author)or Chauncey Gardner? ("Being There")

 

[jis]

He was the one that spoke to the press on location soon after the 188 crash as I seem to recall.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

If I may get this thread back to something at least related to the topic of Boardman's departure and not discussions of the fine dining options on Amtrak or collecting AGR points, Fred Frailey of Trains Magazine has posted a short column on a "tidbit" he heard about who might serve as an acting president after Boardman's retirement date.

Amtrak's acting president? Excerpt:

So this is the tidbit whispered in my ear: that Stephen Gardner, Amtraks executive vice president for Northeast Corridor development, may get an interim appointment, as acting president.

Amtrak's Board was given plenty of advance notice to search for Boardman's replacement, so if they have to pick an acting president, that indicates that the search for a new CEO is taking a long time.

Acting president can be let go when the wind of change occur with out any fuss. So after the next Federal Election you can determine who is in charge and what direction Amtrak is going, and adjust CEO's if needed.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

If I may get this thread back to something at least related to the topic of Boardman's departure and not discussions of the fine dining options on Amtrak or collecting AGR points, Fred Frailey of Trains Magazine has posted a short column on a "tidbit" he heard about who might serve as an acting president after Boardman's retirement date.

Amtrak's acting president? Excerpt:

So this is the tidbit whispered in my ear: that Stephen Gardner, Amtraks executive vice president for Northeast Corridor development, may get an interim appointment, as acting president.

Amtrak's Board was given plenty of advance notice to search for Boardman's replacement, so if they have to pick an acting president, that indicates that the search for a new CEO is taking a long time.

Acting president can be let go when the wind of change occur with out any fuss. So after the next Federal Election you can determine who is in charge and what direction Amtrak is going, and adjust CEO's if needed.

Plus both Amtrak and Gardner can get a good feel if he's the right person for the job and the job is one he wants.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

If he is a "lover of trains" (Fred Frailey's words) but also is heavily involved in the Northeast Corridor, the question is: Which path will he take?

Keep the existing national network and try to expand it?

Cut everything except the Northeast?

Or something in between?

Nobody in their right mind wants this job permanently, so even if he is interim, he may have it for years. And, as we've already seen with Joe Boardman, that can have its good side and its bad side.

 

[jis]

No CEO of Amtrak can do much with the LD network except fiddle at the edges unless Congress actually funds the $1 billion for it that it is supposed to according to the Authorization, or find others to cover the difference, like states or private entities. And we know how that might go down for Amtrak.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Good point, jis. I am just hoping that whoever is the next CEO won't actively work against the LD network.

 

[jis]

Good point, jis. I am just hoping that whoever is the next CEO won't actively work against the LD network.

So ordering new rolling stock for the LD network (self funded in principle using the surplus transfer from the NEC such as it is or is not) is now viewed as working against the LD network? Yeah, some of the actions could be construed as such maybe, but given the financial issues, would you rather that fewer trains were run at a more luxurious level while axing others to consolidate equipment use, or would you rather that the network is maintained, as it was, since once you lose a link it is darned hard to put Humpty Dumpty together again?

It is easy to blame the guy at the top. I frankly have no idea what choices were available to fit things within available resources, so I tend to take such assumptions under advisement so to speak. And yeah I myself have been a loud critic of a few specific actions, including but not limited to the PIPs not being acted upon sooner. But I think overall the jury is still out for a balanced appraisal and we will not get one until a few years have passed.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

jis,

I wasn't clear in my post--I didn't mean that Boardman worked against the LD network.

I was actually referring to the new CEO if it is someone deeply connected to the NEC (which I do see, rightly or wrongly, as working against the LD network).

And I agree with you completely--we have to keep whatever we have and build on that.

 

[jis]

So now let me point out the most egregious anti-LD acts of Boardman. I think the worst was getting rid of people like Brian Rosenwald, the architect of the enhanced service on the Coast Starlight and the Pacific Parlour Car. The next was getting rid of the PIP team soon after they completed putting together the PIPs indicating clearly that for whatever reason he had no intention of doing anything beyond fulfilling the minimum required by the Congress in that area. That is not a way to win friends in Congress to counter the detractors like Mica.

Then there were mixed bags like the handing of the Gulf Coast service restoration was also similar until the pressure from outside got too much to completely ignore. At which point they enthusiastically put on the Inspection Train and wrote a very credible plan with costing for restoration. In general I think he worked quite hard, sometimes in ways that seemed counter-intuitive to me, to save the current route of LD trains. He did manage to pull it off with the Empire Builder on the Devil's Lake Sub and has apparently pulled off for the SWC on the Raton Sub, and even threw in a stub service proposal to Pueblo as a starter.

His outfit generally threw a hissy-fit each time any contracting out proposal (Indiana) or discontinuance of contract (VRE) came up. This again does not help win friends, OTOH one would expect some of it as a survival mechanism from any organization. But some of the methods used left much to be desired.

Coming back to Mr. Gardner, I have only met him once, very briefly and I frankly don't know much about Gardner. I know some of the people that work for him and my impression is that he is a career manager type of person with no particular emotional attachment to the NEC. So my suspicion is that we will not see much residual NEC-isms from him. The flip side is we won;t probably see a deep emotional drive for the LD BU either. he will probably be a more or less OK manager of the system without making any waves. Sort of Kummant-like perhaps. So in general maintains status quo with no huge gains or losses at least as long as he is interim.

Just my guess based on relatively limited knowledge, so I could be entirely wrong. I am sure folks who have worked closer to him have more passionate views on the matter backed by more personal knowledge..

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I also agree with Mystic River Dragon regarding the next CEO and the LD network. I would definitely would want someone who is for systemwide improvement, but focusing on improving Long Distance neteworks. As a person who uses LD trains at least 4 times a year, and as many as 8 (current record) to 12 (what I have planned for next year) times a year, I would expect the LD trains get me there when I would need it, in a reliable manner, since I neither fly nor drive when traveling within the Lower 48. I see that making cuts is not the only way out, as it can and usually will drive customers away, and potential revenue will also shrink.

If he is a "lover of trains" (Fred Frailey's words) but also is heavily involved in the Northeast Corridor, the question is: Which path will he take?

Keep the existing national network and try to expand it?

Cut everything except the Northeast?

Or something in between?

As for your questions regarding which path he will take, I hope he changes his mind and goes with "Keep the existing national network and try to expand it", as I, as mentioned earlier, rely on LD trains for intra-state intercity and interstate travel. The place I live (Klamath Falls) is a bit remote for flights, and I would not bother myself with long security lines and more expensive ticket prices even if they bring back air service here (between Klamath Falls and Portland, it is $70 to $176 RT coachclass, $138 to $222 RT businessclass, while flying it costs like $250 RT just before they discontinued air service), and Dirty Dogs are already out of the question here. I definitely would not want to be stranded and having to bum a ride or to force myself past the long airport lines.

 

[Thirdrail7]

Some of us were talking about him and more importantly, his regime when this post about Mr. Boardman came into mind:

Only time will tell if some of his decisions helped or hurt Amtrak and once we see what the next group does when they arrive, we'll know how well (or) badly Boardman performed.

After reading every post in this thread it sounds like the jury is still out. Which makes sense since Boardman hasn't even left office yet. It should be interesting to see what his successor has to say about Amtrak's state of affairs once Boardman is gone.

His successors have had a lot to say about the state of Amtrak. Granted, it wasn't necessarily about him but he and his regime led the agenda. The safety culture has been called weak and non existence. Training has been attacked and this clearly reflects on his regime.

I'm just curious if anyone has a different or updated opinion of his tenure?

 

[OBS]

Some of us were talking about him and more importantly, his regime when this post about Mr. Boardman came into mind:

Only time will tell if some of his decisions helped or hurt Amtrak and once we see what the next group does when they arrive, we'll know how well (or) badly Boardman performed.

After reading every post in this thread it sounds like the jury is still out. Which makes sense since Boardman hasn't even left office yet. It should be interesting to see what his successor has to say about Amtrak's state of affairs once Boardman is gone.

His successors have had a lot to say about the state of Amtrak. Granted, it wasn't necessarily about him but he and his regime led the agenda. The safety culture has been called weak and non existence. Training has been attacked and this clearly reflects on his regime.

I'm just curious if anyone has a different or updated opinion of his tenure?

Unfortunately, I think you summed it up well in your paragraph regarding Safety and training... That idiotic safety program he implemented ( I can't even recall the name), where employees stood around and watched a random person work to see if they were working safely, was a total waste of money IMHO.....

 

[Palmetto]

Did that job have a title?

 

[jis]

The Boardman Safety Program was called something bureaucratic like “Safe to Safer” as I recall.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[Ryan]

I think it was actually “Safe 2 Safer”, because all of the c00l kidz are replacing letters w1th numb3rz.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I think it was actually “Safe 2 Safer”, because all of the c00l kidz are replacing letters w1th numb3rz.

Those look like passwords to me.

 

[keelhauled]

I think it was actually “Safe 2 Safer”, because all of the c00l kidz are replacing letters w1th numb3rz.

Those look like passwords to me.

If they were passwords they would show as asterisks. Much like how my password is hunter2...

 

[Ryan]

**! **!

 

[OBS]

I think it was actually “Safe 2 Safer”, because all of the c00l kidz are replacing letters w1th numb3rz.

Thanks! All I could think of was the "S.T.O.P." safety program, but that was two or three safety programs ago...