The Empire Crumbles: Amtrak Shutting Down?

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Reuters via Yahoo - June 23, 2002

Amtrak shutdown would disrupt U.S. commuter routes

By John Crawley 

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - A shutdown of Amtrak this week would
resonate beyond its national long-distance network, disrupting
service for hundreds of thousands of rail and other commuters,
industry and other officials said on Sunday.

Amtrak President David Gunn told Congress and the Bush administration
last week the rail service would begin shutting down by the middle of
this week if it did not receive $200 million in financing.

Bush administration officials have said any federal help for the
government-subsized rail network will require extensive management
and operating reforms, which has never made money in its 31-year
history and lost $1.1 billion last year.

The biggest disruption would be felt in the Northeast, where Amtrak
runs train services or its employees perform track, signal and
maintenance work on routes used by commuter lines in greater Boston,
New York and Washington.

Other Amtrak services support commuter trains in Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia as well as systems in Chicago, Los Angeles and
San Francisco.

"This is our economic infrastructure. Without regular train service
in northern New Jersey and New York our economy will come to a halt,"
said U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat, told
reporters at a news conference at New York's Pennsylvania Station.

He said a shutdown, which could begin Wednesday, would disrupt the
commute into New York from surrounding suburbs by forcing train
commuters on to surrounding highways.

"This does not have to happen," Torricelli said.

Officials said contingency plans to keep rail systems running would
be difficult to arrange because Amtrak workers performed jobs that in
many cases demand technical expertise and experience.

"They really make the tracks go," said one New York-area transit
official of Amtrak employees.

FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEE

Amtrak itself carries 65,000 passengers a day on an estimated 260
trains. It operates in 46 states and has more than 22,000 employees.

The railroad's financial distress is preventing it from receiving
help from its banks, and it has applied for a loan guarantee from the
federal government so it can access credit.

The Bush administration is considering Gunn's request as well as
other financing options to help Amtrak. On Saturday, Transportation
Secretary Norman Mineta said he did not want to see a shutdown, but
was not going to consider anything unless Amtrak changed its
money-losing ways.

Mineta also told Congress to be ready to act, if a potential solution
involved emergency legislation.

House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert, appearing on NBC's
"Meet the Press" on Sunday, said route cuts could be a possible
requirement for aid. "I think we need to have some cost
effectiveness," Hastert said.

Gunn, who has been on the job for a little more than a month, has
previously said that cutting Amtrak's money-losing routes at this
time would not solve its problems.

Mineta will meet with Amtrak's board on Monday in Washington to go
over financing options and the impact of a shut down. Transportation
Department officials said the administration was working to find the
most workable option but no agreement had been reached over the
weekend.

"We've heard from (Gunn) but the secretary would like to talk to the
board," said Mineta spokesman Chet Lunner.

Amtrak spokesman Bill Schulz said Mineta's involvement was a good
sign.

"We have to wait and see what Mr. Mineta has to say. But we're
encouraged by his active engagement to resolve this situation and
avert a shutdown of Amtrak services and commuter services across the
country," Schulz said.

(Additional reporting by Larry Fine in New York.)

 
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nytlab-06.25.02-15:44:07-28113