(The following story by Uriah A. Kiser appeared on the News & Messenger website on May 20, 2010.)
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — The French company slated to operate Virginia Railway Express trains will not be ready to take over as scheduled, despite assurances they would be.
Engineers and conductors working for Keolis Rail Services of America were scheduled to take the reigns from Amtrak June 28, after VRE awarded the company a 5-year, $85 million contract last fall.
The announcement made by Amtrak officials late Thursday comes one month after Amtrak sent a letter to Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton warning him the company would not be ready for the transition and asking his office to closely monitor the situation.
Amtrak says VRE CEO Dale Zehner met with Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman on Thursday and asked him to extend the current operations contract with VRE.
“Mr. Zehner asked Amtrak to continue operating VRE service for at least several weeks beyond the scheduled transition date,” said Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm.
VRE could not be reached for comment Thursday, but earlier this month the firm said Keolis was on track to meet the transition deadline. VRE officials are expected to address the pending transition Friday morning at a monthly operations meeting in Woodbridge.
Boardman said they would consider continuing VRE operations and stated that if Keolis is unable to meet the transition deadline VRE should rebid the contract, said Kulm.
Keolis recently conducted a nationwide search for new conductors and engineers to replace VRE’s contracted Amtrak employees.
The jobs were initially offered to Amtrak employees already working on VRE’s lines, with Keolis offering them a similar financial package, VRE reported.
The commuter rail agency had hoped to retain at least 70 percent of the Amtrak workforce. However, one Amtrak employee agreed to work for the French company in its first effort to operate trains in the U.S.
While a Keolis representative did not say Tuesday how many of the 45 workers they still needed to hire by June 28, he did say they are “on target and actively hiring people for the jobs.” Keolis could not be reached for comment Thursday.
After hiring their train maintenance staff last fall, published reports show the contracted agency has hired 15 conductors and 15 engineers.
Most of the newly hired workers come from New Jersey, as that state’s transportation agency continues to cut jobs, according to published reports.
The newly hired employees will be working on rail lines belonging to three other companies, including Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern.
“Norfolk Southern will provide classroom instruction in our rules and procedures, and administer the appropriate rules examination to Keolis personnel who will be operating VRE trains on our territory,” said NS spokeswoman Robin Chapman.
CSX, which owns VRE’s Fredericksburg line, and Amtrak, which owns the rail line VRE operates in Washington, will have to administer similar training.
VRE expects to save $1.2 million a year with the Keolis contract, which comes with two five-year renewal options. It marks the first time in VRE’s 17-year history Amtrak has not been charged with operating and maintaining VRE trains.