(The following story was published in the January 7 issue of The Business Review, Albany.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Amtrak President David Gunn met with state Transportation Commissioner Joseph Boardman Monday in an attempt to smooth over friction between the state and the passenger rail service.
The meeting between the two men had been scheduled for several weeks, but state officials sought to keep the meeting quiet in order to avoid inflaming tensions, one transportation department official said.
The two sides are disputing the timetable for putting seven Turboliners, refurbished by the state, into service, and an Amtrak request for state aid to cover losses of about $50 million a year on service in New York.
In November, Boardman wrote a blistering letter to Amtrak Chairman John Robert Smith outlining the state’s complaints about Amtrak, and made the letter public.
Putting high speed trains in service on the Empire Corridor has been a priority for the state. Amtrak officials, though, say they need more spare parts, crew training time, and documentation before the trains, which were refurbished at SuperSteel Schenectady, can be used.