NEW YORK — According to the Financial Times, at least four potential bidders have expressed an interest in operating routes or service contracts for Amtrak, the US passenger railway, according to a federal watchdog.
The Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) will this week report to Congress that Connex – a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal – and GB Railways Group said they would consider bidding for service contracts.
ARC is set to present on Thursday its restructuring plan that would hand control of Amtrak’s tracks and infrastructure to the US government, while allowing for the privatisation of its passenger train operations.
Stagecoach Group, a Scottish railway company, and Railway Service Corporation, a Delaware-based company, have also indicated that they would bid for service contracts, according to an ARC spokeswoman.
ARC was created in 1997 when Congress authorised a five-year spending plan for Amtrak and set a goal for it to become operationally self-sufficient by the end of 2002. ARC is to present a proposal to restructure Amtrak if it believes that goal will not be met. It plans to recommend the eventual privatisation of its routes.
However, Amtrak on Friday threatened to shut down all unprofitable routes in October unless it gets more money. George Warrington, Amtrak chief executive, said the company needs $1.2bn from Congress for 2003, or it could no longer operate long-distance services.
Amtrak plans to cut 1,000 jobs from its 24,600 workforce, freeze new expenditure and defer $175m in spending for upgrades and equipment maintenance.
Mr Warrington warned that a $5.8bn investment was needed and the scheduled $521m for this year would only allow for running the North-east Corridor route from Washington DC to Boston, one of the few profitable lines.