(Amtrak issued the following news release on July 28.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak President David L. Gunn made the following statement in reaction to a plan announced today by the Bush administration to restructure passenger rail service:
“Amtrak wasn’t asked to work on developing the plan and hasn’t been consulted or briefed on it. Consequently, we’ll withhold commenting until such time as we are briefed.
“That said, we expect the administration to continue a responsible course of action supporting Amtrak’s present operations, capital projects and improved efficiency and service. At the same time, Amtrak will continue its critical mission and responsibility to serve our passengers and run the railroad.
“While federal policymakers and others debate the structure and funding of passenger rail service, Amtrak will continue to do its job. That’s why we will continue to put every effort into securing the $1.8 billion in federal support needed next year to fund the capital projects that are needed right now to run safely and reliably.
“The importance of spending money on capital projects immediately cannot be overstated. Two weeks ago, aging catenary wires fell apart in New York. This one incident resulted in a 24-hour service disruption between New York and Boston. Years of deferred maintenance also resulted in the loss of two AEM-7 electric engines. While we are aggressively rebuilding our AEM-7s, they are failing almost as fast as they can be rebuilt. Two moveable bridges in Connecticut dating from the early 1900s — the Thames River and the Niantic River bridges — are in danger of failing, and if they do, it will stop service between New Haven and Boston until they are fixed or replaced.
“The gravity of this immediate need to maintain Amtrak’s operational reliability vastly overshadows any debate over the plan introduced today. As a practical matter, the Bush administration, which is represented on Amtrak’s board of directors, has averted crisis over the past 12 months, even when this approach has taken us to the 11th hour. Acting in the best interest of millions of rail passengers in the short term while the long-term policy debate evolves is a goal to which all parties — the administration, Congress and Amtrak — should adhere.”