WASHINGTON — Amtrak said on Wednesday it would need up to $10 billion in federal subsidies over the next five years to run its network of trains and repair its crumbling infrastructure, reported Reuters.
Amtrak President David Gunn, positioning the national passenger railroad for the upcoming debate with Congress and the Bush administration on its long-term future, also called the government’s view of Amtrak a series of myths. Speaking to the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting, Gunn forcefully criticized the Transportation Department’s broad outline for passenger rail as thoughtless and inadequate.
“We need some leadership out of the federal government,” Gunn told the nation’s mayors at their annual winter meeting. “They have no policy. There is no planning.”
The Bush administration has outlined a long-term plan that would break up Amtrak, a money loser for three decades, and open up some of its routes to private competition.
“There is no one in the private sector dying to take over Amtrak,” Gunn said of the nation’s only city-to-city passenger rail service, which is nearly $4 billion in debt.
He said it would never be profitable and is not an attractive investment for private investors now.
“There is no quick fix. It’s going to take time and money, unless you just want to destroy the company and put it into bankruptcy,” he said.
WARNING
Amtrak has warned Congress it would start shutting down service this spring if lawmakers did not agree to its funding request of $1.2 billion for this fiscal year.
“This is just to keep the system operating safely,” said Amtrak Chairman John Robert Smith.
House and Senate leaders will decide the funding question during negotiations on a larger government funding bill still under Senate consideration. That chamber has approved $1.2 billion for Amtrak, while the House has drawn the line at $762 million. Gunn said he was confident Congress would give Amtrak what it wants to operate through September. But he added that the solution beyond that involved incremental steps. For instance, he said Amtrak can save hundreds of thousands of dollars though accounting efficiencies, changing train schedules and eliminating unprofitable business ventures. Some of those steps have already been taken.
He also said heavy federal subsidies are essential for operations, maintenance, and repairs of more than 100 cars that are out of service.
Nothing has been formally proposed yet to lawmakers, who are expected to take up legislation this year to preserve Amtrak for another five years or initiate a restructuring.
Gunn said up to $2 billion per year over that time would be needed to fully fund operations and capital improvements, especially on the flagship Northeast Corridor.
“With some stability, we can make the thing a lot better,” Gunn said.