(Bloomberg News circulated the following article on November 10.)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s board fired chief executive David Gunn, who has clashed with the Bush administration over plans to end losses at the US passenger railroad that have totaled more than $1 billion a year.
Chief engineer David Hughes will serve as acting president and chief executive during a search for a new leader, Amtrak said yesterday. Gunn had led the railroad since May 2002.
”Amtrak’s future now requires a different type of leader,” chairman David Laney said. ”The need to bring fundamental change to Amtrak is greater and more urgent than ever.”
The railroad, which uses government aid to cover 40 percent of its costs, has relied on congressional support to counter pressure from President Bush for changes such as giving states authority over parts of its route system. The Amtrak board’s four voting members are Bush appointees.
”I am very disappointed,” said Senator Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican who chairs a subcommittee that oversees Amtrak. ”Today’s action is a step backward.”
Amtrak got $1.2 billion in federal subsidies in the year ended Sept. 30. Bush has proposed just $360 million this year unless Amtrak makes the changes he has sought. Congress hasn’t yet decided on an amount.
Net losses were $1.31 billion in the fiscal year that ended in September 2004, $1.27 billion the previous year, and $1.13 billion the year before that. Amtrak hasn’t reported results yet for the year that ended this past September.
The Government Accountability Office last week criticized Amtrak’s operations, prompting Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to say he would tighten financial oversight.