(The Great Falls, Mont., Tribune posted the following Gannett News Service story on its website on February 13.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional negotiators agreed Wednesday to give Amtrak a little more than $1 billion to keep its trains running, less than what the company had asked for but more than its critics wanted to provide.
Amtrak officials, who were seeking $1.2 billion through Sept. 30, said it was too early to determine whether the proposed $1.05 billion would force a cutback in services. Amtrak President David Gunn had warned that anything less than $1.2 billion, which includes payback of a $100 million federal loan made last summer, could force a systemwide shutdown later this year.
But a company spokeswoman Wednesday night said officials still were examining the details of the agreement, part of a $397.4 billion spending bill that would complete the fiscal 2003 federal budget. The agreement now goes to the full Congress, which is expected to approve the compromise.
“We have no plans to shut down,” Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Van Veen said.
The agreement lists several financial steps that Amtrak would have to take to receive the money.
Grants to cover operating losses for each of Amtrak’s 18 long-distance lines could not be handed out to the financially ailing company until detailed financial information and revenue projections were provided to the administration. The administration has been particularly critical of those routes, some of which lose more than $200 per passenger.
The deal also calls for greater administration oversight by requiring Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to parcel out grants for operating and capital needs rather than just giving the financially struggling company a lump sum. Amtrak also would not be allowed under the plan to spend money on anything not included in its annual business plan.
Van Veen pointed out that many of the reforms spelled out in the agreement are steps Amtrak already has taken.
The agreement also calls for the administration to set aside a portion of the money to make sure transit trains using Amtrak rail or Amtrak dispatchers can continue operating in the event the company is forced to shut down.