(The News Journal published the following story by Murali Balaji on its website on July 30.)
WILMINGTON, Del. — The government corporation would retain the Amtrak name, while the other two companies would not.
President Bush’s plan to divide Amtrak into three companies and put more of the onus of funding on states could spell the end of the national rail carrier, members of the Delaware congressional delegation said Tuesday.
If the six-year plan is approved, states such as Delaware would be forced to take on a chunk of the $1 billion annual operating costs of Amtrak, which is subsidized by the federal government. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., oppose the plan, saying it would have a negative impact on Delaware and national rail transportation.
Bush said the proposal, which was sent to Congress on Monday, will increase competition among private railroad operators and end the federal government’s annual support for Amtrak.
Amtrak President David Gunn was not consulted on the six-year plan, and he has said it ignores the company’s short-term needs like electrical and bridge upgrades, particularly on the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor.
Castle said he was concerned that Gunn was not included in discussions and said the plan lacked the foresight to be an effective solution to problems with national rail transportation, which has been been under federal control since 1971.
“The expectations are beyond the reality to deliver,” Castle said Tuesday. “This was not well-crafted or thought out to consider the impact on passenger rail in America.”
Castle said that while he agreed high-cost rail lines with low ridership needed to be looked at for cuts, the plan does little to address the need for Amtrak to upgrade services, particularly on its Northeast and California lines, which are popular for business travelers.
Carper criticized the proposed legislation for lacking information on how much the Amtrak division would cost and said passenger rail would be hurt if the plan is approved.
According to Amtrak, 695,100 people used the Wilmington Station to access Amtrak from Oct. 1, 2001, to Sept. 30, 2002. More recent figures on ridership will not be available until the fall.
Carper said the proposal failed to “guarantee Amtrak a predictable capital funding source,” which he said would deny “passenger rail the strong financial footing the U.S. government provides highways and aviation projects.”
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner is concerned about the impact the proposal would have on Amtrak employees in the state, as well as how much of a financial burden the state would assume, Spokeswoman Kate Bailey said.
The Bush administration is planning to allocate $900 million in fiscal year 2004 for Amtrak’s rail network of 46 states and 22,000 miles of track. The funding is less than half of what Amtrak had been seeking to keep up with increased operations and security costs.