BOSTON — Four months after becoming acting chairman for beleaguered Amtrak, former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis stepped down yesterday, nominating a southern Republican to replace him – a move aimed at drawing more funding and political support from the Bush administration, the Boston Globe reports.
Dukakis had replaced former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who resigned the chairmanship in May to become health and human services secretary in the Bush administration.
Dukakis became chairman at one of the rail line’s most tumultuous times, with Amtrak supporters asking for a multibillion dollar federal bailout as it missed a deadline to become self-sufficient. A reform group recently recommended that Amtrak’s lines be privatized.
In 1998, Dukakis became vice chairman of Amtrak’s new reform board and quickly became a crusader for better service. He was at the forefront of promoting Amtrak’s popular high-speed Acela trains, insisting that faster, more frequent trains could help eliminate congestion on the roads and in the air.
Dukakis will now resume his role as the Amtrak board’s vice chairman.
John Robert Smith, Amtrak’s new chairman and the mayor of Meridien, Miss., since 1993, has been a member of the railroad’s board since 1998. He was unanimously voted in as chairman.
The election of Smith, a Republican, as Amtrak chairman is viewed as an attempt to build support for the ailing rail line beyond its largely Northeastern and Democratic supporters. But like Dukakis, Smith faces a host of challenges in leading the rail line: Amtrak is cutting 1,000 jobs – many at maintenance yards and small train stations – and has threatened to eliminate 18 long-distance routes this fall if Congress does not dramatically increase funding.
Amtrak’s Boston-to-Portland ”Downeaster” service, one of its newest and fastest-growing lines, appears to be safe from the budget axe.
Amtrak spokesman Bill Schulz said the layoffs are hitting about 200 employees at 85 stations around the country, all of which are served by two or fewer trains per day. Hours of operation at those stations will be reduced beginning March 1. About 225 workers at Amtrak’s Beech Grove maintenance yard in Indianapolis are being let go, as are about 175 workers at two yards in Wilmington, Del. About 100 office and support personnel throughout the company are also losing their jobs.
Amtrak is also eliminating some 300 management positions. About 100 were cut Feb. 1, Schulz said, and the rest will be cut shortly.