WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators have stepped up safety oversight of Amtrak because of the deteriorating financial condition of the nation’s only city-to-city passenger rail service, a wire service reports.
The Federal Railroad Administration, which oversees rail safety, said on Monday it began watching Amtrak more closely in February after the railroad announced a $285 million austerity plan to stem red ink and cut 1,000 jobs.
“Regulators are just making sure they are doing what they said they would do,” Robert Gould, an FRA spokesman, said of Amtrak’s promises budget cuts would not compromise safety.
“We have not seen anything to indicate any systemic problem,” Gould said. “We would be remiss if we didn’t do this. It is a unique situation Amtrak finds itself in.”
The railroad’s financial picture remains bleak after losing $1.1 billion in 2001. Amtrak’s future is in the hands of Congress, which is debating whether to restructure the rail service or give it more operating subsidies.
No accidents, including the deadly derailment of the Auto Train 10 days ago in Florida, have been blamed on any safety deficiency at Amtrak, authorities said.
Amtrak said it has a strong safety record but acknowledged a spike in safety rule violations this month. Many of the 20 infractions recorded so far in April occurred in stations or yards, Amtrak spokesman Bill Schulz said.
In one case, a train ran a red signal at Washington’s Union Station and destroyed a track switch. Amtrak could not confirm a report the engineer had fallen asleep.
Safety infractions average about 11 per month. Some months they range between seven and nine violations, while others average between 16 and 20, Schulz said. There were 18 in January, but nine in February and eight in March.
“It’s not unusual for regulators to step up monitoring when looking at a railroad’s financial condition and business transactions,” Schulz said. “Our focus on safety remains as strong as ever.”
Beginning in May, Amtrak will launch “safety blitzes” with employees who work in jobs where safety must be considered. Schulz said managers will remind workers about the importance of being attentive and alert.
The railroad has saved $285 million in recent months by eliminating jobs, deferring capital projects, and cutting other spending. Those cuts included a reduction in station hours and certain corporate expenses.
Amtrak has also reduced the number of locomotive crew on some trains, but Schulz said Amtrak remains within the scope of federal safety and labor rules regarding train staffing.
A bill introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Jack Quinn, a New York Republican and chairman of the House transportation subcommittee on railroads, would provide Amtrak with $2 billion in aid for operating, capital, security expenses and tunnel improvement projects.
That proposal would sustain Amtrak until late next year. In the meantime, Congress and the Bush administration would consider a broad passenger rail strategy.
Amtrak has told Congress it cannot maintain current services unless lawmakers provided subsidies well beyond the $521 million proposed in the White House budget for fiscal 2003, which begins next October.
Last week, Amtrak named veteran transit executive David Gunn as its new president and chief executive. Gunn, who headed transit agencies in New York, Toronto and Washington, D.C., before joining Amtrak, has a history of turning around troubled transportation services.
Gunn said that he believed Amtrak, which has never made money in its 31-year history, could be salvaged with appropriate government help.