(The Albany Times-Union posted the following editorial on its website on November 11.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — The sudden ousting of Amtrak President David Gunn comes as yet another reminder of how determined the Bush administration is to dismantle the national passenger railroad. Congress needs to prevent that from happening, for the good of the Northeast, which depends heavily on rail commuter traffic, and the nation, which needs a national rail network as never before. Rail travel helps reduce highway travel and the air pollution that accompanies it. It also helps reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil — a dependence that is now costing Americans more money than ever as gasoline prices remain high.
Until recently, it seemed as if Mr. Gunn was the right man for turning Amtrak around. Just last September, he had been getting good marks from Amtrak’s board president, David Laney, who told a Senate subcommittee that Mr. Gunn was doing a “splendid job.” The numbers backed up that glowing assessment. Amtrak had $120 million in operating cash at the end of its fiscal year, Sept. 30, despite losing millions of dollars in revenue after brake problems forced the railroad to cancel its high-speed Acela service for the summer.
But then the board voted to carve out Amtrak’s profitable Northeast corridor — from Boston to New York City to Washington — and place it under the control of a subsidiary. That was in keeping with the Bush administration objective of breaking up the railroad, and Mr. Laney, a Bush appointee, is obviously aiding in that effort.
Not Mr. Gunn, who saw the board’s vote for what it was and objected. On Wednesday, he repeated his views in an interview with The New York Times: “Obviously, what their goal is — and it’s been their goal from the beginning — is to liquidate the company.”
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., puts it more starkly: “The policy difference is that the board wants to kill Amtrak and Gunn wants it to prosper. It’s that simple.”
There’s no question that Amtrak couldn’t survive without federal subsidies, but that is no reason for the White House to try to shrink budget deficits and pay for the costly war in Iraq on the backs of rail travelers. Fortunately, the Senate has recognized Amtrak’s value by approving $11.6 billion for the railroad over the next six years, under an authorization bill sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. Earlier this year, the House approved $1.2 billion for Amtrak for the 2006 fiscal year.
While a conference committee will have to reconcile the two measures, Congress must send a strong message to the White House that while Mr. Gunn might be gone, Amtrak won’t be next.