October 17, 2005

Amtrak Board Spins off Northeast Corridor: Conference Urges Senate to Show Support for National System by Supporting $1.45 Billion in FY06

Intercity Rail Integral to Evacuation Planning

By Ron Thaniel

The Amtrak Board of Directors, under the leadership of Chair David M. Laney reversed course September 22 and voted to split the railroad’s heavily traveled Northeast Corridor (NEC) service into a separate subsidiary that would take title to Amtrak’s NEC infrastructure. This news had not been released publicly.

The decision by the Amtrak Board of Directors reverses its own statement in April with the release of its Strategic Reform Initiative opposing the separation of the NEC management and infrastructure. The Board said, “Amtrak has reviewed various proposals to separate the management of the NEC operations and infrastructure, but concluded that complexities and risk of separation outweigh the benefits, therefore that such a separation is not advisable at this time.”

In a letter to the House and Senate leadership, Conference President Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill wrote, “We have grave concerns that the ‘risk of separation’ that just months earlier was ‘not advisable’ could wreak havoc on economies from Washington (DC) to Boston.”

“Even a temporary disruption of intercity rail operations along the NEC would overwhelm our already congested metropolitan areas,” wrote O’Neill.

Furthermore, “as the nation witnessed on September 11, 2001 and again with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, metropolitan areas need mass evacuation options and it is clear to The United States Conference of Mayors that intercity passenger rail systems operating as an integrated whole is an important component of the evacuation plan,” noted O’Neill.

O’Neill urged Congress to immediately begin hearings on this action by the Amtrak Board.

Conference Urges Senate to Support $1.45 Billion for Amtrak

Also this week, in a letter to the Senate, O’Neill urged members to retain at least $1.45 billion for Amtrak as they begin consideration of the Fiscal Year 2006 Transportation-Treasury-HUD Appropriations bill.

O’Neill noted that “According to United States Department of Transportation Inspector General Kenneth Mead, Amtrak requires funding of $1.4 to $1.5 billion annually just to maintain existing operations.”

“Amtrak not only provides these critical services to major metropolitan areas but for many rural Americans, Amtrak represents the only major mass transportation link to the rest of the country,” wrote O’Neill.