Posted on 06/24/2002 11:40:18 AM PDT by gjpino
Bush Administration to Help Amtrak, Torricelli Says
Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said Monday afternoon Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta has assured him the Bush administration will help resolve Amtrak's financial crisis and prevent a shutdown, the Associated Press reported.
An Amtrak spokesman told Transport Topics the nation's passenger railroad derives more than $140 million a year from hauling mail and express freight. While there is some competition between Amtrak and trucks, there are also business partnerships between the railroad and most major less-than-truckload carriers.
In case of a shutdown, that freight would probably move to the highways, along with rail passengers, who would likely turn to their cars for transportation.
Mineta has called Amtrak’s board of directors to an emergency meeting for Monday in response to congressional warnings that inaction in the face of a shutdown threat could throw the New York region into chaos, AP said.
Amtrak President David Gunn recently said he would begin a shutdown of the railroad by the middle of this week if it could not obtain $200 million in financing.
Mineta said one option would be an emergency appropriation of $200 million from Congress, which controls the federal purse strings.
Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Torricelli and Jon Corzine of New Jersey, all Democrats, said Sunday that the crisis could be easily averted, AP said.
At a news conference in New York’s Pennsylvania Station, Torricelli said the problem threatens the economic infrastructure.
Mineta has also asked Congress to be prepared to take action on financing options if necessary for Amtrak.
Speaking on a television program, House Speaker Dennis Hastert did not say what Congress might do, but did criticize Amtrak for failing to correct money-losing policies, AP said.
Amtrak has not been able to obtain credit from its banks because of its poor financial condition, Reuters said.
By Transport Topics
I doubt this is true. Airlines, for one, pay "gate fees" at each airport they operate in. Where does this money go to, if not for infrastructure?
Second, where do all the fuel taxes, ticket taxes, etc etc they pay go? The general budget?
It would be more than a bit of chaos. It would create a real hardship. NJ commuters who used to travel by Path train from Newark into the World Trade Center are still dealing with the after effects of 9/11. Without that PATH station thousands of commuters who work downtown have been forced to travel up to Penn Station via NJ Transit trains, connect onto a subway at Penn and ride back downtown. Penn Station and commuting in general has been in a state of chaos here in NY for the last 9 months. Also affected would be commuters who take on the of many trains that travel along the Penn Station to Newark route and make the Newark Airport monorail connection.
Not just the baggage screening machines:
The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) must also hire 20,000 people by December 31 to screen passenger luggage for explosives, weapons and other dangerous items.
Congress federalized the airport screening process after the industry came under sharp criticism for security breaches, hiring convicts and cutting corners to save money.
Federal screeners must be US citizens and have a high school diploma, a GED or one year of previous experience as a screener. The jobs require 44 hours of classroom training - two to three times what private companies currently require - as well as 60 hours of on-the-job experience, and pay between $23,600 and $35,400.
excerpt from Brockton Enterprise (source: AP, June 24, 2002)
Hmmmm.....I wonder who's paying for this airline expense, which to a great degree was caused by the airlines doing a really lousy job with security.
There's a double standard at work here...AMTRAK is supposed to break even, but the airlines get this huge federal present for their incompetence?
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