Amtrak's David Gunn Fired

[Full Service]

By DEVLIN BARRETT
The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 9, 2005; 2:06 PM



WASHINGTON -- Amtrak's board of directors on Wednesday fired President David Gunn, saying the debt-laden rail carrier needs "a leader with vision and experience."

Gunn has struggled to maintain Amtrak service amid a sinking financial picture and a push by the White House and some in Congress to recraft it as a group of regional inter-city companies.


"Amtrak's future now requires a different type of leader who will aggressively tackle the company's financial, management and operational challenges," Amtrak Chairman David Laney said in a statement.

"The board approved a strategic plan in April that provides a blueprint for a stronger and more sustainable Amtrak. Now we need a leader with vision and experience to get the job done."

Rep. John Mica said Gunn was fired because of a clash over the board's vote in September to authorize splitting off the Northeast Corridor, an idea backed by the Bush administration. The corridor accounts for the largest share of the railroad's ridership.

"David Gunn bucked that idea, so that was the straw that broke the camel's back," said Mica, R-Fla. "He's a very capable operational manager, but he wasn't willing to go along with the dramatic changes that need to be made."

Gunn, who assumed the post in 2002 after having headed transit systems in New York City, Washington and Toronto, could not be reached for comment.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who has fought against a Bush administration effort to end subsidies for the struggling passenger rail service, praised Gunn as "a brilliant manager."

The senator called Gunn's removal "a crushing blow to Amtrak's hopes for success and reform."

Other lawmakers said Gunn had become a roadblock to overhauling national rail service.

"I am hopeful that new leadership can open the door for Amtrak to work closely with Congress to achieve meaningful reforms," said Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y.

Amtrak has never made money in its 34-year history and an operating loss of more than $550 million was expected for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The railroad has a debt of more than $3.5 billion.

The White House has called for an end to subsidies for Amtrak, but the House has approved an appropriation of nearly $1.2 billion for this budget year.

In recent months, Amtrak has been besieged by problems up and down the line, from equipment breakdowns to big-ticket budget woes.

Earlier this year, Amtrak suspended all high-speed Acela service between Washington, New York City, and Boston, due to cracks discovered in the brakes.

A report issued last week by the Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, said the company needs to improve the way it monitors performance and oversees its finances in order to reach firm financial footing.

"The company is likely to need outside help in developing a comprehensive approach to address internal control weaknesses and improve the financial information for management and external stakeholders," the report found.

The GAO recommended that the transportation secretary direct the Federal Railroad administrator to: require Amtrak to submit a plan laying out specifically how it will improve its financial operations; provide Amtrak with direction on how to do so; and monitor the railroad's performance and report to Congress on Amtrak's progress.

Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, who also sits on Amtrak's board, called the report "unusual, if not unprecedented, in the scope of its review and the severity of its indictment." He urged the board to "stop and take a fresh look on how to proceed in the face of this nonpartisan, objective report of systemic failure."





2005 Washington Post

[Tweetsiefireman]

To borrow a quote from W. Graham Claytor `Amtrak, we could see from the initial setup, was going to be an operation run by non-railroad people who were going to screw it up almost beyond redemption,'

[JCagle]

With the hiring of Alexander Kummant, a former UP Reigonal Vice President, in late August there could be at least a glimmer of hope that Amtrak will be able to turn things around. It's my personal beleif that if he is going to change things his first obstacle will be to make the system work as it should through whatever means necessary.  I don't know for certian, but I'd bet that the lawsuit filed against CSX could have been a move to show that he intends to get things right.
In my opinion, I feel that the service needs to run on time before it would become a transportation option that most of the public would consider as a viable option to get them where they are going. There are many nights when the Carolinian (# 79 New York to Charlotte) is hours late because of tie ups on CSX. With any form of travel delays are pretty much expected somewhere along the way at some point in time. Who hasn't been stuck in traffic because of an accident, or had a plane delayed because of storms? While we all know some delays are inevitable the delays faced by some travelers are more of a rule than an exception.
Today's American is all about time. We have meetings and appointments and commitments all the time and we zoom from one place to another in a race with the clock.  It seems we all have a place to be and then somewhere else waiting after we get done at point a. For this reason I can't see the average traveler chosing Amtrak over other modes of transportation. It may cost less to take Amtrak over flying for long distance travel, but time is money today as well.
Kummant should also listen to what the people that work for and ride Amtrak say about the service, and how it could be improved along with what they are doing right. Research into why people dont' ride could be just as important as pounding the pavement and pressing flesh for ideas too.
The biggest problem facing Kummant is figuring out how to run a railroad that borrows track and do it efficently and make it a pleasure for the traveler. Be it business or pleasure travel, no one wants to spend the day sitting at a red light waiting on a coal train to pass only to have the whole process repeat its self in half an hour.