DOT News Masthead

DOT 60-02 
Saturday, June 22, 2002 
Contact: Chet Lunner
Tel: (202) 309-1787     


Secretary Mineta Calls for Emergency AMTRAK Board Meeting

U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta today called on Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn, and Board Chairman John Robert Smith to assemble the passenger rail company’s Board of Directors in an emergency session.

“Amtrak’s profound financial crisis requires the full and immediate attention of its Board of Directors.  Accordingly, I have called on its President and Chairman of the Board to immediately convene an emergency session to review options to avoid a systemwide shutdown,” said Secretary Mineta.

  In testimony before the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee last Thursday, Gunn warned that he would begin an “orderly shutdown” of Amtrak on Wednesday, June 26 unless an additional $200 million was made available to Amtrak by early next week.   DOT officials and others found Gunn’s testimony alarming, since it described a significant acceleration of deadlines reported to the Board of Directors as recently as three weeks ago.

  Since any decision to shut down operations rests with Amtrak's Board of Directors, Secretary Mineta asked that the Board be assembled to discuss whether, how and to what extent the Department of Transportation can provide emergency financial assistance. Secretary Mineta also called on Congress to be prepared to take action.

“The Administration is not interested in allowing Amtrak to shut down,” Secretary Mineta said. “But Amtrak must face the reality that difficult decisions need to be made and fundamental management changes need to take place to keep the company alive. We want Amtrak to succeed, not merely survive from crisis to crisis. ”

In a speech last week, Secretary Mineta outlined the Bush Administration’s long-term policy on intercity passenger rail service, which calls for 5 principles for reform:

  1. Create a system driven by sound economics.
  2. Require that Amtrak transition to a pure operating company (without federal subsidies for operating costs).
  3. Introduce carefully managed competition to provide higher quality rail service at reasonable prices.
  4. Establish a long-term partnership between states and the federal government to support intercity passenger rail service.
  5. Create an effective public partnership, after a reasonable transition, to manage the capital assets of the Northeast Corridor.

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