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Dec 10, 1970.
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Miscellaneous News Briefs
The Coast Starlight’s on-time performance has improved a great deal since Union Pacific completed the track work it was doing in Oregon. The Pacific Parlour cars on the Coast Starlight will probably be eliminated. Only one is running at present, while the rest are in storage with various problems. The State of Texas has agreed to help subsidize the Heartland Flyer, making its future more secure. Chances for reinstatement of the New Orleans-Florida leg of the Sunset Limited seem to be dim. Congressional Democrats have called for the federal DOT to investigate whether the Amtrak Board of Directors is adequately carrying out its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. With Congress in recess, Amtrak is now operating under a continuing resolution, which keeps them at their current level of funding until Congress returns to pass a final transportation budget. Amtrak President Kummant announced he will be traveling around the Amtrak system checking out the operations. Illinois will receive added Amtrak service starting October 30 An Amtrak spokesman told the press that the rail corporation
plans to add service that the state of Illinois has requested on three
routes out of Chicago, to Quincy, Carbondale and Springfield. This will
happen at the fall timetable change on October 30.
Amtrak President Kummant: Another Roger Lewis? Amtrak's first president, Roger Lewis, was told by President Nixon that his role was to facilitate the orderly demise of the passenger train in America. As Alexander Kummant takes the reins of our national rail passenger corporation, the question is being asked whether he has been installed by Amtrak's Board to further the aims of the present Administration in killing off Amtrak. Early in 1974, when Amtrak was less than three years old, a major grassroots campaign began to oust Lewis, under whose leadership Amtrak was going nowhere. Lewis even tried to turn down increased funding from Congress. At that time NARP told the White House that "Lewis should be replaced with someone committed to the goal of modern passenger service and who has a background of solid achievement and experience in the railroad business" (Lewis came from the airline industry). Critics now are looking at Kummant's background and noting that the Amtrak presidency is the seventh job he has held since 1998 and most of them have been outside the railroad industry and none related to passenger railroading. Respected transportation editor Frank Wilner commented that "Kummant hops from job to job and around the globe as if tethered to a pogo stick." Wilner also pointed out that there probably will be a lot of "bloodletting" at Amtrak "and that is best achieved by someone having no friends within the organization." It seemed strange that Kummant offered no interviews upon his appointment. What would he have to say? Kummant is this week testifying for Amtrak before Congress. Can he show himself as "someone committed to the goal of modern railroad passenger service" and claim "solid achievement and experience in the railroad business" as was demanded of Amtrak's second president (who was Paul Reistrup)? Kummant did work for Union Pacific for 3 1/2 years, much of that time in industrial products. Time will tell whether Kummant is on the
side of passenger train users or whether he is merely a stooge for the
anti-train Administration and was appointed because of his large political
contributions to Bush. Will we hear "You're doing a heckuva job, Alex!"
Amtrak appoints new President & CEO Amtrak acknowledges Starlight problems Refuting some myths about long-distance train travel Amtrak reaches age 35 Tunnel work is disrupting Coast Starlight service in Southern California VIA's CANADIAN is back partially on Canadian Pacific rails Amtrak funding action in the Senate Spring-summer schedule changes for St. Louis-Kansas City coming Killing Amtrak slowly from within
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