DOT Urges Amtrak Cost Cuts Options

[BillMagee]

Secretary Mineta sent a letter to Amtrak CEO David Gunn warning of an impending cash crisis and urging immediate cost cuts.

The DOT release is HERE.

[KevinKorell]

Well so far we have seen the curtailment of cafe service on the Empire Corridor trains south of Albany.


Any ideas about what goes next ??

[jis]

Well so far we have seen the curtailment of cafe service on the Empire Corridor trains south of Albany.

Any ideas about what goes next ??

Downgrade of First Class food service on NEC has already happened too.

[NickG]

Closing of some or all ClubAcela/Metropolitan Lounge/Magnolia Room locations

Reducing the number of Redcaps working at a station at any one time

Reducing the hours of the telephone customer service centers

No more free soda in business class (assuming the cafe cars are still open on the Regionals)

A temporary suspension of the Service Guarantee program (oh wait, they already got rid of that...)

Cancelling the Sunset Limited and buying affected pax an airline ticket instead (gosh, I hope that wouldn't actually save money)

Firing all Amtrak administrative staff and having all decisions be made by Julie instead

As you can see, I don't have many (serious) ideas to offer. Please, continue to brainstorm.

[KevinKorell]

I hope this doesn't happen, but either suspending the Guest Rewards program or increasing the number of points needed for the particular travel rewards.

[ICGsteve]

There are not many ways to save significant cash between now and the next FY. A few possibilites;

Lay off about 1/2 of managment

Offer all workers the summer off and pay their insurance and pension as a carrot

suspend all summer hire programs

Stop ordering parts

Suspend all baggage services, including redcap-work with the unions to reasign those workers.

On routes with multible trains, cut one

depending on how the contracts are written, maybe default on the lease payments for the equitment, for sure default on Acela payments-hope that those who own the Amtrak loco's and cars go along.

Gunn has been claiming for two years that his rolling on every railroad demand is proof of the fine working relationship between the railroads and Amtrak- that being the case I am sure that Amtrak can stop making payments to the railroads for the rest of the FY and they will continue to carry Amtrak. Right ?

[CNJRoss]

Washington Business Journal, 5/26:

Amtrak claims it's running out of cash

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says Amtrak may be broke by September.

Mineta says the passenger railroad should cut its costs now to keep trains running. Amtrak might use up its money before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30 because $60 million in reserve funds controlled by the Department of Transportation might not be available.

Earlier this month Amtrak President David Gunn told a Senate committee that Amtrak may have just $20 million by year's end because cancellations of the troubled Acela high-speed trains are costing the railroad $1.25 million a week. Without the government's contribution, Amtrak could wind up with as much as $40 million in red ink.

Continue here. (Registration to any regional Business Journal may be required.)

[WoodstockBill]

With all the sense that our admisinstration has, I wonder why they did not suggest cutting costs by running trains in only one direction.