Straight Track #100

Amtrak On The Edge

U.S. Rail News
Vol. 25 No. 3
Published January 30, 2002

U.S. Rail News, in Vol. 25 No. 3 published January 30, 2002, wrote the following article on the future of Amtrak.

AMTRAK ON THE EDGE: Lawsuit Tries To Stop Reform Council While Freight Rail Eyes Opportunities

The impending breakup of Amtrak prompted a labor union lawsuit last week and reports that major freight railroads are thinking about getting into the passenger rail business. 

Eleven unions filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington Jan. 22 to block the Amtrak Reform Council's planned recommendation to Congress that the national passenger railroad's routes should be turned into franchises operated by private contractors.

The reform council developed the recommendation at its Jan. 11 meeting and is putting it in final form before delivering it to Congress by the due date of Feb. 7. Congress intends to use the recommendation as a guideline for determining Amtrak's fate.

The lawsuit seeks a restraining order against the reform council and its recommendation to break up Amtrak. The unions, all members of the AFL-CIO's transportation trades department, say in their lawsuit that the reform council:

• Failed in their obligation to consider a Transportation Department inspector general's report on Amtrak;

• Exceeded their authority with the recommendation to break up Amtrak;

• Made decisions reserved to the executive branch of government despite being authorized only by the legislative branch.

Charles Moneypenny, a reform council member and representative of the Transportation Workers Union, raised similar objections during the reform council meetings. The TWU is one of the unions that filed the lawsuit last week.

Reform Council's Authority Questioned

"Instead of providing an objective assessment of Amtrak's operations and finances as Congress intended, the ARC has long pursued an ideological agenda to dismember and then sell off Amtrak to private interests," said Mark Filipovic, chairman of the Rail Labor Division of the transportation trades division, AFL-CIO.

The reform council's attorney responded that the lawsuit lacked merit and should be dismissed.

The 1997 law that organized the reform council gave it authority to propose that Amtrak be "restructured" if it could not operate self-sufficiently by December 2, 2002. The Transportation Department is preparing a study of Amtrak's projected finances through fiscal year 2002. The reform council decided to proceed with a recommendation because they said during a meeting that they knew what the report would say based on information already available. 

The recommendation envisions Amtrak as no more than another competitor for the franchises to operate passenger rail. It might also act as the management company that oversees the franchise contracts and operations.

However, Amtrak's infrastructure and policy-making decisions would be turned over to state and federal government agencies.

The likelihood of Amtrak's routes becoming franchising operations has not been overlooked by freight railroads. Recently, Byron Boyd Jr., president of the United Transportation Union, said he learned that both Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railroad have started market studies "to determine how and under what circumstances they might again operate passenger trains." Boyd is seeking a railroad summit on passenger rail in case Congress breaks up Amtrak later this year.

Amtrak's Loss Could Be Others' Gain

The railroads will not disclose details of any plans, which they say would be premature. They acknowledge that they are looking at possible changes in the industry because of Amtrak's problems.

Until Congress organized Amtrak in 1971, several freight railroads also operated passenger rail. Norfolk Southern’s predecessor, for example, ran the successful Southern Crescent between Washington and New Orleans.

The opening of Amtrak's routes to the highest bidder also is fueling support for a high-speed rail consortium among nine Midwestern states. They would use Chicago as a hub and operate passenger trains to surrounding cities, such as St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit and Minneapolis. High-speed trains between Chicago and Detroit, for example, could cut two hours off the travel time, according to supporters within the state transportation departments. 

Contact: Mark Filipovic, transportation trades department, at (202) 628-9262.

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