Superliner Diner
Conductor
A message from Amtrak President David Gunn
Dear Amtrak Co-worker:
As you know, we have been focusing on bringing stability to our company and to begin to rebuild our plant and equipment. On September 20, the Board of Directors approved our FY03 budget at $1.2 billion. Even though Congress has not completed its work on the FY03 budget, and it may take many months for them to do so, I had to get a budget set and get to work on the maintenance projects.
Most importantly, in our FY03 capital and operating plan, we are planning to repair about 26 pieces of wrecked and damaged equipment. The work is starting now at Bear and Beech Grove. We should get about 16 pieces of Superliner equipment back in service by the end of FY03. These cars will create essentially two new long-distance trainsets. At Bear, we will repair 10 damaged single-level cars needed on our Corridor operations. We will also be making critical investments to our infrastructure, including construction of a new locomotive facility in Oakland, California. Groundbreaking is next week.
We are struggling to stay within a very tight budget. I wish I had another $200 million because I could move ahead faster on additional equipment repair and reinvestment in our plant. However, we will do the best with what we have and squeeze every penny out of each dollar.
We have called back almost 50 people to our Delaware car shop and will call back 46 at Beech Grove. We are working closely with the unions to try and get their cooperation on how the work will be managed, particularly at Beech Grove. If we achieve cooperation, we will be hiring back many more employees. It is very important that our production lines are efficient, and produce on schedule and on budget. We are being watched very closely by a number of organizations, some of whom expect us to fail; but if we can deliver what we promised through our budget, it will help us in Congress and with the Administration. So I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to continue to work safely and efficiently. I have confidence in you.
A number of you have asked my thoughts on last week's election. My view is fairly simple. Regardless of who controls Congress, no one will support an inefficient operation, but they will support a businesslike, professional company. So while our friends change, our issues and challenges remain the same. I will be traveling around the system on a number of trains this week and next and maybe a couple of thruway buses. Let's all keep working hard because, in the end, that's what will make the real difference.
Respectfully,
David L. Gunn
Dear Amtrak Co-worker:
As you know, we have been focusing on bringing stability to our company and to begin to rebuild our plant and equipment. On September 20, the Board of Directors approved our FY03 budget at $1.2 billion. Even though Congress has not completed its work on the FY03 budget, and it may take many months for them to do so, I had to get a budget set and get to work on the maintenance projects.
Most importantly, in our FY03 capital and operating plan, we are planning to repair about 26 pieces of wrecked and damaged equipment. The work is starting now at Bear and Beech Grove. We should get about 16 pieces of Superliner equipment back in service by the end of FY03. These cars will create essentially two new long-distance trainsets. At Bear, we will repair 10 damaged single-level cars needed on our Corridor operations. We will also be making critical investments to our infrastructure, including construction of a new locomotive facility in Oakland, California. Groundbreaking is next week.
We are struggling to stay within a very tight budget. I wish I had another $200 million because I could move ahead faster on additional equipment repair and reinvestment in our plant. However, we will do the best with what we have and squeeze every penny out of each dollar.
We have called back almost 50 people to our Delaware car shop and will call back 46 at Beech Grove. We are working closely with the unions to try and get their cooperation on how the work will be managed, particularly at Beech Grove. If we achieve cooperation, we will be hiring back many more employees. It is very important that our production lines are efficient, and produce on schedule and on budget. We are being watched very closely by a number of organizations, some of whom expect us to fail; but if we can deliver what we promised through our budget, it will help us in Congress and with the Administration. So I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to continue to work safely and efficiently. I have confidence in you.
A number of you have asked my thoughts on last week's election. My view is fairly simple. Regardless of who controls Congress, no one will support an inefficient operation, but they will support a businesslike, professional company. So while our friends change, our issues and challenges remain the same. I will be traveling around the system on a number of trains this week and next and maybe a couple of thruway buses. Let's all keep working hard because, in the end, that's what will make the real difference.
Respectfully,
David L. Gunn
