Joe Boardman to Retire

[Mystic River Dragon]

Aaagh....Amtrak being Amtrak, they just might ask him. On the other hand, Mica and Harrison deserve each other--it might be an amusing battle of personalities if our trains' future wasn't at stake.

I forgot all about Ed Ellis when choosing my favorites--I would be happy with either Wick Moorman or Ed Ellis as Amtrak president.

I also like Palmland's idea of two leaders.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The CEO/EVP Operations Model is used by many Corporations and generally is an excellent way to run an organization.

I would like to see Brian Rosenwald as COO under a political savy CEO with Amtrak Joe Biden as Chairman of the Board.

Of course it'll Never happen because both would be excellent and the haters of Amtrak wouldn't allow it!

Look for a political hack to get the job,especially if the Republicans win the Presidency! ( maybe "Brownie" is available, he hasn't done much since Katrina!)

Modified because jis is right, Brian is too nice to be CEO in the Washington Snake-Pit burvis an excellent Railroader!

 

[dlagrua]

I guess that Joe Boardman did some good things but if you ask me the next president of Amtrak will be just another political hack looking to pacify congress to keep his/her job. Now that Boardman is leaving I want to see the next president pick up on Joe's promise to make the dining cars profitable; a feat that has never been accomplished in the entire history of railroading. Joe promised something that he knew was not possible, but it did keep congress off his back until he could get his retirement papers signed. Now the next presiedent must deal with it.

 

[jis]

I don't think Brian Rosenwald, the very nice guy that he is, would be a good CEO. He would be better as COO perhaps.

 

[neroden]

Just for your entertainment from Trains Magazine :

Hunter Harrison for President (of Amtrak)

I am just waiting for a certain someone to throw an apoplectic fit here.

I'm more laughing than anything else. Hunter Harrison is not a competent railroad manager. I know his type, because it's a very very common CEO type: he boosts the quarterly metrics by engaging in deferred maintenance, asset-stripping, and mistreating the employees; walks out while it still looks good; and leaves the mess for his successor to clean up. Mongeau and Jobin must have an interesting job right now.

Harrison wouldn't get involved in anything he couldn't asset-strip, and Amtrak doesn't have assets to strip (the whole company has first liens from the federal government, including specifically the rolling stock, buildings, and right-of-way). Amtrak also has so much deferred maintenance he can't very well add more.

This particular method of operation has been very popular in railroads in particular (dating back to before Jay Gould), and many of the Class I CEOs in the last 40 years have been cut from the same cloth. The high capital intensiveness of the business means that the deferred maintenance doesn't show up for *decades* and there are lots of assets to strip. It can make good money for stockholders *if* you know when to bail out.

But it's got nothing to do with managing a railroad.

Harrison's current hostile takeover move on NS is almost certain to be killed by the STB (which established a set of policies a few years back specifically designed to prevent such a merger), which makes me wonder why he's even trying; he apparently didn't bother to get competent legal advice before starting it. Either he has an angle which isn't obvious, or he's just an egomaniac.

----

Wick Moorman, if he wanted the job, would probably be a pretty good President of Amtrak. He seems to be somewhat *far seeing*, even if he didn't spot the death of coal.

Brian Rosenwald as COO makes much sense.

 

[neroden]

If you think Texas Mayors or local elected officials have any major clout at the state capital, I have that elusive bridge to sell to you, my friend.......

Interesting disconnect in Texas. I wonder how long it can last. Local elected officials have massive clout in most state capitals. (Frankly, in NY it sometimes seems like you can't get in the door to talk to people at the state capital unless you're a local elected official.)

 

[tonys96]

If you think Texas Mayors or local elected officials have any major clout at the state capital, I have that elusive bridge to sell to you, my friend.......

Interesting disconnect in Texas. I wonder how long it can last. Local elected officials have massive clout in most state capitals. (Frankly, in NY it sometimes seems like you can't get in the door to talk to people at the state capital unless you're a local elected official.)

In Texas, we actually have to pay for two different sets of lobbyists to represent municipalities at Austin. The Texas Municipal League (TML) and all cities over 40 or 50 thousand population usually hire their own lobbyists.

Frankly, in Texas is is a fact that you cannot get into an office in the capital unless you are a lobbyist or personally know your representative/senator. Or are on a field trip with a group that the politician can use as a photo op. I have firsthand knowledge of state senators refusing to meet with municipal delegations, when they are already predisposed to the topic that the locals want to talk with them about. Flat refusals..... :wacko:

How long can it last? It has been going on for about 20 years so far........

 

[jis]

The LD network can't be shut down, politically speaking. If it could have been, they would have done it in:

-- 1971 with the removal of private passenger rail service (pretty successful),

-- 1979 "Carter Cuts" (pretty successful),

-- 1997 (really a very successful attempt: taking most routes less than daily, AND running out of cash, with flatlined ridership -- with the Gingrich caucus in charge of the House of Representatives, too),

-- 2001 (attempt to run Amtrak out of money averted by Penn Station mortgage),

-- 2005 (routes lost due to new requirements removing old cars from service)

The 1997 attack was the closest the haters will ever get. It was very close to succeeding. Since then, ridership is way up, revenue is way up, state and local government support is way up, and there seems little chance of a CEO as damaging as Thomas Downs. A second attempt at the 1997 tactics would fail, and none of the other tactics worked as well as the 1997 tactics. (Also, gas prices will never be as low again as they were in 1997, and air travel will not be as convenient as it was then unless the security nonsense gets relaxed.)

The only error in this analysis is the assumption that Amtrak management was ever trying to shut the whole thing or even the LD part of it, down. I don't think that was ever the case. Never ascribe to malice what can be adequately explained by incompetence, inattention or even simple lack of resources, as far as Amtrak management is concerned. I have never seen any evidence of Amtrak management ever trying to shut the LD operation down as a whole, overtly or covertly. They have tended to try to keep things running as much as they can more or less competently.

I don't think the LD system or indeed all of Amtrak will survive if its management was carefully appointed with the marching orders to shut it down. That has never happened in the past. The closest it came to that was during the Stockman era, but they were unable to pack the Board sufficiently to have a material impact on the Amtrak executives and management sufficiently before Stockman was gone. People who think that cannot happen again at some point with much more lasting effect IMHO are living in a fool's paradise. it all depends on who gets elected to key positions, and that is why it is important to understand that it is quite possible to elect people who align with certain people's overall political philosophy that could destroy Amtrak as a side effect

 

[jis]

Harrison's current hostile takeover move on NS is almost certain to be killed by the STB (which established a set of policies a few years back specifically designed to prevent such a merger), which makes me wonder why he's even trying; he apparently didn't bother to get competent legal advice before starting it. Either he has an angle which isn't obvious, or he's just an egomaniac.

Harrison is on recor4d saying that he plans to wage a proxy battle to replace the Board of NS, and then have them appoint him the CEO. There is nothing non-obvious about that. Unless NS has managed to have some kind of a hidden poison pill somewhere that no one knows about, they are in for quite a ride for sure, irrespective of what the STB thinks about it.

 

[neroden]

Harrison is on recor4d saying that he plans to wage a proxy battle to replace the Board of NS, and then have them appoint him the CEO. There is nothing non-obvious about that. Unless NS has managed to have some kind of a hidden poison pill somewhere that no one knows about, they are in for quite a ride for sure, irrespective of what the STB thinks about it.

If he does that, he could get into serious trouble, up to and including criminal charges (though I doubt it would go that far). The STB now prohibits "actual control" by shared interests prior to STB approval; arrangements like "voting trusts" or the Santa Fe Southern Pacific corporate merger are *not permitted* for Class I mergers any more.
If Harrison elected any board member who had a connection to CP, the STB could take control over Norfolk Southern Railway out of the hands of the parent corporation. If he got himself appointed CEO, he'd either have to quit being CEO of CP, or (again) have the STB remove the railroad from his control. Even if the STB were willing to consider the merger, they would not be willing to accept a violation of their rules and attempted usurpation of their authority.

The legal analysis provided to NS by two former STB chairs basically said that Harrison is acting as if the STB was following its 20-year-old rules, but that the rules were quite explicitly changed several years ago specifically to prohibit what Harrison is trying to do. He's an idiot!

...or he's running a different angle. One possible angle is that he has no intention of merging the two railroads, and is attempting to asset-strip the non-railroad assets of NS, which are substantial. That, he might manage, if he has a hands-off buyer for the railroad ready.

 

[neroden]

I don't think the LD system or indeed all of Amtrak will survive if its management was carefully appointed with the marching orders to shut it down. That has never happened in the past. The closest it came to that was during the Stockman era, but they were unable to pack the Board sufficiently to have a material impact on the Amtrak executives and management sufficiently before Stockman was gone. People who think that cannot happen again at some point with much more lasting effect IMHO are living in a fool's paradise. it all depends on who gets elected to key positions, and that is why it is important to understand that it is quite possible to elect people who align with certain people's overall political philosophy that could destroy Amtrak as a side effect

I don't think we're going to see anyone elected, or appointed, who is as determined to destroy Amtrak as Stockman was. Not a chance.

Politically, the aristocratic faction (represented mostly by 'establishment' Republicans and some 'establishment' Democrats), who tried to shut Amtrak down repeatedly, is on the decline. So is the ultralibertarian "privatize everything for profit" faction. The Trump / Cruz extremist factions actually support passenger trains. And of course so do all the surviving Democratic factions.

I'm anticipating some pretty horrible possibilities for the future of the US, but remember, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, and Tojo all liked and supported passenger train service. I don't think it's the area we really have to worry about, given large demographic trends in favor of passenger trains.

 

[JoeBas]

I nominate this guy. Trains on Sodor run awesome.

dca519d8b5ee782ca4141848bceefb6a.jpg

Yeah, nothing EVER happens there!!!

 

[Thirdrail7]

I nominate this guy. Trains on Sodor run awesome.

dca519d8b5ee782ca4141848bceefb6a.jpg

I think he already works here. I believe he's up for promotion when the chief transportation officer retires soon.

 

[CHamilton]

Headline of the day.

Lawmakers urge Amtrak to hire a magician as its new CEO
More powerful than a locomotive perhaps?

http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/4/10918338/amtrak-ceo-congress-letter-fast-act-railroad

 

[Thirdrail7]

Maybe they want someone who will make Amtrak disappear.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Did the letter say anything? I read it as a slap against Joe Boardman. They say the NEXT head of Amtrak must be "visionary" (because Boardman wasn't?) and "dynamic" (because Boardman lacked flash?). They want the NEXT guy to "have the vision and management strength necessary" with "experience in implementing change within large organizations with significant footprint and assets".

Finding a magician who meets their criteria might not be so hard. Finding one who is willing to work for a Congress of which these Critters are leading members, well, the search committee is likely to hear a good many variations on this phrase: "Thanks for your interest, but …"

If Congress wants to see big changes, they should appropriate $5 Billion a year for the next few sessions. Steady investment on that order, totaling about $40 Billion over two terms of a new leader in the White House, could transform Amtrak. Expecting anyone to make big changes with the strangulation budget that Amtrak works with is doomed to fail, again and again.

 

[CHamilton]

Amen. I can't believe that anyone sane would want that job right now.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Until Amtrak sees 40-50 times the amount of money it's given every year, no one out there will be able to make drastic changes to the system.

 

[Karl1459]

Amen. I can't believe that anyone sane would want that job right now.

Firefighters rush to get into burning buildings. Sane people rush to get out.

Somewhere, I think there may be more than one potentially competent CEO type with a firefighter attitude for a business that can be his/her burning building.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Until Amtrak sees 40-50 times the amount of money it's given every year, no one out there will be able to make drastic changes to the system.

1. You can make drastic changes to Amtrak for free so long as you don't mind that they're severely negative.

2. Amtrak doesn't need anywhere near forty to fifty times their current budget to make drastically positive changes.

 

[jis]

40x $1.5 billion is a shitload of money. I bet there is no Amtrak management that would have any idea what to do with all that money. If that kind of money is to be invested in passenger rail in the US, I would have grave doubts that Amtrak is the right vehicle to manage such exclusively too.

 

[afigg]

The Hill article on what the leading House Republicans want in Boardman's replacement: Republicans push for 'visionary' Amtrak leader. Overlaps with the Verge article. But The Hill is read by those in positions of influence on, well, yes, Capitol Hill and in DC.

Excerpt:

Top ranking Republicans on the House Transportation Committee are pushing for Amtrak to hire a "visionary leader" to lead the nationwide passenger rail system.

Amtrak's current CEO, Joe Boardman, is planning to retire in September 2016 after nearly a decade at the helm of the national railway system.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and rail subcommittee chief Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) said this week that Amtrak should hire a new chief that has "the necessary vision and management skills to successfully implement new reforms and improve Amtrak’s performance.

"We believe this is a pivotal moment for Amtrak, and the future of passenger rail generally in America," they wrote in a letter to Amtrak Board of Directors Chairman Tony Corscia, citing a recently passed transportation funding that included money for Amtrak.

Since Congressman Denham has spent a fair amount of effort to kill the CA HSR project, safe to say that their view of what a "visionary" leader would do is different than the view of most posters on here. By retiring in 2016, Boardman is allowing the Obama administration and Secretary Foxx to pick his replacement. Just imagine who a President Cruz or Kasich might pick.

 

[neroden]

40x $1.5 billion is a shitload of money. I bet there is no Amtrak management that would have any idea what to do with all that money.

Oh, pretty simple really. Step one, buy CSX. Step two, buy NS. Solves an awful lot of problems. No more fighting with intransigent "freight management". Profitable freight traffic to cover the overhead costs. Economies of scale.

 

[jis]

ROTFL You commie you

 

[A Voice]

40x $1.5 billion is a shitload of money. I bet there is no Amtrak management that would have any idea what to do with all that money.

Oh, pretty simple really. Step one, buy CSX. Step two, buy NS. Solves an awful lot of problems. No more fighting with intransigent "freight management". Profitable freight traffic to cover the overhead costs. Economies of scale.

You'll never get regulatory approval to have both CSX and Norfolk Southern under the same corporate umbrella. But for a billion dollar bonus, I think even CSX will suddenly realize they love high speed passenger trains on their tracks...