NEC close to a shut down?....

[amtrakmichigan]

If this article doesn't tell congress and other govenment officials to "wake up and smell the coffee" i don't know what will. This is an excellent article!

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washingt...ston_nyc_spans/

 

[AlanB]

Representative Michael E. Capuano, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, criticized Amtrak for poor communication of its problems, saying he's never heard the possibility that these three bridges could cause the breakup of the corridor.
"If you're telling me that those bridges could fail tomorrow, why haven't they been up there [in Congress] pounding the tables?" the Somerville Democrat said. "Do they want these bridges to fail, somehow thinking that's going to get our attention? That's a hell of a way to do politics."

I guess that Mr. Capuano hasn't bothered to read the material that Amtrak has provided both him and the public for the last two years. The problems with those bridges has been listed in the last two budget requests/proposals that David Gunn has submitted. He's been banging his fists on the tables of Congress to get that 1.8 B for the last two years and so far no one is listening.

However, even if he was yelling louder it's still unlikely that it would help. Consider the safety issues in the Hudson River tunnels and the East River tunnels that lead to Penn Station. Before David became president of Amtrak, several major newspapers reported on the major safety problems with those tunnels. It took Congress over a year to find some money to start addressing the problem and even then it wasn't enough.

What should have been done in two years has been pushed to a 10-year project because Congress is providing a trickle of money each year for this. It should also be noted that the LIRR & NJT are also contributing to this project, so the full burden isn't falling on Amtrak and Congress.

Then of course we come to the famous Mitch Daniels incident. Mr. Daniels for those who don't know, is the OMB director. He signs the checks at the White House. Right after 9/11 Congress approved a measly 100 M to help speed up fixing one of the worst safety issues in those tunnels. Mr. Daniels, who dislikes Amtrak immensly, held up that check for over 9 months. It finally took the weight of several of the NY/NJ area Senators to twist his arm and get him to mail the check.

So IMHO, the problem isn't that Amtrak isn't yelling loudly enough. The problem is that people in Washington either aren't listening and/or they aren't taking Amtrak and it's problems seriously.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Maybe Amtrak should just change it's name to the Iraqi-National Passenger Railroad. Then apply for foreign aid in the amount of 10 Billion and accept a reduction to 8.

If the administration says they have the money to fund rebuilding Iraq, they can certainly afford to fix a few things here. Reassign Daniels to Baghdad. Or explain to him that OMB doesn't stand for the "Office of Measly Budgets". Why is it that Washington seems to attract folks that bear such a strong resemblance to the south end of a northbound horse?

 

[battalion51]

It kills me that Bush is so willing to spend the big bucks to fix someone else's problems, but won't spend money or give a damn on the homefront. :angry: GO KERRY!

 

[engine999]

It kills me that Bush is so willing to spend the big bucks to fix someone else's problems, but won't spend money or give a damn on the homefront. :angry: GO KERRY!

Cant put it better. We have to get rid of Bush.

 

[PRR 60]

It kills me that Bush is so willing to spend the big bucks to fix someone else's problems, but won't spend money or give a damn on the homefront.   :angry: GO KERRY!

Cant put it better. We have to get rid of Bush.

Right on. Bring in Kerry for sure. Then maybe Amtrak will get what was provided during Clinton's last two years: $521 million per year. That would be a big improvement over Bush!!!

Check the facts guys! Amtrak's worst two periods were under Carter in the late 70's and under Clinton in the 90's. Major train-offs and cuts in the quality of service. So, tell me, exactly what has Kerry said about Amtrak that makes you so excited? Anyone, anyone?

 

[JOn Parker]

I actually went to John Kerry.com and Searched amtrak, and it returned that John Kerry is a supporter of rural (long-distance) passenger trains.

Let's have the Donkey yank the elephant out of the White House! :lol:

 

[AmtrakWPK]

I don't know that I really want either one of them at the helm in general, but I was curious about Kerry and Amtrak so I did a Google search, and looked at what it found. Here are some quotes from what I found:

================

#862 - January 27, 1995

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing yesterday on Amtrak to review the service cuts. Thirteen Senators attended and asked questions, which was impressive. Testimony generally reflected support for passenger rail service. Generally, the Senators supported the concept of a national Amtrak system, but were unsure of how to proceed. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) gave an eloquent speech about Amtrak's perennial lack of adequate funding and read from a table NARP prepared that ranked the world's nations by per-capita public spending on mainline railroads.

======================

#707 - February 7, 1992

The nomination of Andrew Card as Secretary of Transportation was the topic of a confirmation hearing <snip> John Kerry (D.-Mass.) said the President's zero for the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project (NECIP) is "just unacceptable." Card answered that research and development is the first priority and mentioned maglev. Kerry said that's fine for the long-term, but three-hour Boston-New York trains are needed now and doable soon.

=======================

January 17, 2003

Contacts:

Diane Minor, 202.783.7400 x287

David Hirsch, 202.783-7400 x215

Environmental Group Hails Vote to Restore Amtrak Funding

Washington, D.C. – A tri-partisan group of senators, led by Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), last night voted to restore $400 million in funding for Amtrak to the FY2003 omnibus appropriations bill. Environmentalists hailed passage of the amendment, which was offered in repose to a proposed 31 percent cut to Amtrak’s budget, as a victory for passenger rail and the environment. <snip> In addition to Sens. Murray and Hutchison, the amendment to restore funding was co-sponsored by Sens. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

===========================

John F. Kerry

Candidate for U.S. President (Democrat)

<snip>

Agreed To Amtrak Funding 03/21/2003 Y

==========================

B M W E

JOURNAL

ONLINE VERSION VOLUME 107 - NUMBER 1 - FEBRUARY 1998

Amtrak Agreement Ratified; Congress Passes Amtrak Bill

001.GIF (95965 bytes)

President Clinton signs Amtrak Reauthorization Bill December 2, 1997. Second on right is BMWE President Mac A. Fleming and at far left is BMWE General Chairman Jed Dodd.

<snip>

On the positive side, there are representatives in Congress like Jim Oberstar (D-MN) who led the House fight to protect Amtrak workers' jobs and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) who worked hard to preserve basic employee rights.

Kerry gave some interesting facts during the debate on the issue in November. "While we in Congress have argued over whether the Federal Government should or shouldn't ensure a healthy inter-city rail system, internationally it is no secret that a well-founded rail network is an essential ingredient of a strong 21st century economy.

"In fact, every major economic power, except the United States, invests several billions of dollars annually in passenger rail transportation. The European Union plans to invest more than $100 billion to better utilize and integrate its multi billion-dollar-rail network. And our economic competitors in Asia, including China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and South Korea, are all investing heavily in rail.

"The unfortunate truth is that on a per capita basis, at least 34 countries, including Guinea, Myanmar, South Africa, Iran, and Botswana each spend more than the United States on passenger rail. In this light, which I think is the correct light in which to view what we are doing today, we are doing the bare minimum necessary to ensure continued passenger rail travel in the United States and to maintain a vibrant national transportation network. ..."

Gallup Poll: 69% Favor Amtrak Funding

====================

OK - from what I've found, it looks like he is certainly not anti-Amtrak. Certainly the quotes are positive. Now as far as what that means he would do once in office??? Who knows. It would be hard to think of him doing worse than Bush proposes, though, on this particular issue. Y'all are welcome to do your own search and see what you find.

 

[Miami Joe]

Kerry hasn't said anything that has caught my interest.

But since he is the only alternative with a chance of winning, I'm going to give him a chance.

Bush has had a rough 14 months. It seems like everyday, his cabinet is getting caught in lies and they will not acknowledge the findings of various commissions. The media says this is the most secretive administration since the Nixon era, and it seems no amount of proof is enough for them to admit failures or take responsibility. :blink:

Amtrak will always have to fight for funding. I have great faith in Gunn, he's the first guy who has put everything out on the table. He has turned the table and made the government" the evil people." Dave isn't destroying Amtrak. All he's doing is making sure everyone will be aware of who is responsible for Amtrak's situation.

But Amtrak is hurting the workers too! We haven't had a contract for 4 yrs, only get COLA pay raises and they took away the craft differentials. Yet every year my bills go up, by union dues go up, health goes up.

I'm lucky to have a job during these times, but I'm disappointed that I work for the government and this is how it treats it's employees.

Miami Joe

 

[battalion51]

Check the facts guys! Amtrak's worst two periods were under Carter in the late 70's and under Clinton in the 90's. Major train-offs and cuts in the quality of service. So, tell me, exactly what has Kerry said about Amtrak that makes you so excited? Anyone, anyone?

Also don't forget under Clinton there were Presidents of Amtrak who falsely made promises of self-sufficency, and the like. We've got a straight shooter now who won't paint a rosy picture, he gives the straight facts.

 

[Jon Parker]

Glad to see some light shed on John Kerry on Amtrak funding.

Go Kerry!!!

 

[Richard Mount]

I agree that the Bushies are starving Amtrak to death, but give Mitch Daniels a break. For one, he is not the budget director. he quit the OMB a long time (almost 2 years) ago and is now running for governor of Indiana. Secondly, he's not anti-rail at all, and he championed the (very small) monorail that currently runs in Indianapolis. Does he play politics sometimes? Sure, but lets not alienate the few conservatives that are pro-rail any more than we have to.

 

[PRR 60]

Amtrak is starving under Bush? Let's here from the boss:

David Gunn at the June meeting of the Central Electric Raifans Association in Chicago:

During Q&A he jokingly compared Presidential administrations..."Clinton liked intercity rail but gave us no money; Bush wants us dead, but has given us the most money."

 

[battalion51]

But it's been Congress that's really pushed for funding closer to Amtrak's request. Both last year and this year the Bush Administration has authorized half of what Amtrak has aksed for.

 

[AlanB]

But it's been Congress that's really pushed for funding closer to Amtrak's request. Both last year and this year the Bush Administration has authorized half of what Amtrak has aksed for.

That's true, B51, but four year ago even Congress was singing a different song. Back then they were supporting Clinton's request for Amtrak, which was far lower than it should have been.

So bottom line, Congress can go either way too, just like the President can.

We need both branches to swing the right way and fully fund Amtrak properly.