George Warrington, the former president of Amtrak, died Dec. 24 of pancreatic cancer at age 55.
'Critics of Mr. Warrington during his term at Amtrak complained that his forecasts were too rosy. He insisted he was making progress toward meeting an edict from Congress that Amtrak operate without federal operating subsidies by 2003. To boost revenue, Amtrak attached cargo cars to the front or back of its long-distance passenger trains.
‘Mr. Warrington ran up Amtrak’s debt and deferred maintenance of track and equipment. In 2001, it mortgaged parts of New York’s Penn Station for about $300 million to overcome a budget shortfall. Mr. Warrington ultimately acknowledged that Amtrak wouldn’t meet the goal. Paul Weyrich, a member of the former Amtrak Reform Council created by Congress to monitor Amtrak’s financial performance, says Mr. Warrington left Amtrak in a “precarious position.”’
If you’re not a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal you’ll see a synopsis.
OK, here’s some more. I didn’t mean to be onesided, but the article made it seem that his tenure was controversial.
'As president of Amtrak, George Warrington brought a sense of mission to the troubled railroad, declaring it was time that the U.S. join the ranks of European and Asian countries that operate high-speed trains.
He oversaw the December 2000 introduction of the Acela Express service, which runs at speeds of up to 150 miles an hour along the Boston-New York-Washington corridor. Mr. Warrington personally made adjustments in interior details and passenger amenities.
Acela was plagued with mechanical problems, and critics called it a waste of money. But recently, it has surged in popularity, offering some vindication to Mr. Warrington years after he left Washington.
“There was something courageous about what he did,” said David Gunn, who succeeded Mr. Warrington as Amtrak president in 2002. “He persevered despite the tremendous opposition and succeeded in creating for the first time in the U.S. truly high-speed passenger rail.”’