Excuse me, Mr. Secretary, but wasn’t David Gunn a “turn around” CEO?
This whole sorry episode shows how bereft of substance the Bush Administration is when it comes to developing good passenger rail in this country. David Gunn was actually doing what he was hired (by this same administration BTW) to do: clean up Amtrak management and run a better railroad… a job for which he has shown ample talent and success. But he was also a hard-nosed professional railroader, unlike those at USDOT who criticized and fired him.
In firing him, the Bush Administration has amply demonstrated that it’s intent is to dismantle Amtrak and put most of the burden for funding and developing passenger rail on already cash-strapped states. When the states fail to carry that load, then Sec. Mineta and the rest of this neo-con administration will throw up their hands and say, “There now… you see… people don’t want passenger rail.”
I work on passenger rail dvelopment at the state level and the general view is that the Bush plan is no plan at all. It is a recipe for making an already unbalanced transportation system even more so and to the peril of us all.
No, David Gunn was hired to implement a forward thinking plan of action for the concept of passenger rail. Instead, he just kept on going down the path of 1930’s passenger logistics, e.g. the proven path of failure. He deserved to get fired.
I was going to warn you that someone would speak of the errors of your thoughts. Given that you are involved in trying to put together a program, you are probably in a better position to separate lip service from actual constructive plans.
They do want a “turnaround CEO.” Gunn was taking Amtrak in the direction that would insure it’s continued and improved operation under the current setup. Dubya and his cronies want to “turnaround,” carve it up, and parcel it out to “contractors” that will end up not running it as well and costing the US taxpayer many times what it costs us now.
Efficiency in a quasigovernment corporation. What was Gunn thinking?
futuremodal… Gunn was being asked to turn around Amtrak without the necessary capital funding for new equipment, repair work and most of all infrastructure improvements. Part of that fault lies with a Congress that has historically underfunded Amtrak, but much of the fault lies with the Bush Administration (and it’s predecessors) for either ignoring the need for proper funding and development of better services or talking a good game and not backing it up (which is the Bush Plan).
I never claimed that Gunn was a visionary, but you have to admit the man did a very good job cutting costs, getting rid of incompetent managers and doing something that few prior Amtrak CEO’s ever did… ride the trains and see the system up front, warts and all.
BTW: Sec. Mineta remarked in New York yesetrday that he didn’t take Amtrak from DC because of the “five-hour trip” both ways. How incredibly lame and factually challenged can this guy be? The Acela makes the trip in about three hours or less. And regardless of the travel time, he ought to be riding the rails and seeing the system first-hand before he opens his mouth.
A few weeks ago, I witnessed Mr. Gene Skoropowski, the Managing Director of California’s Capital Corridors rail system, ask an Assistant DOT Secretay (a Mr. Duvall) about what steps the Adminsitration had taken to consult with the railroads and other professionals in formulating their plan for Amtrak and passenger rail development. Mr. Duvall had no answer. Mr. Skoropowski then asked for a show of hands in the meeting room … which had over 1oo national rail professionals, including the VP’s from the four major Class 1’s … asking how many had ever been contacted by USDOT or the Bush Administration at any point about the Administration’s passenger rail plan.
Not one hand went up. It was at once an almost comic but very telling moment.
David Gunn may not be the visionary we need to take us to the next level in passenger rail developme
The New York Times report on Mineta’s speech noted is plan to get enough money to get the NE Corridor into a “good state of repair” and then turn the operation over to some sort of consortium of the northeast states.
That is contrary to the statement made to Congress at the Tuesday hearing by the Amtrak Chairman of the Board Laney. He said that their directive to make the Northeast Corridor a separate subsidiary of Amtrak was only to be sure that there was an accurate accounting for the funds used to repair and run the NEC. Laney said several times that the plan was not to “break up” Amtrak.
Maybe Bush can get Goode from the Norfolk Southern to take over Amtrak. If anyone can get a railroad turned around with no money it his him. Just say goodbye to any color just black to keep costs down.
Yeah, I forgot, but *** Davidson is going to be retiring soon. He might step in. Oh wait, I think the Amtrak CEO pay is about $300 K per year. I don’t know what he would think about a 90% cut in pay.
I expect the AMTRAK board and Mineta are looking for a ‘Turnaround CEO’ like Carl Ichan and the way he turned TWA arround…around into a business corpse.
I just got done writing an E-Mail to my Senator & Congressman about this. David Gunn was doing a great job. Separating one part of Amtrak from the rest is nothing more than a prelude to dismantling the long diatance trains which I use now that the price of gas has gone sky high, both in the short & long terms. Shame. I feel that I am witnessing an accident & I don’t think anyone in D.C. cares. The Amtrak board has been allowed to “shrink” to just to political appointees, Mineta & Laney. That is equivalent to having the fox guard the hen house.
-Dave [:(]
Actually, David Goode would be an excellent choice, as he has probably brought NS into a more pro-passenger rail stance than most other railroads. I heard him speak at a conference in DC two years ago and he’s okay with passenger trains in freight rail corridors, as long as the railroad see some benefit interms of improved capacity and speeds, better track and signals, etc.
But, once again, this would put an experienced railroader under the supervision of neo-con bureaucrats who’d feel intellectually threatened by their own shadows. The moment Goode tells them what they need to know instead of what they want to hear… he’d be gone.
Your comment above is exactly why I expect the Board, if they are real in their desire to get someone with a high level of experience, will be looking for a very long time. The person to get the whole thing done would have to know where the bear went in the buckwheat and also expect to get it thrown back in his or her face. Not to many leaders in the business like that idea.
I expect that the person picked for the job will be the one the board finds is best suited to place the blame on someone else when the plans don’t work out.
In fairness, when the appointment is made I will withhold my opinions for some reasonable period of time.
Yeah, they should’ve hired some idiot who thinks he knows better than everyone else how to run a RR, yet has never run one and never will. He should hire someone just like that, say, Futuremodal!!
Of course he wouldn’t be just a “Turn around” guy he’s better for Mineta, FM is a “Turn around AND bend over” guy. Just what Mineta And the Dubya want for an Amtrak “Leader”…FOFLMAO…
Railroad experience certainly will not be considered when they look for Mr. Gunn’s successor.The only criteria would be that he or she will be a “team player”.
There is stuff going on “off-stage” that we can only guess.
As pointed out earlier in this thread, Mineta can’t keep his story straight. His reform “plan” really isn’t a plan. It’s just a couple of “ideas” about funding.
Laney has flip-flopped on the “reform” plan. He publically bought into Gunn’s just 6 weeks ago, fired Gunn and now sound’s very weazely.
And, still, nobody has defined what “success” is - so it’s easy to label things a “failure.”
Either, there is no goal at all and Mineta and company have no idea what they’re doing (entirely possible IMHO)
OR
There is a hidden agenda to dismantle Amtrak and let the states figure it out. (equally possible IMHO)