WASHINGTON — A group of 11 U.S. Senators sent Amtrak’s Richard Anderson a letter earlier this month, seeking the passenger railroad CEO’s “firm commitment that Amtrak will abide by its statutory purpose — maintaining a truly national network for our rail system.”
Those signing the letter include the bipartisan group of six lawmakers from Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico who secured a $50 million appropriation for Southwest Chief route improvements in the 2019 federal budget, compelling Amtrak to spend a $3 million grant match. They are joined by five Democrats: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin III, Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona, Montana’s Jon Tester, and Dick Durbin of Illinois.
The letter, available here, reminds Anderson that Amtrak was created to reach every community, “regardless of how rural it may be” and that the company must provide “a web of essential connections that bind our country together.”
Responding to congressional testimony, fleet and service planning documents, and language in Amtrak’s 2020 budget request that reveals current management’s preference for short-distance corridors and dismissive attitude toward long distance routes, the document asks Anderson for answers on seven bullet points of concern. They are:
— Questionable cost allocation accounting, citing a Trains Magazine report [“Amtrak’s Money Mystery,” January 2019].
— Specific plans to either truncate long-distance routes or attempt to have states pay for them.
— Details on any discussions Amtrak has had with host railroads or states about adding short-distance frequencies.
— A challenge to Amtrak’s claim that demand for its interstate services is declining, citing figures indicating an increase “in spite of worsening on-time performance, capacity reductions and other changes to service levels.”
— The impact of removal of ticket agents at many stations, and a question why “Amtrak calculates ridership boardings on weekly totals on routes that do not run daily.” (Four of the letter’s signees represent states through which both the triweekly Cardinal and Sunset Limited operate.)
— Policies that would help Amtrak improve host railroad on-time performance.
— A request for a timeline to put 25 new Viewliner II sleeping cars into service, noting that “sleeper cars provide approximately 40-50% of the revenue on many long distance trains.”
The lawmakers’ letter asks Anderson to respond by April 29.
