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Trainsmag.com just reported that no firm date has been set for Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter to take the wraps off the Bush administration's passenger rail plan and present it to Congress.
A meeting involving Rutter and House railroad subcommittee chairman Rep. Jack Quinn, R-N.Y., and Rep. Bob Clement, D-Tenn., may take place Thursday, but that's not certainat this point, Quinn spokesman Michael Tetuan said this Afternoon.
Rutter was expected to unveil the proposal last Thursday at the subcommittee's hearing on the future of passenger rail. But he pulled out a day earlier because the plan isn't ready yet, and the administration reportedly remains divided over whether to privatize at least some Amtrak routes.
Meanwhile, Quinn expects to introduce a bill this week that would reauthorize Amtrak for another year and provide a $1.2 billion appropriation-the amount Amtrak says it needs to prevent the loss of its long-distance trains and potentially other routes, as well.
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And the union employee job cuts continues. On and on, coach cleaners, extra employees to fill vacancies, and of course the new hire management employees are gone. The first time they expect me to work a 20 hour day, because there's no one fill in for a vacation day, i'll have a flat tire!
Posts: 49 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Do the senators that support Amtrak take into consideration the people who keep the trains running? I know I've asked this before...it seems they mention the total number of employees but not the specific jobs. A 20-hour workday? That sounds exhausting just reading about it.
Posts: 874 | From: South Bay (LA County), Calif, USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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20 hour work day? That sounds like the days of the sweatshop. Fact of the matter is that many Amtrak On Board Service people work those hours or close to it right now. The lounge car is generally open from 6AM to midnight with the same person working the entire trip. That trip may be as long as 3 nights in each direction with a very short layover even if the train is on time. Every hour the train is late is an hour less the crew has to rest before heading home. The Texas Eagle and Sunset Ltd. both operate with the same OBS crew for the entire journey. That can be as much as 100 hours or more, possibly 120 hours on a 6-7 day trip. Sound pretty exhausting? It is believe me as I have done it. Day 5 of a 6 day trip out of Los Angeles on the Southwest Chief (Los Angeles crew), the lounge car attendant works through 2 time changes effectively making this 5th day a 20 hour workday. Maybe some of you on the train will be a little more tolerant of the few meal breaks the lounge car attendant takes now that you're aware of this. Reggie
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[This message has been edited by reggierail (edited 04-16-2002).]
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