posted
This was sent to me from RailPAC. I think it shows Alexander Kummant is very supportive of the long distance trains. -------------------
Below is a copy of a letter to Amtrak employees from President Alex Kummant
April 17, 2007
Dear Co-workers,
Last week, I testified before the Surface Transportation Board about the effects on Amtrak of constrained freight railroad capacity, and the need for public investment in the nation’s railroad infrastructure. With all of the major freight railroads represented, it was important to convey to the STB Amtrak’s perspective on this issue; last year, our long-distance train OTP was 30%.
I’m dedicated to strengthening the relationships with my counterparts at the host railroads, because changes have got to come from the top. To that end, we’ve reached agreements with CSXT and UP that hold promise for some of our trains.
Last year, Auto Train OTP was 17% and the service frequently arrived over two hours late. To combat this, we agreed to add an hour to the schedule (starting April 2) in return for CSXT’s commitment to deliver 80% on-time performance on the new schedule. We’re watching this closely; but since April 2, we’ve had a number of 100% days. We are now closer to meeting our passengers’ expectations and it sure beats 17%.
In addition, as part of a new agreement with UP, they’ve committed to bring slow orders into compliance with our contract on all routes by this summer. The one exception is the California Zephyr route, where major track work will span three years, beginning this summer. The contract also provides a legal enforcement mechanism to ensure that UP maintains these reduced levels of slow orders over the next six years. While UP engineering forces undertake the track work on the Zephyr route, UP and Amtrak have agreed to temporarily lengthen the train’s schedule; the time will be removed as slow orders are eliminated.
It is clear to me that OTP problems are beginning to be recognized by policymakers at the state and federal levels. In the end, it’s a matter of grinding it out issue by issue, at the senior management level and at the front lines. I wouldn’t, however, lose sight of the significance of our progress so far and I intend to keep pushing forward.
posted
Well at least some joint effort is being made to heighten awareness of the problems of our rail infrastructure. Was Mr.Kummant previously employed by UP?
Posts: 498 | From: New Hope, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
