Acela ridership is down 92%, The report would be rejected by independent, objective auditors from one of the big accounting firms. The family followed railroad work from Galveston to Dallas and Amarillo. Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives have said they will reject the proposal, which is similar to cuts that have been rebuffed in prior budgets proposed by President Donald Trumps administration. The entire board and most of top management should be throw out, they are all incompetent. We BNSF reopens track at site of Wisconsin derailment (updated), Unifor ratifies contract with Canadian National, Driver of truck in accident that killed NS conductor pleads not guilty, Two Metra lines disrupted as Amtrak locomotive derails at Chicago Union Station. As Trains was preparing this report, the Rail Passengers Association issued a white paper titled, Amtraks Route Accounting: Fatally Flawed, Misleading, and Wrong. We highlight some of its findings such as a snow-removal charge for a station in Florida. Libraries. In Miami? Thats reality, and we best face reality and make the very best we can, be calm about it, do what we have to do, and position Amtrak to come back strong when we are on the other side of the pandemic.. Imagine a real business that was frequently selling out but wouldnt add capacity because extra sales would cost it money. Few railroad passenger vehicles have had as long a lifespan as the Budd Rail Diesel Car. The companys management employees now face temporary salary reductions including a 100% reduction for its CEO effective until at least Sept. 30, or the end of its fiscal year, according to an internal memo from Stephen Gardner, senior executive vice president and chief operating and commercial officer. DOT Inspector Generals report. Rather than collecting specific data that would clearly show what costs would disappear if, say, the Southwest Chief were eliminated avoidable costs, in the parlance of Congress 2005 directive allocation protocols permit Amtrak to use measurements it already has or believes it can estimate. The American people seem to be content to just listen to the conversation, blindly accept the consequences of inaction, and then wonder why somebody didnt do something about the situation before it was too late. Social distancing measures taken by state and local officials, including Gov. General chairmen need to get engaged and figure out how to do this if we are to avoid an involuntary furlough, given that we dont have any business anymore, Anderson said. Until the end of last year, Mr. Flynn ran Atlas Air, which is based in Purchase, N.Y., and claims to have the worlds largest fleet of large cargo planes in the world. Sign-up for email today! Those numbers will worsen as more Projects or ideas for discretionary money There are plenty of others motivated by what Mr. Shigley above describes. Amtrak Joey and Mayor Pete need to read this. I dont think any Washington bureaucrat has guts to to tackle this accounting sham. And it shows. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski. [10] Anderson assumed the title of President on July 12, 2017. Its Northeast Corridor service is running about 40% of normal weekday schedules, including Northeast Regional and Acela services. For sure, Anderson, a lame-duck CEO who officially retires Of So, CURTIS, you can forget about your sensible position. His family, which also included five sisters, moved to Dallas and later Amarillo, Texas. William J. Flynn will take over as president and chief executive on April 15, succeeding former Delta Air Lines chief executive Richard Anderson who has run Amtrak since July 2017. The resulting process has 60,000 allocation rules, with 1,600 responsibility centers grouped into nine similar cost families (for example, transportation operations), which are divided into 36 subfamilies (onboard service), and finally 44 subcategories (linen). Last week, the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, endorsed that idea in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee. Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 - August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. We analyze collective bargaining agreements, evaluation handbooks, salary schedules, and other documents to distill district policy across key topics such as salary, evaluation, and teacher work day. His earlier cash burn reference also implied that this was the case, a contention that has been repeatedly challenged by the Rail Passengers Association and elected officials along those routes. How much more can be affordedor unafforded, for that matterbefore inflicting even more long-term economic harm on the nation is unknown, as so unprecedented and uncharted is this crisis of which Amtrak is but a miniscule part. Following a Chicago luncheon on May 25, 2017, former Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman told Trains that long-distance trains break even on direct costs. But when Amtrak allocates overhead using a formula developed by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, he said, based on rational types of things like passenger-miles and train starts, [they] end up with about a $500 million loss. State-supported trains, he added, lose about $90 million on a fully allocated cost basis. [See Passenger Train Game Changer, October 2013.] When Anderson joined, it experienced two crashes in a brief span, and it didn't earn enough revenue to cover its costs. The quest to stem the sources of red ink has been blessed by Amtraks board of directors and orchestrated by CEO Richard Anderson and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Stephen Gardner. States had already begun to protest some decisions. Richard Anderson appeared in high school plays, served a hitch in the Army and, upon his discharge, began doing summer stock, radio work, a movie bit part (a wounded soldier in Twelve O'Clock High (1949)) and all the other minor jobs required of your basic struggling actor. Much is dependent on enlightened labor leaders facing harsh reality with learned wisdom, rather than union hall polemics. and future survival of the company. At Amtrak, the most compensated executive makes $652,000, annually, and the lowest compensated makes $50,000. Citing anonymous sources is disingenuous. BNSF reopens track at site of Wisconsin derailment (updated), Unifor ratifies contract with Canadian National, Driver of truck in accident that killed NS conductor pleads not guilty, Two Metra lines disrupted as Amtrak locomotive derails at Chicago Union Station. We also present examples we uncovered that attempt to shine a light on a bookkeeping system that distorts a nationwide transportation mission, a mission thousands of current and former employees fought to maintain. Keystone Service, running between Harrisburg and New York, as well as its Pennsylvanian trains between New York and Pittsburgh have been cancelled. He would step in as Amtraks finances have been improving but its political fortunes remain turbulent. According to the route level results of the fiscal 2017 performance report, the Chicago-Los Angeles train generated $49.9 million in revenue but racked up $104 million of so-called operating expenses. Amtrak has to balance meeting passenger needs with a $40 billion backlog on necessary repair investments, Anderson says. Anyone interested in learning how Amtrak calculates route performance, as well as the financial performance of long-distance trains, can find information in How Does Amtrak Calculate Route Financial Performance? Amtraks accounting systems probably perform millions of transactions every week. Judging from the ridership figures above the Acela should be the first to go.. down 99% poor performer even before the outbreak. Like every major accounting system, mistakes are made, like assigning snow shoveling expenses to Miami. Through February in the 2020 fiscal year that began in October 2019, Anderson reported that Amtrak was running 91% above plan. Trains News Wire confirmed that in February, the long distance, state-supported, and Northeast Corridor categories all showed sharp increases, with overall ridership and revenue both up an average of 6.5% compared with February 2019. that would like to take over our services. Nothing has challenged Amtrak as of the crisis. Northeast Corridor service by 40%, and are contemplating stopping Acela service because we dont have The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has submitted its own request to Congress for $2.34 billion in federal appropriations in fiscal year 2021, a 17 percent increase over their FY 2020 enacted appropriations and 57 percent ($854 million) above the amount the Trump Administration requested on behalf of the railroad. Anderson, the former CEO of Delta Air Lines Inc., became co-CEO . with reductions in non-agreement employee wages by between 7% and 22%; CURTIS You speak good and necessary sense (below) at a time of total national insanity. Anderson will remain a senior adviser through the end of the year. Accountability is a something that no longer exists. It aint gonna happen. Airlines are turning toward the federal government seeking a steep bailout, while plummeting ridership and service reductions for public transportation are likely to be a lasting pain point for agencies across the country. Emotions run strong when the long-distance network is The information contained in the documents squares with acceptable cost accounting practices. As less people travel due to the coronavirus, Amtrak has "taken aggressive measures to cut costs to minimize employee and service impacts. SEPTA is taking its own difficult short-term measures including a cut to executive pay, eliminating overtime, and a hiring freeze, while it also considers further service reductions. 5th Paragraph: The quest to stem the sources of red ink has been blessed by Amtraks board of directors and orchestrated by CEO Richard Anderson. need to be aggressive in preserving our cash, he said. Amazing that Andersons Golden Child the Acela is the first to fall the obviously weak link in the Amtrak chain yet he turns it around to make it sound as if the LD network is the weakest using the Amtrak voodoo accounting to try and back it up. $100,281 - After five years. Flynn succeeds Richard Anderson, who joined Amtrak as CEO in July 2017. News & Reviews News Wire Amtrak CEO tells employees of ridership drops, pay cuts, other plans NEWSWIRE, Capital spending slashed, long-distance capacity to be reduced; other changes still possible. Subsequently Amtrak confirmed the news . dont have a job anymore, and thats what we are working to avoid. NEWSWIRE. TRA is a 501(c)3 not for profit. But there will be no pink slips for Executive Vice President, Capital Delivery. These resources play a vital role in ensuring that Amtrak can develop and consistently provide competitive products and services, as well as delivering investments that will sustain, improve, and grow our business.. Its been a well known fact for many years that Amtraks funny money accounting system would not stand up to GAAP rules. Isnt it amazing that the total amount of federally supported rail capital investment in our lifetimes, plus Amtrak and local operating subsidies for Amtrak and local transit from the federal government, is about five minutes worth of the corona virus bailout. Bruno Maestri. This is a joke, right? Also, President Trump on March 2 re-nominated two of his proposed candidates for the Amtrak Board of Directors - Joseph Gruters and Lynn Westmoreland. Amtrak reported a loss of $29.8 million in its last fiscal year compared with a loss of $170.6 million in the prior fiscal year. . What happened, however, is that Volpe enlisted Amtraks help. Richard Anderson stepped down as CEO on April 15, 2020 a year ago! Mr. Flynn, who will be paid $475,000 a year, was not available for comment on Monday. Amtrak was founded in 1970 and its current CEO is Richard Anderson. But that work would not lessen the need for new tunnels, which would provide redundancy and increase capacity, he said. The Department of Transportation administers the RRIF program. different longer term, Anderson said. More money, so much more money, right down the drain of the biggest legal scam ever devised. Anderson's parents both died of cancer while he was . to lead an enterprise in severe peril, Andersons background is prototypical. Amtrak, which has lost vast sums of money for decades, is expected to report its first operating profit this year. Hold on tight and get ready to write your Congressional representatives. But be warned: exactly how Amtrak attributes expenses continues to be shrouded in mystery. For example a state pension fund might be under water if its accountants based pension payments on the expectation of, say, 8% perpetual return in investments when the actual return was well under. ", due to significantly reduced demand in key markets, Gov. Amtrak will spend the funds required to keep the existing 1873-vintage tunnels functional, but put engineering for their replacements on hold. The expense burden has become Amtrak's justification for systemwide cost cutting. Richard Anderson. A negative response could well upset the no-furlough objective. A comparison of the relative ridership drops (NEC vs. LD Amtrak trains) doesnt make strong case for the NEC business focus of Amtrak. Most importantly, however, he does not have access to Amtraks books. through a lot of tough times with Amtrakfrom host railroads that want to put long-distance capacity to be reduced. Watching Washington, November 2018: When a 1978 labor dispute . Individual salaries will vary depending on the job, department, and location, as well as the employee's level of education, certifications, and additional skills. Get your questions about railroads and railroading answered. Moreover, he performed his study for an advocacy group with a dog in the hunt, which is not likely to produce an independent outcome. Were not doing any retirement incentive, but taking retirement now will open up a job for someone else in the company. Such bonuses may reach to the top of management. Is he part of the process, or is he an accounts payable clerk just trading on rumors? View Fire Protection Salaries List. future paychecks, no healthcare benefits and no jobs. The Volpe report claims this provides a more representative measure of the resource cost of all capital equipment and property, regardless of how financed, currently used by Amtrak to produce various services and outputs. Alas, its not a real expense, but an accounting device. Richard Anderson is now a railroad guy. They became involved because Americas Railroad was created to sustain and grow surface-transportation mobility options nationwide. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. The expense is irrespective of costs incurred for overhauls and maintenance of fully depreciated rolling stock. Rev. A resounding Amen to Mr. Faheys post. [3][4] Anderson was promoted to CEO of Northwest Airlines in June 2001 after the departure of John Dasburg. So, the train lost more than $54 million? The Volpe Center, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, was chosen to construct clear assignments of revenues and costs to replace Amtraks previous system. Amtrak owns Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan and the tunnels connected to it that cross under the Hudson River. This article should cause disgrace to suffocate those in charge of AMTRAK. All of it! Richard Anderson. Moving to the new station would clearly produce a leap in customer convenience and revenue, but would introduce higher crew costs for a backup move from the existing yard. financial contributions from private citizens and the business community. William J. Flynn, 66, will succeed Richard Anderson, 65, as Amtraks chief executive on April 15, the company announced on Monday. a lame-duckpresident (mr. anderson) should not state policy; that is the job of new president, mr. flynn. As America increasingly is sheltering in place, losing unprecedented numbers of jobs and retirement savings, fearful of COVID-19, and facing a stress level unfamiliar except to those who have endured war zones, Amtrak and its workforce face only unpleasant choices if the railroad and their jobs are to survive. Our continuing work of educating As for Amtraks current travails, Anderson said the railroad is in line for a $500 million congressional grant in the first of expected stimulus measures intended as a financial bandage through June. Noel, no one is paying for the bailouts except those that buy government bondswhich when all is said and done can be defaulted on quite easily. Nick Saban L University of Alabama $8,888,684; It would hurt the individuals that bought them, but the big losers would be all the foreign governments that bought that debt, theyd fight tooth and nail to get us to keep payingwhich is when you through the ultimatum at them. Now we are moving into an economy of 100% bailout and 0% investment. Now for the answer from the folks in DeeCee: Fix Amtraks problems with more money. In addition to a suspension of the 401K match, reduction to management pay, and its incoming CEOs deferring his salary, Amtrak is ending all non-safety-critical hiring; cutting discretionary travel, professional fees, and advertising spending; and deferring non-priority capital expenses," according to the companys statement. I will give an example. . These proposed corridors would be the responsibility of the states to fund & I dont think many will take the bait, so when Amtrak mgmt finally eliminates the LD routes the secret will be out about what a dog the NEC is & hopefully that will be the end of Amtrak. President. "Please stay safe and know that your health and well-being and that of our customers is always my priority.. an Amtrak paycheck, will remain through year-end as an adviser to incoming CEO William . Those familiar with Amtraks past reluctance and dithering to run special trips would know that many Amtrak employees dont want to be bothered with extra work. [12] In 2013, he was the recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation. It took him two months in office to start blabbering what President Kamala Harris told him to blabber. Despite having no experience in airline operations, he was named senior vice president of technical operations and airport affairs. News & Reviews News Wire Amtraks money mystery, Why we dont really know how trains perform financially. And without that access, he as well as everyone outside of the organization, with the exception of the auditors and regulators, is just guessing. Yet, because of this accounting treatment, Acela Express and Northeast Regionals chalk up less than $90,000 in such expenses. Built in the early years of the 20th century, the tunnels had already exceeded their expected life span when Hurricane Sandy flooded them with salt water in 2012. , for 13 years, has also held senior roles with CSX Transportation, Sea-Land Services, Inc, and GeoLogistics Corp. Really? A total of $3 million in electric-traction maintenance costs were assigned to non-Northeast Corridor routes. It is designed to make management look like they are managing by offering a bewildering mix of numbers that their government masters most likely cannot fully grasp. Join Today! The multivolume blueprint of the systems methodology uses the term professional judgment to describe how rules were jointly developed by Volpe and Amtrak financial analysts to distribute company overhead expense. Click the start your search button . The change will come as Amtrak struggles to keep trains running through the New York region on tracks, bridges and in tunnels that are in desperate need of repair and upgrades. Its a miracle that ANY trains run. those riders, only 3% actually rode end-to-end. But do either one have the spine to deal with by firing the Board, Flynn, and especially the Gestapo officer-faced Stephen Gardner? Im certain the long-distance network is going to be very different longer term.
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