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. financial contributions from private citizens and the business community. If we end Amtrak, we end all trains. That would be 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. Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson is intent on reshaping the state-owned passenger railway into an economically-efficient inter-city operator. after fulfilling his three-year commitment to the company. Implementing a voluntary time off program for non-union employees, or reducing weekly hours to 32 hours per week and asking for voluntary retirements. 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. As for Amtrak, yes, they dont use GAAP and havent ever used it, no one, with the exception of their own accounts knows the true cost of the different services. Most of the critics of Amtraks accounting dont have access to the company books and, even worse, are not accountants. Richard H. Anderson (born May 2, 1955) is a retired American lawyer and business executive. Anderson says Amtrak will meet the commitment in current labor agreements calling for a 3.5% wage increase July 1, but encourages labor leaders to consider delaying (not canceling) it until Amtrak riders return. The expense is irrespective of costs incurred for overhauls and maintenance of fully depreciated rolling stock. and informing the pubic and private sector on the benefits of freight 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. The average salary for Richard Cottrell employees is around $100,786 per year, or $48 per hour. ", due to significantly reduced demand in key markets, Gov. mirror the 64% reduction in ridership that is expected to decline further. AMTRAK board to replace CEO: Anderson out - Flynn in, FRA Chief Counsel Allison Ishihara Fultz to Speak at 18th Annual Southwestern Rail Conference, BNSF closes out 2021 with record earnings, Opinion/Analysis: Part 5 of 5 - Congressman attacks Texas Central on a second front, Ramabhadran named new Chair of Houston METRO. Or is all their pro-Amtrak talk just that? 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. the end point of the coronavirus is.. This week Amtrak, following the practice of U.S. airlines, started limiting refunds and passengers ability to make changes to most lowest-price train tickets. Bruno Maestri. President. Last month, the White House proposed cutting U.S. funding for Amtrak by more than 50% over 2020 levels. Get updates and special offers via email from Trains.com brands! With our state and commuter partners, we move people, the economy and the nation forward, carrying more than 30 million Amtrak customers for each of the past eight years. 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. Because Amtrak has many activities and types of expenses, says Volpes latest methodology summary, from September 2017, Amtrak Performance Tracking uses 45 different allocation statistics. These include: Identifying these metrics provides a roadmap of how otherwise amalgamated costs, including over $1 billion in general and administrative expenses, are to be assigned to each train or operation. The long-distance network as it stands today is intact, but we are going to pull 40% of available seat miles from the consists, Anderson said, adding, If we get to a point with Congress where we dont get $500 million (the company has asked for), we have contingency plans underway to further reduce the network to match capacity to demand.. seeking to curtail long-distance routes. 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. Kevin Smith examines Amtrak's plans and the challenges facing the United States' passenger operator. Company officials told Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico stakeholders in August that maintaining the Chief route will require $254.7 million over the next 10 years on top of those annual losses. All redcap labor and baggage handling costs are allocated to long-distance trains, according to trip length, even though wheelchair service and baggage handling are provided to all trains, especially at New York and Chicago. Nick Saban L University of Alabama $8,888,684; The company estimates those expenses at more than $1 billion for all long-distance trains, and $793.6 million for Northeast Corridor Acela Express and Regional trains running over multitrack, electrified infrastructure maintained to 125-to-160-mph standards. 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. Protect the workers and press on with needed projects. Employee salary and payroll records for 679 libraries. Sign-up for email today! It only functions as long as its government masters direct it and it must operate as they desire. In the end, a company is only as good as its people. Yet rather than follow the business school playbook of lopping jobs as if workers are disposable office supplies, Amtrak President Richard H. Anderson is ministering to his workforce, treating workers as family by making an extraordinary effort to protect their income stream and healthcare benefits. The Rail Passengers Association white paper uncovered the fact that in fiscal 2017, state-supported routes were charged $5.1 million and long-distance trains $5.6 million for track maintenance. Under current directives, which provide no incentive for revenue gains (because the companys regional marketing positions have been eliminated), what Amtrak manager would advocate for the venue change? Staff writer Juliana Reyes contributed reporting. Wonder what congress will think about all of this? Vice President, Government Affairs and Corporate Communications. He earned a J.D. 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. If Mayor Pete ignores this report, fails to take action, then any pro-passenger rail statements he makes from here on out are hollow. Richard Anderson CEO / President - - The average Amtrak executive compensation is $230,927 a year.The median estimated compensation for executives at Amtrak including base salary and bonus is $232,242, or $111 per hour. Anderson served as Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Airlines from 2001 to 2004, Executive Vice President of United Healthcare from 2004 to 2007, and as CEO of Delta Air Lines from 2007 to 2016, which would later merge with Northwest. He remained with Amtrak through the end of the year as a senior advisor to his replacement, William J. In response to an emailed employee question later in the session, Anderson said: There are pieces of the network that ought to be permanently trimmed; you know, Ive said that for a very long time. Wolfs mandatory shutdown order for all businesses that arent life-sustaining,, New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority, California residents do not sell my data request. Also, President Trump on March 2 re-nominated two of his proposed candidates for the Amtrak Board of Directors - Joseph Gruters and Lynn Westmoreland. 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. through a lot of tough times with Amtrakfrom host railroads that want to put [See Passenger Train Game Changer, October 2013.] Amtrak service is vital to millions of Americans across the nation and by improving the customer experience, driving safety, and strengthening our partnership with states and other stakeholders, we can do much more for the American people, Flynn said in a statement. future paychecks, no healthcare benefits and no jobs. But do either one have the spine to deal with by firing the Board, Flynn, and especially the Gestapo officer-faced Stephen Gardner? We Amtrak didnt want to add a third car because it would lose money because of the allocated costs. Not mentioned was Amtraks reported February co-signing of a $1 billion Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan application tied to proposed new Hudson River tunnels as part of the Gateway Program, and on behalf of real estate developer Related Companies. Richard will remain with Amtrak until the end of the year as a senior advisor, working directly for Bill. 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. The question remains how much of that overhead are we going to take responsibility for when we have no input. She had just spent two days in Washington, D.C., with mediation trying to figure out how we are going to get to the point where the states are assuming an appropriate amount of cost.. If we did default on our countries debt (I am using we because it is our country)the damage would make the COVID virus look like a common cold. But be warned: exactly how Amtrak attributes expenses continues to be shrouded in mystery. He hinted that Amtrak would soon announce that all Acelas would be temporarily discontinued a move the passenger railroad made on Monday. . And given the amount of cash burn we have, Im certain the long-distance network is going to be very different longer term. Flynn, 66, has been a successful leader across multiple modes of transportation, including rail, maritime and aviation. Anderson, who for three years has voluntarily worked without There are pieces of the network that ought to be permanently trimmed; . Classic Railroad Scenes: Railroads at Work. need to be aggressive in preserving our cash, he said. 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. Performance Trackings inherent biases make the investment case hard to prove, with revenue and customer-usefulness benefits buried beneath massive overhead charges that would flow elsewhere as services are discontinued. Thats the question. Unlimited Members, sign in to enjoy sitewide access. [1], Anderson entered the aviation industry after accepting a legal position at Continental Airlines and served as the airline's representative during the investigation of Continental Airlines Flight 1713 in 1987. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski. This article should cause disgrace to suffocate those in charge of AMTRAK. It aint gonna happen. Though not explicitly asking for relief from a scheduled July 1, 2020, raise for union employees, Anderson concluded the call with the hope that we have to do what we have to do to come back strong after the pandemic, and will do our level best to not have anyone at Amtrak involuntarily lose their job. Updated at 7:15 a.m. to include suspension of Acela service. The relationship between the government and Amtrak is almost a pure definition of Fascism. His first day on the job was the third day of what Mr. Cuomo had warned could be a summer of hell because of the disruptive emergency track repairs Amtrak undertook. He was succeeded by former Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot, Francis Blake. But there will be no more spending on Railroad management plus government incompetence. It took him two months in office to start blabbering what President Kamala Harris told him to blabber. [9], In June 2017, Amtrak announced Anderson as the organization's next President and CEO, replacing Charles "Wick" Moorman. Transit Briefs: BART, DART, LACMTA, NYMTA, SEPTA, USDOT: An Additional $24MM for RIA Program Projects, Transit Briefs: NYMTA, MARTA, Amtrak, Keolis, RTD, An Inside Look at the People Who Make GO Trains Look Good, Young Professionals Conference: Fast Tracking Your Career, FRA Safety Advisory: Train Length a Critical Factor, CARB Passes New In-Use Locomotive Regulation, CN, UP, GMXT Launching Falcon Premium (Updated April 26 with UP STB Service Metrics), Class I Briefs: BNSF, CN, CPKC, CSX, CPKC/NS/UP. Everyone is very happy with all the talk about improving rail operation and service, but in reality, no one wants to do the work to fix any of it. Now the return is deeply into the negative numbers, so much so that pensions might be forced into bankruptcy in the near future. Of Amtrak flirted with bankruptcy earlier in the 2000s. Individual salaries will vary depending on the job, department, and location, as well as the employee's level of education, certifications, and additional skills. Anderson will remain a senior adviser through the end of the year. Click the start your search button . So, its a standoff between Congress and Amtrak and the railroad continues to limp along without any vision of what it could be if anybody really cared. Amtrak treats these as a capital expenditure rather than showing them as part of operating expenses. They would also have to answer to the Volpe Transportation Center, which played a significant role in developing Amtraks cost accounting systems. Were not doing any retirement incentive, but taking retirement now will open up a job for someone else in the company. MIKE Really? . Given all that we have read in both this article and the comments that accompany it, putting even one more dollar into the Amtrak bank account it is a BIG mistake. Eleanor D. Acheson. He is not an accountant. but it is very bad form for an exiting ceo to make statements for example about future employment, positive or negative which could be reversed the very first day by the new chief executive. How it accounts for revenue and expense is just a big game played on a giant game board. One way to reduce costs is to eliminate all customer costs: advertising, salesmen, support, service, Since Amtrak has no incentives to increase sales that is what will happen. That needs to change NOW. of the crisis. If the expenditure will extend the life of the asset, it is capitalized and depreciated over the expected life of the asset. Watching Washington, November 2018: When a 1978 labor dispute . Amtrak is also suspending its 401(k) matching contribution for management employees through the end of the calendar year. Between February and July 2016, he sold $15.9 million worth of Delta stock. The biggest is a long-overdue acquisition of new cars and locomotives. Amtrak Contact 202 906.3860 About Amtrak Amtrak offers a more comfortable and convenient travel experience with free Wi-Fi on most trains, plenty of leg room and no middle seat. Flynn.[11]. In need of about $1 billion in supplemental funding to battle an unprecedented drop in ridership, Amtrak has now taken aggressive" steps to cut the pay of top staff and other measures, the company confirmed Saturday. 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. The company estimates those expenses at more than $1 billion for all long-distance trains, and $793.6 million for Northeast Corridor Acela Express and Regional trains running over multitrack, electrified infrastructure maintained to 125-to-160-mph standards. But we are taking this action to help protect everyone. Controlling costs is important to every organization, and Amtrak has periodically reshuffled personnel and organization charts to make the company more efficient since its inception in 1971. A Former Airline CEO Thinks He Can Fix It. What exactly is Anderson supposed to do, run a full schedule of empty trains? Mr. Flynn would be the third veteran executive from the transportation industry to run Amtrak in the last three years. Though he is set to shift to an advisory role when his successor, William Flynn, officially takes over as CEO on April 15, Anderson made it clear that policies recently formulated by the existing management team and Amtrak Board Chairman Anthony Coscia would prevail for the foreseeable feature.
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