Hotline #231-A - February 26, 2002

The Amtrak board voted February 22 to name John Robert Smith its new chairman. Smith is a longtime board member and mayor of Meridian, Miss. He replaces Tommy Thompson as chairman, who resigned in 2000. Thompson had been governor of Wisconsin, but became President Bush's Secretary of Health and Human Services last year.

The acting board chairman after Thompson's resignation had been Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts. Dukakis remains on the board and will go back to being vice chairman of the board, as he was earlier. There still is a vacancy on the Amtrak board (Thompson's seat).

Smith said in a statement, "I believe very strongly that our country's economic competitiveness and the mobility of all Americans depends upon a vital national passenger rail system." Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) said in a wire story, "I am especially pleased that a Mississippian has been elected to this very important post. He certainly has the strength and commitment to lead Amtrak through the challenges before it."

Amtrak has begun the process of laying off some station agents. This is in connection with Amtrak's announcement of February 1 that in order to make it through the end of fiscal 2002 (to September 30), it would -- among other things -- seek to cut $110 million in operating costs. Included in that is a plan to lay off about 140 station workers at the 73 "lowest-performing" stations, effective March 1.

The Amtrak board has directed that no station be de-staffed entirely, so it appears that more than 50 stations will be staffed only five days a week and thus lose checked baggage service. NARP has asked the board to consider preserving daily staffing and baggage service at more stations by completely unstafffing other stations. Normally, a "half-staffed" station is locked whenever staff is not present, whereas some unstaffed stations have caretakers who open waiting rooms for all trains. In any event, in the case of a late train, a station agent will remain on duty until it arrives.

Among the criteria used by Amtrak to select the "lowest performing" stations was a high ratio of labor costs to revenues generated at a station, and the number of trains serving that station.