Comments on Criticism of NARP by Joseph Vranich et al

A number of long-time critics of Amtrak put out a September 5 news release, which included a letter to the NARP Board of Directors, and a note promoting Joseph Vranich’s latest anti-Amtrak book. This diatribe contains several factual errors and misrepresentations, as discussed below.

(1) It is true that NARP has a contract to provide administrative support for Amtrak’s Customer Advisory Committee. This was reported in our July 1996 newsletter when the committee was formed, and has been reported to the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure in their “Truth in Testimony” form when I have testified there.

(2) The contract is break even for us, so it is not accurate to characterize Amtrak as a contributor to NARP.

(3) We billed Amtrak for $34,464 in 2005, not the $42,000 stated in the letter. The amount we billed represented about 3.5% of our gross receipts for the year, but—as noted in (2)—was used to provide the services for which Amtrak contracted.

(4) The issue of this contract has not arisen in any discussions by the NARP board or staff about whether to criticize Amtrak on any issue.

(5) It is false to say that “NARP has opposed any form of ‘privatization,’ contracting-out, competitive franchising or devolvement of any portion of Amtrak’s system.” Indeed, NARP’s statements this year to the House and Senate appropriations committees implicitly endorsed outsourcing the same aspects of mechanical work that major freight railroads outsource.

(6) Far from being “little more than a cheering section for Amtrak,” NARP has opposed Amtrak service cuts, policy changes, fare increases, among other issues that adversely affect passengers. We routinely disagree with Amtrak and offer constructive criticism to improve service; these expressions frequently are made privately. Given the hostile climate Amtrak has often faced, there have been times when it appeared that public criticism would backfire and be used to fuel attempts to shut down the system.

Note: The release was sent to the media before it reached NARP. Mr. Vranich e-mailed me on September 6: “This attached message [release+letter without book promotion] was intended to get to you several hours prior to the public release of the letter. As you can see in the attachment, it didn’t go through because it was mistakenly sent to NARP at a .com instead of a .org. I regret the error.”

—Ross B. Capon
NARP Executive Director