Creation of NEC infrastructure subsidiary

RESOLUTION OF CONCERN REGARDING CREATION OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE SUBSIDIARY
Whereas the Amtrak Board of Directors in April approved and publicized a strategic plan which stated in part that the separation of “infrastructure management from operations for planning, accounting and financial reporting and analysis purposes…will deliver much of the benefit of ownership segregation,” and stated, “We have decided for now…that the costs, complexities and risks of such a split within Amtrak outweigh the benefits,” 
Whereas the Amtrak Board on September 22, 2005, directed management to “to take all appropriate action” to create a wholly owned “NEC Subsidiary,” subject to the board’s final approval,
Whereas the board’s action was never officially announced but was reported in The New York Times three weeks later, after being revealed by another organization,
Whereas the considerable work required to create such a subsidiary would also be required to undertake the break-up of Amtrak long proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation,
Whereas this work also inevitably would divert management attention from other areas where the need for improvement is much greater than with infrastructure,
Whereas the Association is mistrustful of the U.S. DOT because of its lack of commitment to intercity passenger rail,
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Board of Directors of the National Association of Railroad Passengers joins the U.S. Conference of Mayors in expressing “deep concerns regarding the Amtrak Board of Directors’ decision” directing management to prepare for creation of a subsidiary to own Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor infrastructure, and in urging “Congress to immediately begin hearings on the actions of the Amtrak Board of Directors.”

—Approved October 21, 2005 by the Board of Directors of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, meeting in Minneapolis, MN.