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WASHINGTON – The Amtrak Board of Directors has elected Anthony R. Coscia to be its next chairman to help guide the future of the railroad and carry out initiatives to increase ridership and improve operational and financial performance. In addition, the Amtrak board elected Jeffrey R. Moreland as vice-chairman.

An Amtrak board member since June 2010, and current chairman of its Audit and Finance committee, Coscia succeeds departing board chairman Thomas C. Carper whose term on the board expires this month.

“During my five years on the board of directors, Amtrak has made undeniable progress and all board members have worked together successfully, and in bipartisan fashion, to improve our nation’s intercity passenger rail service,” said Carper.

“I am confident Tony and Jeff will provide effective leadership, continue what is working while promoting new initiatives and work closely with President and CEO Joe Boardman to further transform Amtrak so it better delivers on its national mission to provide connectivity and mobility across the country,” Carper added.

“It is an honor to serve as Amtrak’s next chairman and I thank the Obama administration and many members from both houses of Congress whose support for Amtrak has been invaluable,” Coscia said. “On behalf of the Board and Amtrak’s employees I also want to thank Tom Carper and Nancy Naples for their exemplary service as their terms as board members come to an end.”

“As chairman, I am committed to increasing ridership, strengthening Amtrak’s operational performance and improving its financial position,” he explained. “Over the many years that I have been involved in infrastructure, and especially over my last three years on Amtrak’s board, I have come to recognize that passenger rail is vital to America’s economic growth and to addressing our nation’s growing need for mobility and connectivity.”

Since joining Amtrak’s board, Coscia has strongly supported investments in America’s national rail network. In particular, he is a strong advocate for making improvements to rail corridors that link the nation’s urban centers, such as the Northeast Corridor, and that connect parts of the country underserved by other modes of transit. He also supports investments in rail infrastructure so it can handle more trains and carry more passengers at higher speeds.

Coscia brings to the position an extensive background, including previously serving as chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and experience in redevelopment finance and corporate governance. Currently, he is a partner at the law firm of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP.

Jeffrey Moreland also has been an Amtrak board member since June 2010 and is the chairman of its Government Affairs and Legal & Corporate Affairs committee. He succeeds Nancy Naples as vice-chairman. He enjoyed a long career at BNSF Railway including several senior management positions in law and government affairs, and most recently as executive vice president for public affairs.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Tony, the other board members and Joe Boardman and his management team. I believe all of us working together will allow Amtrak to continue to make progress in achieving our goals,” said Moreland.

“The success of Amtrak is, in part, a result of the strong and collaborative relationship between management and the board of directors,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman. “Tony and Jeff have always brought both passion and solutions to the discussion and their leadership will help carry Amtrak into the future and to continued improvements.”

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ORLANDO, Fla. – As lawmakers prepare to debate passenger rail reauthorization, leaders of AFL-CIO transportation unions are calling on Congress to set a long-term future for Amtrak that meets the demands of a growing ridership, invests in the railroad’s decaying equipment and network, protects the rights and jobs of workers and rejects “risky” privatization of key routes and services.



“While Americans are clamoring for more transportation options, Congress must ensure that Amtrak and its employees have the resources necessary to meet the nation’s growing rail transportation needs,” said Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD). “Inaction and neglect in Washington have left Amtrak with an enormous backlog of critical upgrades to its infrastructure and rail cars.”



In 2013 both the House and Senate will draft legislation to provide funding and structure to our nation’s passenger rail network. A policy statement adopted by TTD’s Executive Committee urges Congress to replace the current policy of “underinvestment and disrepair” with a long-term plan that modernizes our passenger and freight rail infrastructure and discards proposals to “sell-off the carrier’s most prized routes and assets, and hollow out the remainder of the network.”



Transportation unions emphasized Amtrak’s readiness to lead the nation’s expansion into both higher speed and conventional passenger rail services.



Amtrak has “an extensive reservation system, mature relationships with the freight railroads, the physical infrastructure needed to support high-speed rail initiatives and decades of demonstrated compliance with all federal rail laws,” the Executive Committee declared, adding that as billions in new public investments are rolled out in the rewrite of federal rail policy, “the reauthorization must safeguard the rights, jobs and wages of front-line workers.”



Wytkind added: “We will mobilize behind this sensible plan to rewrite our passenger rail laws and give our government the tools it needs to execute a national rail policy.”

The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo:

In his State of the Union Address last week, President Obama spoke about the importance of investing in our infrastructure as a path to create new jobs and lay a foundation for America’s economic success.

Joe Szabo

In the last three years, American businesses have added 6 million new jobs, including a half-million in manufacturing. But there’s more to be done. And while construction jobs are often the most visible, our investments can continue remaking America as a magnet for manufacturing.

In a new report, the Environmental Law and Policy Center highlights the scope of the railway supply industry in the Midwest.

The report found 122 suppliers in Ohio, 99 in Indiana, 49 in Michigan, 84 in Illinois, 73 in Wisconsin, 26 in Minnesota and seven in Iowa. The Midwest is not alone. Railway suppliers are located in 49 out of 50 states and employ 94,000 people.

Manufacturers like Cleveland Track Material in Ohio are benefiting from the $12 billion the U.S. DOT has invested in passenger rail over the last four years. Started by Vietnam Veteran Bill Willoughby in 1984 in an impoverished section of Cleveland, the company was one of 53 across 20 states that received an order from Maine’s Downeaster service expansion project. Last year, Cleveland Track invested over $5 million in new production equipment at their plant. The company employs 300 people in Ohio, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. 

Manufacturers are opening new plants in the United States. Recently, the state of California awarded the newly-opened Nippon Sharyo plant in Illinois with a contract to build 130 rail cars that will run on the state’s existing corridors.

Amtrak and California High Speed Rail Authority have answered our call to work together to explore a bundled procurement for the next generation of high-speed rail equipment – equipment designed to reach up to 220 mph. Combining orders will provide incentives to high-speed rail manufacturers to build factories domestically, creating new high-quality jobs and tremendous opportunities for suppliers.

Investments in freight rail will also mean new jobs at suppliers. Last week, the Association of American Railroads announced the industry would invest more than $24 billion this year in its network.

President Obama also recently signed into law the Shortline and Regional Railroad 45G Tax Credit. The Railway Tie Association estimates that when the 45G credit is in effect, between 500,000 and 1,500,000 additional railroad ties will be installed each year.

For the first time in more than a decade, America is adding new manufacturing jobs. Continued investment in our rail network will put Americans to work in factories today, and lead to economic expansion over the next generation.

Amtrak LogoContract talks on Amtrak are continuing, General Chairperson Dirk Sampson reports. 

“As these negotiations are ongoing and sensitive, I am not a liberty to release the details,” he said. 

“My main priority with Amtrak is getting this contract settled,” Sampson said. “Mediation talks are ongoing. Currently, mediation sessions are scheduled for Feb. 13 and 14 and March 20 and 21. We are still trying to resolve a few difficult issues. The negotiation team will continue to press its demands with the assistance and guidance of Assistant President John Previsich.”

 

 

Amtrak LogoThe U.S. Senate has confirmed Christopher R. Beall and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke as new members of the Amtrak Board of Directors for five-year terms.

Beall, of Oklahoma, is a partner at Highstar Capital, an infrastructure investment firm specializing in the transportation, environmental services and energy sectors. Previously, Beall was chief financial officer for Aslan Group, and an associate with a natural resources division of Lehman Brothers. He earned an undergraduate  degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University and a master’s in business administration from Harvard.

Burke, of California, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the California Assembly, currently is a member of the California Transportation Commission. She previously served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors while a partner at the law firm of Jones Day. Burke earned an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a law degree from the University of Southern California School of Law.

Other members of the Amtrak board include Chairman Thomas C. Carper, Vice Chairperson Nancy A. Naples, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman, Anthony R. Coscia, Bert Di Clemente, and former BNSF Vice President Jeffrey Moreland.

For Amtrak, Santa has been nice all year – if you forget the numerous and vicious attacks on Amtrak by outgoing House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica.

As we look back on 2012, Mica’s attacks were primarily theater, for the benefit of his conservative base, with about as much chance of Amtrak funding being cancelled, its Northeast Corridor being privatized or its higher-speed plans curtailed as there is of Santa landing on a snowy rooftop above Mica’s Florida home.

The realty of 2012 is that it was a banner year for Amtrak, as chronicled by the National Association of Rail Passengers. Here are some highlights:

* Passenger ridership is setting a record – not only for Amtrak, but for mass transit nationwide.

* In New England, Amtrak service was expanded to Freeport and Brunswick, Maine, while Northeast Regional train service has returned to Norfolk, Va.

* Faster and more frequent Amtrak service is on tap for Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina, with improvements allowing 110-mph service between Chicago and St. Louis and Chicago and Detroit advancing, plus California’s high-speed rail initiative is progressing toward initial construction linking Sacramento and Los Angeles.

* On the Northeast Corridor, Acela speeds will soon top out at 165-mph on portions of the route, with plans for post-Acela equipment acquisition and significant corridor infrastructure improvements becoming reality.

Meanwhile, Mica’s successor as chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee is Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who actually rides Amtrak. In the Senate, Amtrak support remains strong among the Democratic majority and many Republicans.

Finally, we can expect continued support for expanded high-speed rail initiatives from President Obama, whose support for high- and higher-speed rail is stronger than any administration since Amtrak was created.

Amtrak LogoUTU Amtrak conductors and yardmasters are currently in mediation with regard to an amended wage, benefits and working conditions agreement.

The UTU and Amtrak are far apart on a few difficult issues.

At this time, the parties are exploring alternative methods of interest-based resolution. This may or may not work. The UTU and Amtrak have an accelerated schedule with dates in January.

It will be known at the end of these sessions whether this approach has any hope of success, or if it will be necessary to go down the traditional path of self-help under provisions of the Railway Labor Act.

Stem

“Every Amtrak employee should be placed in a productive position that supports the needs of customer service and managed growth of operations,” UTU National Legislative Director James Stem told Congress Nov. 28.

“Amtrak operating crews are among the most productive workers in that system and our members are ready and eager to work,” he said in testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Assign us a train and provide for instructions and where to go, and our members will show up for duty and get Amtrak passengers to their destination safely and on time. We in labor are Amtrak’s partners.”

Stem praised Amtrak’s Next Generation Plan that “provides a road map for improved service and identifies the funding requirements. But for us to succeed, Congress must provide Amtrak with consistent and predicable multi-year funding for modernization and capacity upgrades. Amtrak’s Next Generation Plan for the Northeast Corridor will cut the transit time in half between Washington, D.C.’s Union Station and New York’s Penn Station, as well as between New York and Boston.

“What Amtrak really needs is dramatic increases in capital investments,” Stem said. “Capital spending to increase speeds and upgrade Amtrak’s infrastructure is the ticket to transporting American’s in a cost effective and energy efficient manner.”

Stem reminded lawmakers that “Amtrak also plays a central role in financing Railroad Retirement, which is a self-funding pension, unemployment and disability benefit program that covers almost one million active and retired railroad workers. Changes in the financial treatment of Amtrak, such as significant funding cuts or passenger rail privatization, could jeopardize the solvency of the system.

“Americans want a national intercity rail passenger network, and Amtrak is uniquely able to fill that need. Highways and commercial aviation will not alone meet the nation’s future passenger transportation needs and demands. The coordination of air and rail passenger services should be mandated to free more air slots and provide timely rail services for shorter travel distances.”

Stem also made clear labor’s “full support for the expansion of our freight rail capacity. Amtrak and our freight railroads work together as partners and both have capacity needs that can be mutual goals. We support the expansion of Amtrak services and understand that this expansion must also address the capacity needs of our freight rail partners.”

UTU National Legislative Director James Stem, right, testifies before the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Nov. 28 with Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman, left, and Amtrak
Inspector General Theodore Alves.

The UTU Transportation Safety Team is assisting National Transportation Board investigators following an Oct. 21 derailment of an Amtrak passenger train in Niles, Mich.

News reports indicate the investigation initially is focusing on whether the train was on the wrong track.

Some 174 passengers were on board, according to news reports, and seven passengers and two crew members were treated at area hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.

Amtrak LogoThe Republican National Convention has made it official and in writing – the Republican Party, its presidential candidate Mitt Romney and its vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan are in agreement to end all federal funding for Amtrak and high-speed rail.

Romney previously signed on in support of a Ryan budget proposal Ryan introduced in Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. That proposal, which was approved by the Republican-controlled House – but not the Democratic controlled Senate – was to slash guaranteed federal funding for mass transit, and fold Railroad Retirement into Social Security and cancel all Railroad Retirement benefits in excess of what is paid by Social Security.

Here is what the Republican platform says about Amtrak:

“Amtrak continues to be, for the taxpayers, an extremely expensive railroad … It is long past time for the federal government to get out of the way and allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the Northeast Corridor. The same holds true with regard to high-speed and intercity rail across the country.”

What neither the Republican platform nor Romney and Ryan acknowledge is that no passenger rail system in the world earns a profit, and the few private sector firms that have expressed interest in operating passenger trains say it can only be done with help from tax subsidies.

Moreover, whatever few intercity rail passenger routes that might be taken over by private companies almost certainly would be accompanied by cancelling collective bargaining rights, and reducing wages and benefits.

Thus, the result of the Republican-Romney-Ryan approach, formalized in the Republican platform, is the end of Amtrak and intercity passenger rail, and huge reductions in transit funding throughout America.