Saving Amtrak

Making trains run on time with greater cost and service efficiency is the motive for Amtrak "reform," according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, but Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer doesn't see it that way at all.

"This is not a reform proposal," Schweitzer said in response to a Tuesday teleconference in which Mineta explained the Bush administration's plans for Amtrak. "This is a proposal to kill Amtrak. Nothing more and nothing less. And we're against it."

But Mineta bluntly rejected any claim that the administration wants to "kill Amtrak," saying the passenger rail service is on course to an eventual natural death.

"Frankly, if that were the case, I would do nothing," he said. "Because what is happening is Congress is going to find it more and more difficult to come up with the money … to try to shoehorn [Amtrak] money into their budget each year."

The administration budget plan has zero funding for Amtrak.

As an alternative to keep the railroad alive, Mineta said, the administration is proposing a cost-share program in which the federal government and participating states would split funding responsibility 50-50, giving states more input in shaping efficient rail systems that meet their respective needs.

"There really ought to be more state, local involvement" with passenger rail services, Mineta said. "What we're trying to do with the reform legislation is to have legislation that makes both economic sense and transportation sense."

Since Amtrak was established in 1971, it has been a

habitual financial loser that has failed to meet capital maintenance needs, often runs late, and has failed to adjust its operations to meet public demands, he said.

Since 1971, "the federal government has poured a little over $30 billion into the system," Mineta said. "And as I look at it, I'm not sure what we have to show for the $30 billion we've poured into it."

Amtrak's Empire Builder, which traverses Montana's Hi-Line, lost more than $8 million last year, while nationwide Amtrak operated at a loss of $75 million last year, Mineta said.

The Empire Builder serves just 3.5 percent of the state's population since it passes well north of the state's largest cities, and it passes through just once a day in each direction, running late 30 percent of the time, Mineta said.

"I understand the significance of the Empire Builder, and while it doesn't lose as much as other long-distance lines, it does lose money," he said.

The cost-share program would introduce an element of competition, he said, allowing for other companies to take over specific Amtrak operations if they can provide the services more efficiently. That has happened in Massachusetts and it is about to happen in Los Angeles, he noted.

Asked if the administration's plans will work with a large, rural state like Montana, Mineta cited an Alaskan rail service as an example, but mostly he referred to rail systems in more densely populated areas.

If a state cannot afford or chooses not to participate in the Amtrak cost-share program, Mineta said, then the rail service would pass through that state without stopping.

Asked how much Montana would have to contribute, Mineta said he was not sure, and did not have any estimates available.

Schweitzer blasted the administration's Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act as being "hypocritical," considering there have federally financed bailouts for airlines. And the plan abandons the federal government's traditional role in backing interstate transportation.

"What's next, are they going to have Montana building and maintaining federal highways in Montana?" Schweitzer asked.

Mineta's inability to produce a cost estimate shows that the administration has not considered the feasibility of a cost-share program for a state like Montana, Schweitzer said.

"That dog don't hunt," Schweitzer said. "Where do we get that kind of money? I don't know how much it is, but I can tell you it's in the tens of millions, or hundreds of millions."

Schweitzer said Mineta's Montana media teleconference was held to counter a "whistlestop tour" that Schweitzer is taking on Amtrak today.

"This was everything about damage control, because we are forcing the issue with our whistlestop tour," said Schweitzer, adding that Amtrak is a "lifeline along the northern tier of Montana" and a "huge driver in the economy of the Flathead."

Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., both issued statements Tuesday on the administration's plans for Amtrak.

"Amtrak, and specifically the Empire Builder, is a national rail service," Burns said. "It should be handled from that perspective. I certainly agree there are ways to improve the efficiency and profitability of Amtrak, but I'm concerned about the financial impact on the states. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress, state officials and the administration to find a long-term solution to the Amtrak problem."

According to Baucus, "I cannot and will not support any program that would shift the burden of funding Amtrak onto the backs of Montanans. That's exactly what this plan would do. This proposal would dismantle Amtrak as we know it. That's unacceptable and I cannot stand by and let that happen. I stand by Amtrak and its service along the Hi-Line 110 percent. Amtrak is vital to our state's economy and our way of life. I'll continue to fight and to do all I can to fully fund Amtrak."

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com