Passenger Trains > Don Phillips on Gunn

Here is a link to a good editorial by well-known transportation writer Don Phillips, formerly of the Washington Post, published today in the International Herald Tribune.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/16/business/transcol17.php

It is good people are starting to "wake up", but I am hoping it isn't too little, too late.

BLS

Yeah, because the White House can't stand the truth, that's why everyone including their grandmother is against Gunn's firing in the 1ST place. I beleive the Bush Administration and the Amtrak Board has crossed the line and stepped on a lot of people's toes!

The W.H. probably thought there would be no more reaction to this than the firing of Treasury Sec'y O'Neil when he wasn't stupid enough to go along with the 2nd big tax cut for the rich.

I'm sorry, but I predict that King W. and his cronies will NOT succeed in breaking up Amtrak....With most of congress, the public, and the unions against the administration's proposal, I doubt most long distance trains will be slashed... There may be a showdown and a shutdown of the railroad shortly, but something good might come out of it in the end...! I know this sounds bad, but the firing of David Gunn may actually have been good for Amtrak and its supporters!!!

Steve P.

poffcapt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is a link to a good editorial by well-known
> transportation writer Don Phillips, formerly of
> the Washington Post, published today in the
> International Herald Tribune.
>
> http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/16/business/tr
> anscol17.php
>
> It is good people are starting to "wake up", but I
> am hoping it isn't too little, too late.
>
> BLS


FASCINATING: even [at least some of] the freight railroads are upset over this move; this is REALLY getting interesting. (That BNSF person who is an Amtrak stockholder may hold yet another card the Bush Administration didn't consider.) And why wasn't Minetta EVER at any of the Amtrak board meetings? Just what are we (the tax-payers) paying him for, anyway?

"To the surprise of many, the dominant freight railroads also weighed in - on the side of Gunn, a fellow professional." Don Phillips Article

I believe this is nothing more than some old pals of Gunn sticking up for him. The freight railroads would like nothing better than for AMTRAK to go bye-bye. No AMTRAK trains on their tracks means more capacity for them to run more freights.

So it's the Bush administration against everyone else in the United States who want AMTRAK to be fully funded and Gunn restored to his throne...give me a break!

njt4172 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know this sounds
> bad, but the firing of David Gunn may actually
> have been good for Amtrak and its supporters!!!
>
> Steve P.


I see your point -- in that Gunn's dismissal might be a catalyst for further Amtrak support. Well, it certainly succeeded in drawing attention to their plight.

-HRH

Freight railroads want Amtrak gone so they can run their freights? Give me a break, UP is amazingly doing well after Hurricane Katrina and Isabell, but before those 2 hit the US UP couldn't get a car from Point A to Point B, so Amtrak interferring? PLEASE!

poffcapt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is a link to a good editorial by well-known
> transportation writer Don Phillips, formerly of
> the Washington Post, published today in the
> International Herald Tribune.

This piece by Don Phillips is a 'column', as distinct from an "editorial".

GBNorman wrote: "This piece by Don Phillips is a 'column', as distinct from an "editorial".

Thanks, professor. My mistake! Do you have anything to say about the subject, or are you just in the "teaching" mode? And that's all you will hear from me about this.

BLS

poffcapt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GBNorman wrote: "This piece by Don Phillips is a
> 'column', as distinct from an "editorial".
>
> Thanks, professor. My mistake! Do you have
> anything to say about the subject, or are you just
> in the "teaching" mode? And that's all you will
> hear from me about this.


It's an important distinction to make. An editorial is the opinion of the publication in which it appears. A column is the opinion of the writer.

It is not uncommon for newspapers and magazines to be criticized for carrying opinion pieces that generate controversy, as if the publication were endorsing the opinions carried therein. But if the print media aren't going to play that role in the "marketplace of ideas," who will? Certainly not broadcast, whose attention span is scarcely longer than my three-month-old kitten's.

Interesting to speculate if and why the fright RRs are sticking up for Mr. Gunn. (Does anybody have real examples of this?) On one hand, he's one of THEIRS and if any one of them gets the boot, they're all just a little more eligible for it to happen to THEM. Sort of the "birds of a feather" call on that. But another idea might be that a New Amtrak Boss might not be as open and/or communicative with them (in other words, some political ignoramus who REALLY wants to rock the boat, if nothing else but for the fact that they could get away with it). In that case a known guy, regardless of like or dislike, is FAR better than what might come 'round the corner.

Don't forget that the freight RRs are tied in several ways to Amtrak, not the least of which is the possibility that Federal $$$ for R-O-W and capacity improvements are linked for the most part to access legally controlled by Amtrak. They can pay lip service to hating "them thar passenger trains" but as anybody in the finance world can tell ya, the freight RRs CAN'T come up with the Billions of $$$ needed to upgrade their capacity. Private funds just aren't available for industry with such a low return on investment and the CEOs and CFOs of UP, BNSF, CSX, NS, et al, damn well know it. That leaves Guv'mint as THE only game in town and Amtrak, for better or worse, is the one button they ALL can push.

Amtrak ain't going away because too many people need it for their political pinata (the more you beat on it, the more goodies come your way). Trust me on that.

Columns, especially those by someone as knowledgeable and connected as Don Philips, can be much more than mere 'opinion' - they provide an insight into the currents of events underlying the news.

Ray

djansson Wrote:

> Amtrak ain't going away because too many people
> need it for their political pinata (the more you
> beat on it, the more goodies come your way).
> Trust me on that.

Oh yeah, right, the way they're doing it, everyone knows what Laney's up to, so I for one aint trusting anyone unless they prove otherwise!

In wondering why the freight railroads seem to be sticking up for David Gunn, we might remember that he went out of his way to point out the problems that the freight railroads face and their probable need for assistance in dealing with them. He made the point that Amtrak's difficulties getting over the road are like the miner's canary in a cage--a warning of danger ahead. For example, we know that UP has trouble running its own trains efficiently, so the problems that Amtrak faces on its lines are a symptom of greater problems that face the movement of freight. (Gunn, of course, did not give specific examples--he was too smart for that.) For Gunn, railroading was railroading, and apparently some of the freight railroads recognized that. Whoever is his permanent replacement may not be able to maintain that emphasis.

BobB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In wondering why the freight railroads seem to be
> sticking up for David Gunn, ....

Other than BNSF reminding us that they still own Amtrak stock, what else has been said by the railroads that can be construed as support for Gunn? Or is everyone just hearing what they want to hear?

Gunn is a known quantity to the freight RRs, one who knows railroading. Given the Bush administration's track record with appointing political hacks who know nothing about the thing they are appointed to, it would be logical to expect any new appointee would have little knowledge of railroading, and/or would not be as communicative with the freight roads. Given that unknown, I'd support him too if I were in their shoes.

AMATRAK is the freight railroad's ticket to the federal gravy train? Wow, that's an interesting opinion. Since AMTRAK has performed so well in the past 34 years, why not let the freight railroads belly up to the federal trough. Talk about pork.

Ray_Murphy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Columns, especially those by someone as
> knowledgeable and connected as Don Philips, can be
> much more than mere 'opinion' - they provide an
> insight into the currents of events underlying the
> news.
>

That's true, but my point is that any opinions voiced in such a column are those of the author or his sources, not of the publication.

Amtrak is CSX's second or third highest paying customer. These railroads aren't doing this for free, they get paid, well. They are usually free of any liability also.
Want Amtrak to go bye-bye. I don't think so. But they probably do want more control of scheduling.