politically charged and highly polarized, as evidenced at Railway Age's 2005 Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads conference

If a strong rallying cry to the industry for a thoughtful, well-informed discussion on the future of Amtrak and intercity passenger rail in general is needed now, here it is:

"Beware of people who are advocating radical proposals for restructuring Amtrak, especially when there is no proposal for additional capital funding. Organizations like Amtrak can be restructured until the cows come home, but without a defined policy mission and the capital funding to get there, there will never be real Amtrak 'reform.' When we have a U.S. DOT Secretary going around the country spouting totally false information as the basis for such radical Amtrak restructuring, don't we, collectively as the railroad industry, have an obligation to speak up and speak together? If we do not speak the truth to Congress, the media, and the American people, who will?"--Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Managing Director Gene Skoropowski, upon acceptance of Railway Age's 2005 W. Graham Claytor Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to Passenger Transportation.

More than a few sparks flew at our 12th annual Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads Conference when the subject of Amtrak came up, in particular during a panel chaired by Foley and Lardner's Don Itzkoff. On that panel sat U.S. DOT Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Tyler D. Duvall, who echoed the Bush Administration's call for dismantling Amtrak. "The structure is flawed," he said. "We need the advantages of competitive procurement. We'll never see cool new services in rural America under the present model."

Duvall's comment about "competitive procurement" did not sit well with the freight railroaders in attendance. Norfolk Southern Director-Corporate Affairs Bill Schafer asked Duvall whether the DOT plan involved extending to non-Amtrak entities Amtrak's statutory right of access. "We are subsidizing Amtrak, but we understand why," he said. "We made a deal 35 years ago, and we're sticking to it because of the benefits we got from that deal."

"Duvall's answer to Schafer's question--essentially, 'yes'--was not reassuring," says National Association of Railroad Passengers Executive Director Ross Capon, who was on Itzkof's panel. Duvall also referred to "growing federal subsidies," to which Capon responded: "[Amtrak President and CEO] David Gunn has stabilized Amtrak's operating budget. The growth in Amtrak's total funding request is in the very capital grants that the Administration claims to support."

Skoropowski asked: "Was anyone in the room consulted about the Administration's plan?" No one raised a hand.

Said one observer: "The DOT has a diesel-powered plan on a lighter-fluid budget." Said another: "Whenever you see a plan for dramatic change to be accomplished in one year instead of six or seven, and with no real funding, you know they're not serious about wanting to improve things."

"There is a strong future for railroads, passenger and freight, but unified freight and passenger support for important policy, legislative, and funding issues is key to gaining adequate levels of resources, especially for the railroad capital investments that are essential for survival," Skoropowski emphasized in his award acceptance remarks. "There will always be some differences between the freight and passenger railroads, just as there are between highway and transit advocates, but we could learn at lot from them about building an alliance. We can be far more productive on all of these fronts when we are working together, rather than when we are working against each other."

As for the U.S. DOT, Gene Skoropowski has this message: "You have the potential to be an advocate for this industry, both freight and passenger. You have a potential 'cheering section' out there, ready to work for meaningful policies and funding programs that will grow the railroad industry. Stop the divisive--and in some cases, untruthful--rhetoric trying to achieve a theoretical political ideology. Talk to those of us in the industry who spend every day in the operational trenches. We can provide you with guidance and a dose of reality. Stop listening to the career policy wonks and disaffected, disgruntled quasi-rail advocates who have never actually run a railroad or a business in their lives. Listen to us, and work with us, to develop a program that will grow the railroad business in a way that is beneficial and profitable for the freight railroads and our economy, while strengthening intercity passenger rail as a real public service."