Amtrak must form liquidation plan

WASHINGTON -- A federal oversight panel declared Friday that Amtrak will not meet a congressional deadline for achieving financial self-sufficiency, a finding that forces Amtrak to draw up a plan for its own liquidation.

The 6-5 vote by the Amtrak Reform Council does not mean Amtrak trains will stop running. Congress will review Amtrak's liquidation plan and a proposal to be drawn up by the council for a restructured national passenger rail system. Congress then will make a final decision about the future of Amtrak and rail service.

Both studies must be done within 90 days.

Congress already is considering Amtrak's future and what role if any the railway will play in developing high-speed trains around the country.

Congress created the council in 1997 to evaluate Amtrak's finances and to make a definitive judgment about the railway's financial viability. Since then, Amtrak has made progress toward weaning itself from federal operating subsidies but the council said it still won't meet Congress' deadline of Dec. 2, 2002.