Transportation secretary - Solution to Amtrak problems close

Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- A solution to Amtrak's immediate financial woes "is very, very close," Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said Tuesday.

Mineta said the problem could be solved by Wednesday offered no details on what actions would be taken to close a $200 million Amtrak budget gap. Amtrak says it will have to shut down without the money.

"No one wants to see Amtrak die," Mineta said. "We're coming along very well. We're very, very close to coming to a solution to help Amtrak."

Mineta made the comments in response to a question at a luncheon sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

Earlier in the day, Senate Democrats urged President Bush to include $205 million for Amtrak in a new spending bill and Mineta met with labor unions to discuss ways to keep the passenger rail system running.

"If we are going to help Amtrak, they must have resources and they must have them as quickly as possible," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

Mineta discussed the administration's efforts to overhaul Amtrak with representatives of transportation unions. Last week he proposed ending federal operating subsidies, allowing competition for passenger rail, making states more responsible for paying for train service, and replacing Amtrak as owner of the Boston-to-Washington Northeast Corridor.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee, agreed on the need for changes but rejected the Bush administration's plan.

"Their reform package is a reform package for failure," Murray said.

Murray and 16 other Senate Democrats -- more than one-third of the caucus -- sent a letter to Bush asking that he include $205 million for Amtrak in the supplemental spending bill.

On the Republican side, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas said the federal government has an obligation to maintain a national railroad system. "We're all going to be in this together," she said.

But Hutchison, a supporter of Amtrak, also agreed that railroad operations need an overhaul. She said Amtrak's labor costs were "out of line with other workers in our country" and urged rail unions to be open to changes.

A day earlier, Mineta expressed confidence that Amtrak would not shut down for lack of operating funds.

"I am confident that we will be able to avoid a shutdown of services," Mineta said Monday, breaking away from an emergency meeting of Amtrak's board of directors.

Amtrak President David Gunn and board Chairman John Robert Smith said Mineta's pledge would delay Wednesday's threatened shutdown, the first in the railroad's 31-year history, but would not prevent it.

"There has been no reconciliation of the simple fact that Amtrak is running out of cash and (there is) no agreement on how to provide a loan guarantee or appropriation that will continue train service to the end of the fiscal year," the Amtrak officials said.

The Amtrak board met for several hours, but recessed without any final decisions. Transportation Department spokesman Chet Lunner said the board would meet again later in the week.

Mineta has called for a combination of spending cuts and federal aid to close an immediate $200 million Amtrak budget deficit. Gunn said last week he would begin shutting down the railroad without financial help.

In addition, Amtrak is seeking a loan guarantee from the Federal Railroad Administration. The railroad is having trouble borrowing from the private sector because lenders are unsure how long it will remain in business.

Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead reported in January that Amtrak lost $1.1 billion in 2001, the most in its history, and had made no progress toward meeting Congress' 1997 order to wean itself from annual government operating subsidies by this December.

Mineta said the administration and Amtrak would work with Congress to make sure passenger rail service continued. He said the administration should not bear the responsibility alone for Amtrak's problems.

"This must be a team effort," he said. "The burden is not on the administration to save the rail system from bankruptcy, nor should it be."

Amtrak trains carry about 60,000 riders a day. About 35,000 of those ride in the Northeast Corridor.

A shutdown of Amtrak also could affect commuter railroads serving hundreds of thousands of people. Amtrak owns tracks and tunnels used by some commuter rail lines, and operates other systems for state or regional authorities.

------On the Net:

Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com

Federal Railroad Administration: http://www.fra.dot.gov