Amtrak commuter chaos may be averted
Bush promises to stop traveling turmoil
for thousands
By charles w. kim
Staff Writer

NEW YORK — Thousands of New Jersey commuters may owe President George W. Bush a debt of thanks.

According to a published report, Bush said he will help financially troubled Amtrak resolve a $200 million shortfall, and prevent a nationwide shutdown of the service threatened for Wednesday.

Bush’s pledge comes just as the state Department of Transportation Commission-er James P. Fox confirmed the worst for commuters.

"A government shutdown of Amtrak could pitch our economy and our transportation network into chaos," Fox said in a Monday afternoon statement.

According to the statement, the DOT learned only Monday that Amtrak would forbid Transit from operating the Northeast Corridor line in the event of a shutdown.

"The lives of hundreds of thousands of commuters and the economic vitality businesses across the East Coast are being threatened by the ideological battle being waged in Washington, D.C.," Fox said.

Three U.S. senators said at a Penn Station news conference Sunday that a shutdown of Amtrak would send the region’s commuters into "chaos."

"This is our economic infrastructure," Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) said, stating that the impact of a shutdown would devastate the region’s economy.

"This is not a question of losing a few tourist trains through rural Montana. These people are going to work," said Torricelli, flanked by colleagues Sens. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

"Our region’s economy has already been hurt by Sept. 11," Corzine said.

Amtrak President David Gunn threatened to shut down the carrier Wednesday if a $200 million bridge loan could not be obtained to keep the financially troubled rail line going until a $1.2 billion federal appropriation is delivered in October.

Amtrak owns miles of rail track in New Jersey and New York, including the Northeast Corridor Line from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

Officials said Amtrak owns not only the tracks but the radio and signaling systems as well.

According to a letter Fox sent to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta on Monday, there is no contingency plan that could handle the national carrier shutting down.

"It is impossible to prepare a contingency plan for an Amtrak shutdown. More than 60 percent of New Jersey trains, serving at least 80,000 passengers would be stranded," the letter said.

"Wednesday is D-Day for New York area commuters because that is the day that will determine if Penn Station stays open," Schumer said.

The senators appealed to Bush to make the funding available to avert a shutdown of the service.

"This is a crisis that is unnecessary and easily averted," Torricelli said.

In a published report Monday afternoon, Torricelli said that Bush and Mineta gave their word that the shutdown would be averted, and that the administration would find a way to resolve the carrier’s immediate financial crisis.

Torricelli said he spoke with Mineta and Bush during the president’s trip to the Garden State to speak on improving security for its ports.

While Bush is pushing for major reforms at Amtrak before granting any more federal dollars, Torricelli said that the short-term problem must be fixed so people can get to work.

None of the agencies involved will comment on the potential impact the shutdown will have on the thousands of NJ Transit train commuters.

NJ Transit spokeswoman Janet Hines referred all questions regarding the issue to the state Department of Transportation on Monday morning.

"NJ Transit is under them," Hines said.

When asked if the agency was developing any plan to deal with the possible shut down, Hines again referred questions to the DOT.

"We’re not going to be able to give out any information," Hines said.

Christina Montor-io, a spokeswoman for state Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D-19th District) was more optimistic about the commuting situation in case of a shutdown. Wisniewski is the chairman of the Assembly’s Transportation Committee.

"We are 99 percent sure that [NJ] Transit will not shut down service," Montorio said Monday.

Montorio said the funding would likely materialize by Wednesday’s deadline, and if it did not, "provisions will be made" to keep Transit trains running.

Wisniewski responded to a June 13 article published by Greater Media Newspapers which quoted a federal official as saying that Transit trains would also stop if Amtrak closed.

"If Amtrak shuts down, Transit shuts down," the official said in that article.

"Quite simply, the stoppage of trains on the Northeast Corridor Line is not an option," Wisniewski said in a letter to the editor. "Your readers should be assured that I will work with Commissioner of Transportation James Fox and George Warrington, executive director, NJ Transit, to guarantee that NJ Transit trains continue to run."

Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th District) said then that a shutdown of Amtrak would likely have a negative effect on local commuters."I don’t see how NJ Transit would not be badly affected by a shutdown of Amtrak," Holt said.

Amtrak’s board of directors scheduled a meeting for Monday afternoon to discuss the situation. That meeting was expected to last into the evening, according to Amtrak.