DOT 65-05
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Contact: Robert Johnson
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

Statement of U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta Concerning Amtrak Reform, Delivered at the U.S. Department of Transportation Following the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Amtrak

As you know, I have been traveling the nation in the past few months, talking to railroad workers and governors, community leaders, mayors, and commuters, to deliver the message that Amtrak cannot continue on its present course.

Today, happily, I am joined in this mission by Amtrak itself. After some 34 years and $29 billion of taxpayers’ money, Amtrak is now acknowledging that its current business model is unsustainable and in need of serious reform.

I also welcome the news that the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is prepared to work to pass legislation that helps avoid a financial collapse of Amtrak. But we need action this year to guarantee that intercity rail passengers and taxpayers have the service and accountability that they deserve.

Amtrak’s strategic reform proposal adopts a number of the same principles in the Bush reform proposal that was delivered to Congress last week. But the important thing to note is that we have agreement in a number of areas and we all agree on saving intercity passenger rail.

President Bush’s reform proposal puts us on a new path that will bring solvency and new life into a dying railroad.

Skeptics of our plan like to say that there is no place in the world where passenger trains run at a profit. And I would like to seriously beg to differ.

I just returned from a trip to Asia where I saw firsthand how the Japanese have transformed failed passenger rail into a model of efficiency. For decades, Japan National Railway was a heavily subsidized train service that operated routes that nobody used and was known for its inefficient structure and poor financial service.

But in 1987, Japanese leaders had the courage to break up the railway into six smaller companies that are today known around the world for their on-time performance, cutting-edge technology, and high profit levels. So Japan has shown that there is a better way to run a railway, and I believe that we can also find a better way. I stand ready to work with the Congress to find that better way, and find it this year.