Post by vnc on Nov 14, 2008 13:57:32 GMT -8
Amtrak Chief Kummant is Said to be Leaving Raiload
By John Hughes and Angela Greiling Keane
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Amtrak C. E. O. Alex Kummant plans to announce his resignation today from the U. S. passenger railroad, people familiar with the matter said.
Kummant, 48, has led the Washington-based carrier since September 2006. The pople asked not to be identified because the CEO's departure hasn't been made public. Amtrak has ``no comment for now,"spokesman Cliff Black said in an e-mail.
Kummant's departure will give President-elect Barack Obama an opportunity to put his stamp on the railroad. The Bush Administration, which appointed Kummany, sought to cut federal subsides and force Amtrak to operate more like a business.
Former Amtrak board member Michael Dukakis and some analysts have said. Amtrak will benefit from the Obama presidency because it will be more supportive of passenger rail than the outgoing administration.
The gorverment-owned carrier set its sixth-straight year of record ridership, with 28.7 million passengers for the 12 months ended Sept. 30. Highway congestion, $4-a-gallon gasoline and air-traffic delays in the Northeast, Amtrak's busiest corridor, spurred the 11 percent increase.
``We are sorry to see that he is leaving," said David Johnson, deputy director of the Washington-based National Association of Railroad Passengers. ``Stewardship of the railroad over the past two years has been very commendable."
Career Moves
aBefore joining Amtrak, Kummant was executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the U. S. unit of Tokyo-based construction-equipment make Komatsu Ltd. He was also a regional vice president of Union Pacific Corp., the biggest U. S. railroad.
Amtrak, which uses federal subsidies to cover 41 percent of expenses, may see aid jump at least 48 percent a year should lawmakers and Obama honor spending targets set by Congress last month
Congress and President George W. Bush approved legislation calling for $13.1 billion in passenger-rail spending in the next five years. Three-fourths of that is for Amtrak operations,capital and debt service.
WHile states can spend some of the money on other rail lines, Amtrak would get at least an average of $1.93 billion in annual subsidies, up from $1.3 billion now.
Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who commuted on Amtrak daily between Wilmington, DE and Washington during his Senate career may be part of the most `` train-friendly administration in history," said Dukakis the former director.
Biden's son, Hunter, 38, is vice chairman of Amtrak's board, part of a five-year term as a director through 2011.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=av.iLjHtoRwE&refer=home
By John Hughes and Angela Greiling Keane
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Amtrak C. E. O. Alex Kummant plans to announce his resignation today from the U. S. passenger railroad, people familiar with the matter said.
Kummant, 48, has led the Washington-based carrier since September 2006. The pople asked not to be identified because the CEO's departure hasn't been made public. Amtrak has ``no comment for now,"spokesman Cliff Black said in an e-mail.
Kummant's departure will give President-elect Barack Obama an opportunity to put his stamp on the railroad. The Bush Administration, which appointed Kummany, sought to cut federal subsides and force Amtrak to operate more like a business.
Former Amtrak board member Michael Dukakis and some analysts have said. Amtrak will benefit from the Obama presidency because it will be more supportive of passenger rail than the outgoing administration.
The gorverment-owned carrier set its sixth-straight year of record ridership, with 28.7 million passengers for the 12 months ended Sept. 30. Highway congestion, $4-a-gallon gasoline and air-traffic delays in the Northeast, Amtrak's busiest corridor, spurred the 11 percent increase.
``We are sorry to see that he is leaving," said David Johnson, deputy director of the Washington-based National Association of Railroad Passengers. ``Stewardship of the railroad over the past two years has been very commendable."
Career Moves
aBefore joining Amtrak, Kummant was executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the U. S. unit of Tokyo-based construction-equipment make Komatsu Ltd. He was also a regional vice president of Union Pacific Corp., the biggest U. S. railroad.
Amtrak, which uses federal subsidies to cover 41 percent of expenses, may see aid jump at least 48 percent a year should lawmakers and Obama honor spending targets set by Congress last month
Congress and President George W. Bush approved legislation calling for $13.1 billion in passenger-rail spending in the next five years. Three-fourths of that is for Amtrak operations,capital and debt service.
WHile states can spend some of the money on other rail lines, Amtrak would get at least an average of $1.93 billion in annual subsidies, up from $1.3 billion now.
Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who commuted on Amtrak daily between Wilmington, DE and Washington during his Senate career may be part of the most `` train-friendly administration in history," said Dukakis the former director.
Biden's son, Hunter, 38, is vice chairman of Amtrak's board, part of a five-year term as a director through 2011.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=av.iLjHtoRwE&refer=home