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First, the letter writer's declaration that Amtrak is a government-run entity is not true. Amtrak is run with a government subsidy, but it is managed by officials who previously were employed by private railroads and are not government employees.
Second, the Savannah area where her son was to board is operated by CSX, a major freight railroad that controls the arrival and departure of Amtrak trains. The only railroad Amtrak owns, operates and controls is the corridor between Washington and Boston and some limited corridors elsewhere.
I speak as a retired Amtrak engineer who has had 35 years of experience working on the Northeastern corridor, where Amtrak both owns and controls the railroad. As an engineer on the high-speed Acela service, I was late on arrival an average of once a month. Late was described as five minutes for every hundred miles of traveled. For example, between Washington and New York City, a distance of 226 miles, late would have been in excess of 13 minutes.
Amtrak must go to the government with hat in hand every year to keep operating. Any manager of a major corporation would understand that not knowing what funds would be available year to year would be trying. Also, there is a not a national passenger train company in the world that isn't government-subsidized. In fact, we have one of the lowest subsidies of all countries.
Donald E. Pfautz
Bluffton
