Trainsmag.com just reported that the Senate Appropiations subcommittee on surface transportation will hold a hearing Thursday morning on Amtrak's financial crisis and what can be done to avert a shutdown of the railroad in July.
Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn, who has said that Amtrak would have to shut down unless it can obtain a $205 million loan that will tide the railroad over until the beginning of the fiscal year in October, is scheduled to testify at the hearing.
Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter and Donna McLean, the Transportation Department's chief financial officer, are slated to appear before the panel chaired by Washington Democrat Sen. Patty Murray.
Department of Transportatioon Inspector General Kenneth Mead-who warned in January that Amtrak would not make it to the end of the fiscal year without massive borrowing or additional federal subsidies-also is scheduled to testify.
The hearing was added to the Senate schedule on Friday. The Washington post reported that Congress and the Bush administration are beginning to realize that Gunn's shutdown warning reflects the railroad's fiscal reality and is not a threat intended to pry more money from Uncle Sam.
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