Yahoo news.com just reported that With Amtrak on the brink of a nationwide shutdown, a senator said President Bush and Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta assured Monday that is today that they will keep the nation's passenger railroad operating.
Sen Robert Torricelli D-N.J., said Mineta "gave his word" that the administration will find a way to resolve Amtrak's immediate fincial crisis.
Torricelli discussed Amtrak with Bush and Mineta on Monday during a visit by the president to New Jersey.
He said Bush also "made clear his insistence that there be some changes in Amtrak, some reform in structure and operation.
Members of Amtrak's governing board were gathering in Washington Monday that is today for an afternoon meeting with Mineta, who last week outlined several changes for the money-losing passenger railroad.
Amtrak's new president, David Gunn, says he is open to change but first must find $200 million to close a budget shortfall.
The Federal Railroad Administration, a part of the Transportation Department,is reviewing Amtrak's request for a loan guarantee for the needed $200 million. Amtrak has had trouble tapping its existing line of credit because lenders are unsure how long it can remain in business.
If the railroad administraiton were to rule that Amtrak does not qualify for a loan guarantee, the only options would be a congressional appropriation or an order by lawmakers that the agency grant one.
But time is running out: Gunn has said he would have to begin turning away passenges and directing trains to storage yards by the middle of this week.
A shutdown of Amtrak also could affect commuter railroads serving hundreds of thousands of people, mostly along the Atlantic Seaboard.
Torricelli and Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Jon Corzine of New Jersey, all Democrats, said Sunday that inaction in the crisis would throw the New York Mettropolitan region in chaos.
Torricelli said Monday he is open to long-term reforms, but "right now we don't have time to worry about the long term. We have to worry about people not getting to work on Thursday."
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