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Found at: gopher.quux.org:70/Archives/usenet-a-news/FA.railroad/82.05.10_ucb.1055_fa.railroad.txt

Aucb.1055
fa.railroad
utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!C70:railroad
Mon May 10 12:46:38 1982
Old News
>From Weinstock@CMU-20C Mon May 10 12:46:28 1982
I don't imagine any of you missed this but....
Amtrak Chief Plans to Resign
    WASHINGTON (AP) - Alan S. Boyd is resigning June 30 after four years
as chief executive officer of Amtrak, the national rail passenger
system, with ''no doubt in my mind that the company is here to stay.''
    Boyd, 59, was the nation's first secretary of transportation from
1967 to 1969. He was chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board in the
1960s and has been vice chairman of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
since 1976.
    In a written announcement issued Wednesday, Boyd declined to discuss
his plans for the future until next week, but said he would continue
as chairman of the new American High Speed Rail Corp., which is
trying to attract private investment to build high-speed ''bullet
trains'' in the United States.
    ''I foresee a bright future for the nation's revitalized rail
passenger network,'' Boyd said, noting that the last of the old,
steam-heated passenger cars will be retired this year from Amtrak's
lines.
    Boyd had been president of Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation, and chairman of its board of directors since June 1978.
During his tenure, Amtrak modernized its fleet and improved its
on-time performance.
    Even so, Boyd frequently had to defend Amtrak before Congressional
critics who claimed that it wasted taxpayers' money because it served
relatively few intercity travelers.
    The news of Boyd's resignation upset several senior Amtrak officials
who saw Boyd as a strong force in the corporation's annual battles
with Congress and Reagan administration budget cutters.
    ''He's stabilized the company. He's has an awful lot of credibility
on the (Capitol) Hill and he's developed a lot of credibility with
the administration,'' said Amtrak spokesman John Jacobsen. Other
officials praised Boyd for bolstering morale among employees.
    The Amtrak board has been informed of Boyd's resignation and a
committee has been appointed to search for a successor, a spokesman at
Amtrak's Washington headquarters said.
    Boyd said his goals on taking over the 24,000-mile passenger rail
system had been to establish a sense of permanency for Amtrak and its
employees, to increase labor productivity, to improve train
operations and to establish a long-term process for funding the
service.
    Substantial progress was made in all areas, he said, but he was
disappointed that no long-term funding source had been established, so
that Amtrak could operate more like a private business.
    ''There has never been a time when we have had more credibility with
Congress, our passengers or the public,'' Boyd said. ''Nor has there
been a time when Congress, the administration and Amtrak management
have been more harmonious in agreeing about the need for a nationwide
passenger rail system.''
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