Menesztették az AMTRAK főnököt. Bár az utasszám rekordokat dönt annak ellenére, hogy az Acela fékproblémák miatt fél nyáron nem közlekedett, a felfutófélben lévő vasút pénzügyi helyzete az előrejelzések szerint a következő években rohamosan romlani fog. Egyesek szerint az Amtrak igazgatósága kevésbé legitim, mint a menesztett Gunn úr, stb.

Részlet a The New York Tmies cikkéből:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 - Amtrak's board fired the company's president on
Wednesday morning, widening a divide between the Bush administration and
Congress over the future of the railroad.

The board chairman, David M. Laney, said that the president, David Gunn,
helped develop a strategic plan that would have injected more
competition into passenger operations, but that Mr. Gunn's "enthusiasm
and commitment seems to have drained away."

Mr. Laney said Mr. Gunn had failed to move forward on simpler
initiatives, like outsourcing maintenance and catering in a way that
would cut expenses.

But in a letter to the board dated Nov. 9, Mr. Gunn said, "I can assure
you that we have already begun to work on those initiatives that are
wholly within our control." In a telephone interview Wednesday he said
some changes would require action by Congress.

Mr. Gunn, who is credited with turning around New York City's subway
system in the 1980's and came out of retirement three years ago to steer
Amtrak successfully during a financial crisis, described the reason for
his dismissal as "ideological."

"Obviously, what their goal is - and it's been their goal from the
beginning - is to liquidate the company," Mr. Gunn said in the interview.

The Bush administration has proposed putting the railroad tracks of the
Boston-to-Washington Northeast Corridor, which are Amtrak's major asset,
in the hands of a federal-state consortium, an idea Mr. Gunn has
vehemently opposed. The board has voted for now to put the corridor in a
separate subsidiary.

Mr. Gunn said he did not oppose injecting some competition into the
system if it was done carefully. He pointed out that the administration
had discussed bankrupting the railroad, which would mean breaking it up,
as a way to reorganize.

"They want at least one transportation mode that is totally free
market," Mr. Gunn said.

But highways, airports and ports are all federally subsidized, he said,
decrying "all this angst over an operating deficit of 500 million bucks
for the whole country, and the bulk of money going into capital or
infrastructure."

The action Wednesday was a sharp turnaround for the board. Asked in
September about Mr. Gunn's performance, Mr. Laney told a Senate
subcommittee, "Mr. Gunn has done, as far as I am concerned, a splendid
job."

He said Mr. Gunn had "righted a ship that was listing and about to spill
over."

Mr. Gunn is known as a rail-turnaround artist. He was brought in to fix
the New York City subway system in the 1980's, and provided leadership
in the construction of the subway system in Washington.

Amtrak's supporters in Congress reacted swiftly and bitterly to Mr.
Gunn's removal. Democrats sought to contrast what they said were his
successes, including cutting expenses, increasing ridership and
improving the railroad's physical condition, with the recent failures of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina.