Washington D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today released a report exposing significant flaws in the way Amtrak, the nation's passenger rail system, makes decisions about which routes to support or cancel and announced his plans to introduce legislation overhauling the way Amtrak route decisions are reached. The report compiled by the General Accounting Office illustrated that Amtrak has been unsuccessful in implementing its Network Growth Strategy, dramatically overestimated expected revenue and failed to reach agreement with freight railroads about their involvement in planned route expansion. Wyden requested the report because of concern that Amtrak was basing route decisions on political, rather than economic, concerns.

"This report provides yet more evidence that Amtrak's route decisions are not based on the merits," said Wyden. "With the substantial federal investment made in Amtrak every year, taxpayers should be guaranteed that objective information is the foundation for route decisions."

Initially concerned about factors leading to the 1997 cancellation of the Pioneer Line connecting Portland, Denver and Chicago, Wyden now is calling on Congress to demand objectivity and an independent process to guide Amtrak in route decisions. Wyden plans to introduce an amendment to the Amtrak reauthorization bill that would require the Department of Transportation Inspector General to create objective criteria on which future Amtrak route decisions will be based. The Senate Commerce Committee plans to markup the Amtrak reauthorization bill on Thursday.

"If Congress is to continue providing funds to Amtrak, then we need solid assurance that route decisions are made on the merits and we're not just throwing money at a runaway train," said Wyden. "That's why I am proposing that Amtrak decisions be made according to objective economic indications, and that those decisions reflect sound business practices, not political whim."

Over the past several years, Amtrak's plan for self-sufficiency has traveled contradictory tracks. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak planned to cut routes to save costs, leading to the demise of the Pioneer line, even though Pioneer was in better financial shape than other routes that were maintained. In 1998, Amtrak leaders determined that expanded service was the key to increasing revenues and bringing Amtrak toward self-sufficiency. To implement this new vision, Amtrak created the Network Growth Strategy, a plan to expand 15 routes. According to the GAO report, of the 15, only two routes were expanded, nine were canceled, three were delayed and one failed. Overestimated prediction of revenue and failure to secure customers for the expanded services were cited as two major factors resulting in the failure of the plan.

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