May 2011 - Amtrak

4 | May 2011 Amtrak Ink
“I
F THE 1970s were a time of trial for the
freight companies, they were a time of
growth and expansion as the newly
formed Amtrak raced against time to
implement new ideas that could control costs and
develop the services that would improve revenues.
We always knew that Amtrak’s survival was not a
foregone conclusion. The Nixon administration considered
it an experiment and might have let it pass if
the 1973 energy crisis had not awakened people to
the need for transportation alternatives. …
I joined Amtrak in March 1975, replacing Roger
Lewis as Amtrak’s second CEO; Roger became the
board chairman, and we worked closely on some
major policy issues, such as the acquisition of the car
and locomotive shop at Beech Grove, Ind.
Shortly after I arrived at Amtrak, Congress
passed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory
Reform Act, usually known as the ‘4R Act.’
President Ford signed the law in February 1976, and
it changed the history of Amtrak by deeding the
Penn Central route between Boston, New York and
Washington — the Northeast Corridor — to
Amtrak.
This was a watershed; we were on a countdown
to the biggest transition this company had ever
made — from a company that simply ran and marketed
trains to a fully integrated railroad.”
Paul Reistrup
Amtrak President
1975 to 1978
Excerpted from Amtrak: An American Story
May 1 – Amtrak service
begins.
1971
1972
14 daily Metroliner Service
trains offered from New
York to Washington, D.C.
“Save energy – take our
car” campaign targets
consumers concerned
about rising gas prices.
1973
Stronger Through
the Struggles
Dennis Rewkowski
Senior Safety Officer
High-Speed Rail
Philadelphia
Hired 1973
1976
In April, Amtrak takes over
the Northeast Corridor.
“Amtrak has
changed in many
ways over the
years. So often our
change is cyclical,
at times repeated
to the degree of us
having ‘been there,
done that.’
However, those
changes have
always brought
significant
improvements in
our business
outlook, our
accomplishments,
our productivity, quality and safety. We
have always learned from our downfalls,
and the benefits derived have served to
make us better, stronger and more effective
in what we do.”
Amtrak introduces Superliner I,
the first new long-distance car
in two decades, on Chicago-
Seattle Empire Builder.
1979