LIRR watchdog group: Amtrak board lacks commuter rep Newsday Jul 19, 2013 Mark Epstein, chairman of the LIRR Commuter Council, said Thursday that a vacancy on Amtrak’s seven-member board should be filled by a New York commuter. No Way! Amtrak was never suppose to be involved with commuter rail in the first place because it is a money sponge. The Amtrak Board is already dominated by officials from the East Coast. What is long overdue is a new authority instead of Amtrak to be responsible for the infrastructure of the NEC. It should be locally controlled and funded by a combination of local and Federal Funding. The fact is Amtrak’s Federal funding subsidizes commuter trains on the NEC at the expense of the National System. This is at the heart of Amtrak’s budget problems not the cost of food on the Long Distance Trains. NB
July 22, 2013 Part 1 July 22, 2013 Part 2 July 22, 2013 Part 3
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