The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, also known as Amtrak is a passenger railroad service that provides medium- and long-distance intercity service throughout United States. Founded in 1971 to revive passenger rail service, congress passed the Rail Passenger Service Act which in turn created Amtrak. Amtrak serves more than 500 destinations in 46 states and three Canadian provinces, operating more than 300 trains each day over 21,300 miles with travel speeds as high as 150 mph. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Amtrak employs more than 20,000 people. (Amtrak National Facts, 2015a).
When it comes to organizational structure I doubt Amtrak is known as the little engine that could rather the little engine that said I think I can, …show more content…
Board positions are nominated by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. Decision of funding or new projects often need Board approval. Historically Amtrak’s Board was not quick in the decision-making process rather it was one to drag its feet. Decisions were often seen as politically biased and because of this management rarely went against a board decision or recommendation. In May 2015 Amtrak suffered a deadly train accident outside Philadelphia. Congress had mandated a safety system known as positive train control be installed on the tracks throughout the northeast corridor. Unfortunately, Amtrak did not have the qualified engineers, rail-workers or funding to complete the entire installation by the end of 2015 thus parts of the northeast corridor were not outfitted with the technology. Many felt the accident could have been avoided had the technology been installed. Amtrak has been urging Congress to extend the deadline through 2020 in order to prevent any further accidents. Politics have a double-edge sword effect on Amtrak as on one side they mandate the work to be done and on the other they limit the funding in order to complete the task leaving managers and employees in a bind and in this case responsible. (Mouawad, J. …show more content…
Seventy-two percent of the miles traveled by Amtrak trains are on tracks owned by other railroads. Known as "host railroads," they range from large publicly traded companies based in the U.S. or Canada, to state and local government agencies and small businesses. Amtrak pays these host railroads for use of their track and other resources needed to operate Amtrak trains, with incentives for on-time performance. (Amtrak National Facts, 2015b). Recognizing this, Amtrak employees must educate themselves with the host railroads culture and management in order to ensure the safety of all passengers as well as handle any potential issues. Some employees feel as if they are part-time Amtrak employee and part-time employee for the “host railroad.” Customers often complained Amtrak employees did not know enough regarding the host railroads and simply blamed them for any delays or problems. Beverly Laurich who was on a train from Ohio to California said they stopped at many obscure stations in the middle of the night and when asked the Conductor said he did not know why they stopped at such places nor could he direct passengers when arriving at these at these obscure stations. (Laurich, 2017). Amtrak management may be informed but they did not take the time to inform, educate and train its employees on the business
When it comes to organizational structure I doubt Amtrak is known as the little engine that could rather the little engine that said I think I can, …show more content…
Board positions are nominated by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. Decision of funding or new projects often need Board approval. Historically Amtrak’s Board was not quick in the decision-making process rather it was one to drag its feet. Decisions were often seen as politically biased and because of this management rarely went against a board decision or recommendation. In May 2015 Amtrak suffered a deadly train accident outside Philadelphia. Congress had mandated a safety system known as positive train control be installed on the tracks throughout the northeast corridor. Unfortunately, Amtrak did not have the qualified engineers, rail-workers or funding to complete the entire installation by the end of 2015 thus parts of the northeast corridor were not outfitted with the technology. Many felt the accident could have been avoided had the technology been installed. Amtrak has been urging Congress to extend the deadline through 2020 in order to prevent any further accidents. Politics have a double-edge sword effect on Amtrak as on one side they mandate the work to be done and on the other they limit the funding in order to complete the task leaving managers and employees in a bind and in this case responsible. (Mouawad, J. …show more content…
Seventy-two percent of the miles traveled by Amtrak trains are on tracks owned by other railroads. Known as "host railroads," they range from large publicly traded companies based in the U.S. or Canada, to state and local government agencies and small businesses. Amtrak pays these host railroads for use of their track and other resources needed to operate Amtrak trains, with incentives for on-time performance. (Amtrak National Facts, 2015b). Recognizing this, Amtrak employees must educate themselves with the host railroads culture and management in order to ensure the safety of all passengers as well as handle any potential issues. Some employees feel as if they are part-time Amtrak employee and part-time employee for the “host railroad.” Customers often complained Amtrak employees did not know enough regarding the host railroads and simply blamed them for any delays or problems. Beverly Laurich who was on a train from Ohio to California said they stopped at many obscure stations in the middle of the night and when asked the Conductor said he did not know why they stopped at such places nor could he direct passengers when arriving at these at these obscure stations. (Laurich, 2017). Amtrak management may be informed but they did not take the time to inform, educate and train its employees on the business