For Immediate Release
March 26, 1997
For Information:
Colin Pease
(508) 663-1186
GUILFORD RAIL SEEKS IMMEDIATE SURFACE BOARD DECISION
Guilford Rail filed a petition with the Federal Surface Transportation Board today seeking an expedited order to conclude over four years of negotiations with Amtrak. The Guilford petition, filed in response to an Amtrak filing dated March 19, asks the Board to impose an operating agreement which has already been signed by Guilford Rail and which was agreed to by Amtrak in July of 1995. A favorable decision by the Surface Transportation Board will permit passenger train rehabilitation to begin in 1997 and the start up of passenger service between Portland and Boston in late 1998.
Amtrak's March 19 submission asks the Board to approve a procedure which will last over 240 days or well past this year's construction season. It assures that no work can be done this year and that any start up of passenger service would be delayed until at least late 1999. Amtrak's proposal would hold up the ordering of material for another year, further weakening the purchasing power of federal grants secured by the State of Maine. Commenting on today's filing Guilford's President Dave Fink stated "Amtrak and Guilford have negotiated and reviewed every item in this agreement for years. In 1995 we and Amtrak agreed on all points as confirmed by Amtrak's own internal memo. We are asking the Board to impose an agreement that meets all of the requirements of the law and that Amtrak's own negotiators helped write and agreed to."
In support of its submittal Guilford Rail has provided the Surface Transportation Board literally hundreds of documents written by both Guilford and Amtrak staff which demonstrate the detailed nature of the negotiations. The documents include provisions which were ultimately drafted by Amtrak staff and accepted by Guilford negotiators. One such provision specifically resolves all aspects of how the costs of maintenance should be shared between the parties. The total package provides detailed evidence of over three years of negotiations and the ultimate agreement of both teams of negotiators.
The full text of the Guilford Rail Motion is on WWW.GUILFORDRAIL.COM