Amtrak derailment in KCK. Amtrak's President tell's *'Don't shut us down'

[undergroundrailroad]

Posted on Mon, Feb. 09, 2004

Amtrak derailment in KCK causes minor injuries
By ROBERT A. CRONKLETON
The Kansas City Star

An Amtrak train carrying as many as 115 passengers derailed this morning near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad's Argentine yard in Kansas City, Kan.

Dan Stessel, spokesman for Amtrak in Washington D.C., said that nine cars of the eastbound Southwest Chief, traveling from Los Angeles to Chicago, derailed about 7:30 a.m. near 14th Street and Metropolitan Avenue. Only one of the derailed cars was carrying passengers. The train was traveling at a relatively low speed, Stessel said, and was not exceeding 25 mph.

Amtrak didn't have the number of passengers on board at the time of the derailment. But 115 passengers had reservations. The train had a crew of 13.

No one was admitted to an area hospital from the scene. However, one passenger later reported back pains. Five crew members also reported minor injuries.

The cause of the derailment is under investigation. It occurred on tracks owned, operated and maintained by Burlington Northern.

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Amtrak president derides funding proposal

By Leslie Miller, Associated Press Writer, 2/10/2004

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak President David Gunn said Tuesday that President Bush's proposal to give the railroad just over half what it sought in federal subsidies would shut it down just as more passengers than ever are taking the train.

For Fiscal 2005 starting in October, Amtrak formally asked for $1.798 billion, or about $300 million more than it received for 2004. That includes a $570 million operating subsidy, repayment of a $100 million government loan and $791 million for replacing rails and ties, repairing bridges and overhauling major equipment.

Bush proposed giving the railroad $900 million in the new budget year.

"The president's number is a shutdown number," Gunn said during a meeting with reporters.

[Vogon_Glory]

1. KCKO Derailment

It's not like that Amtrak derailment in Kansas City, Kansas was Amtrak's fault. After all, those weren't Amtrak's own tracks; they were owned by somebody else.