Amtrak's CEO David Gunn Is Smiling

For the first time in many years, Amtrak is focused on the business of running a railroad.

1 minute read

January 4, 2004, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Ask anyone who works at Amtrak and they will tell you: they live in perpetual crisis mode. The company exists year to year at the mercy of fickle politicians. Every autumn, Amtrak officials go up to Capitol Hill with hat in hand pleading for funding. And every year, Amtrak officials get just enough money to limp along for one more year... But one thing is different this year. The company is focused again. After years and decades of changing visions and deferred maintenance, bloated bureaucracies and a demoralized workforce, people here are feeling pretty good, relatively speaking. For the first time in a long time, Amtrak is doing what a railroad company is supposed to do. Workers are fixing track, rebuilding cars and moving more passengers than ever before. All of which is enough to make David Gunn smile."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Thursday, January 1, 2004 in Mass Transit

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder