Amtrak establishes HSR Department

Amtrak has created a new High Speed Rail department and appointed Al Engel as Vice President to head that department.

From Amtrak's news release:

WASHINGTON – Amtrak announces that Albrecht (Al) P. Engel, P.E. — recognized rail transportation professional and passionate high-speed rail advocate — is joining America’s Railroad(sm) as vice president of a new High-Speed Rail department and will lead initiatives to grow Amtrak’s role as the premier operator of high-speed passenger rail service in the U.S....

Engel will be charged with pursuing partnerships with states and others in the passenger rail industry to develop high-speed rail corridors such as the new projects moving forward in California and Florida. In addition, he will conduct planning activities to significantly improve Amtrak high-speed rail operations in the Northeast...

Full release available at Amtrak's Latest News Releases page: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentSe ... 1267278292

Anybody know this guy? I guess Amtrak is noticing that foreign HSR operators are trying to get involved in USA HSR projects.

Also, that's the first time I've seen Amtrak refer to itself as "America's Railroad" with the service mark.

I found a similar story on this guy today as well and to answer your question before today I never knew this guy existed ether. Sadly to me it similar to appointing a CEO to an airline that will never get a plane of the ground, at least in his lifetime.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/h ... _unit.html

From the last firm to hire him,

With an electrical engineering degree from Penn State University, Engel joined General Electric (GE), eventually becoming the program manager for GE's high speed locomotive procurement program with Amtrak--the first such program to be commissioned by Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run . Engel went on to hold leadership positions with various east coast consulting firms specializing in public transportation and served as principal on the Amtrak Acela Express Infrastructure Preparation GEC assignment and as consultant to the California High Speed Rail Authority on project delivery.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/AECOM+Wel ... 0202725473
He spent only a year at AECOM.

"America's Railroad" it is, then!

That will be news to the other four, the Pennsylvania, Reading, B&O and Short Line.

I don't want this observation to be viewed as any sort of personal criticism of the gentleman, but his background leads me to believe he may have played a role in the development of one of Amtrak's great lapses in judgement, the E60. With American rail passenger traffic currently entrusted almost entirely to the care of Swiss, Swedish, and miscellaneous European technologies, and with the disparity in operating conditions between European and American systems far from completely resolved, but the evolution of rail systems everywhere moving in the direction of uniform standards and a global marketplace, I hope well see more transparency, and an open discussion of the obstacles in the path of sustained, but moderate and realistic HSR progress.

I have to say I'm surprised that Amtrak is forming this department today, one would of guessed that they would of created it 20 years ago when they were deciding what high speed equipment to use. This was when we had the ice trains, the flexliner, the turbos(both french and rohr) and the x2000.

Right now it seems to be the states taking the lead in deciding what high speed equipment to use (ie, Washington and Wisconsin with their talgos) and companies such as Siemens taking the lead down in florida in an effort to tease the government and the taxpayers into buying their equipment.

Good to see that amtrak is putting its right foot forward. This department is going to be very important in not just expanding hsr across the nation, but maintaining and improving the great product amtrak has created in the form of the acela express.

Hey amtrak, send me a PM if you want a copy of my resume