What happened to Jonathan Klein (former Amtrak CMO)?

when David Gunn arrived at Amtrak one of the first moves he made was to bring his old friend Jonathan Klein in to run the Mechanical Dept. Klein, like Gunn, is a ruthless disciplinarian with no mercy for the workforce. he and Gunn go way back to SEPTA in the early 80's.

On Thursday July 15 a memo appeared from Steve Crosbie announcing that Klein had suddenly resigned. The terse nature of the memo and the buzz on the property surrounding this departure would seem to indicate that it was not a planned resignation. Any body hear anything?

Klein, like Gunn, is a ruthless disciplinarian with no mercy for the workforce

Maybe that's why. People like that tend to make the innocent suffer along with the guilty; and when there are too many union grievances against someone, then that someone becomes a liability.

However, we need more verification as to whether or not this may be the case.

Obviously the "sudden" departure of a "Gunnman" (i.e. one who hired on at executive level since Mr. Gunn arrived on the property), suggests that it is time to start taking stock.

In short, the honeymoon is over.

While, the Annual Reports would suggest that Amtrak is presently living within its financial means, it simply appears that service delivered to the public (who just plain dont give a hoot 'n a holler about what WE do around here) has gone down the drain. Some reasons obviously have been "inherited", others are beyond Amtrak's control, but some are within their control.

It just seemed inevitable that a Gunnman was going to "swallow a muzzle"; and this fellow Klein may not be the last.

Ignoring the facts and circumstances (lest we forget as noted the non-fan public could care less) here is a synoposis of the deterioriation since the Gunnmen came to town:

1) Discontinuance of the Satisfaction Guaranteed program (didn't say it was wise to have ever started it, but John Q has had his something for nothing taken away).

2) Removal of all too many First Class amenities.

3) Service discontinuances: Diner and Sleeper on the Cardinal and Palmetto, Sleeper on the Federal. Temporary discontinuance of Sleepers on the New England States (UNOWATIMEAN).

4) Loss of Sleeping Car lines during peak travel period on Zephyr and Chief.

5) Inability to get a major transcontinental train over the road (UNODAWON). Wasn't it reported here during 4 of 11 trips were either annuled or terminated short of destination?

6) Reports that all too many Corridor trains (Regional and Acela) are now simply "more or less on schedule' as opposed to "smack on the advertised".

But (and I do not mean this in the "but Brutus is a noble man" sense), Amtrak is not looking around to see what real property can be mortgaged or what unencumbered rolling stock can be sold and leased back. That in itself is quite a ++++.

What I read from Klein's departure is that gunn may be looking to leave himself. He's really painted himself into a corner. Labor can't stand him and Congress and the White House essentially called his bluff on last year's shutdown threat. Once he caved on that, he can't expect anyone to believe that he'll do it now or in the future. Now with one of his oldest and dearest cronies leaving, can David be far behind?

Point is well taken.

So, what's the best way, beyond what we have been doing insofar as contacting Congress, to put more air into the political football in question?

I for one hope Mr. Gunn isn't on his way out. I think he's as good as we're gonna get. As for his being hated by labor, I'm interested to know if that's generally true or not. (How did Amtrak employees feel about Mr. Claytor, who is regarded by railfans as a saint but who was, at least at the Southern, a pretty tough disciplinarian?)
The shortfall in services that Mr. Norman points to look like tough choices Gunn had to make. After all, he got much less from Congress than he asked for. He wasn't exaggerating the need for money. When he got less than he asked for, he had to cut some meat and bone along with any fat he could find.
I don't think Gunn's bluff got called. He got much more than the administration offered before his shutdown stand. Let's see how he does this year. If he gets too little maybe he will try to shut down Amtrak, which will probably get him fired. But if Amtrak doesn't get enough money for NEC infrastructure work, the ontime performance on the Corridor will continue to get worse. Also, Acela trainsets are still having problems, even if it doesn't get much publicity. Often, on my twice-daily schleps through NYP I hear announcements of delayed or canceled Acelas.
Remember, no matter who runs Amrtrak, he is probably fresh out of miracles. The only miracle would be sufficient $$$ from Congress.