I think Mr Boardman is a doing a great job

[railtrail]

Never has someone done so much with so little. I have not seen this kind of chutzpah since Gund.

[081552]

O.K. there over a 100 views and no comments. There should be at least one!

I don't know Mr. Boardman but this has to rank as one of the most thankless jobs in America.

[Whitehall]

I agree Boardman is in a tough job.  The political pressures between Eastern Corridor liberals like Joe Biden and Western states' conservatives is difficult to mediate. 

The East Coast politicans want continued federal subsidies to support the commute travel of their consituentcies while the rest of the country balks.

My interest as a Californian is long-distance travel by rail and it seems to be getting the short end of the stick in Boardman's manuveuring.

[oltmannd]

He' a bit of a mixed bag.  On the one hand, he's actually trying to have a vision and plan for the NEC - even if it is a bit "out there".  He's also done a good job of drawing a bright line between the NEC and short haul/state trains and the LD trains in order to find a few nickels for NEC capital spending.

That's the good.

The bad is that he's pretty much failed at any internal reform of Amtrak.  He's talked about restructuring, but so far, not much has happened.

Also bad, buying new non-revenue equipment when the screaming need is for coaches.

[railtrail]

Record Ridership has to count for something.

[Anonymous]

If Amtrak were a public corporation, the CEO would be evaluated on his or her ability to enhance the wealth of the shareholders.  Getting there requires taking care of the key stakeholders of the corporation, i.e. customers, employees, creditors, investors, regulators, etc. Returns on sales, assets, and equity are significant drivers of the stock price over time. Ultimately these metrics drive shareholder value and wealth.

 

In Amtrak’s case the returns have been negative since its birth, and they are likely to remain so.  Accordingly, one must look elsewhere for benchmarks to measure Boardman’s performance. 

 

I have tracked Amtrak’s key operating and financial results from 2009 through 2013. Boardman became Amtrak’s CEO in 2008.  Accordingly, the numbers that I have assembled give a pretty good indication of Amtrak’s performance during most of his tenure.

 

Amtrak’s riders increased 16 per cent from 27.2 million in FY09 to 31.6 million by the end of FY13. During the same period revenues increased 27.2 per cent whilst expenses increased 19.2 per cent.  The loss from operations increased 2.8 per cent; however, because of a decrease in net interest expense, Amtrak’s net loss shrank by 2.9 per cent. 

 

The Statement of Cash Flows probably is the most import part of the financials. The amount of cash required to support operations declined 59 per cent on Boardman’s watch.  Proceeds from federal paid in capital declined by 9 per cent; however, during 2010 they increased by 45.8 per cent, and during 2011 they increased 17.9 per cent over 2009. The jump in federal paid in capital covered a significant increase in capital expenditures for property, plant, and equipment. Net cash used in investing activities increased by 22 per cent whilst the net cash provided by financing activities declined by 9 per cent, indicating that Amtrak is able to generate more of its cash requirements from operations as opposed to cash transfers and debt issuance. At the end of FY13 cash and cash equivalents had increased 25 per cent over FY09.

 

The average ticket revenue per passenger increased from $66.76 in FY09 to $74.99 in FY13 or 12.3 per cent.  The average operating expense per passenger increased 2.6 per cent.  The average operating loss per passenger decreased 7.9 per cent whilst the average operating loss per passenger mile decreased 15.7 per cent and the average operating loss per seat mile decreased 9.8 per cent.

 

Amtrak’s financials on Boardman’s watch have improved significantly through FY13. A rough gage of inflation over the aforementioned period was 9 per cent, which means that Amtrak had a real improvement in most of its key numbers.

 

What role Boardman played improving Amtrak's operational and financial metrics is unknown.  One would have to be a fly on the wall at Amtrak’s executive and board meetings to know how much influence he wields. 

 

I have been in organizations where the chief financial officer or operating officer was more influential than the CEO, although it does not happen often.

[daveklepper]

Sam, you are a good analyzer.   Thank you for an objective approach.   I would be interested in ACY's comment.

[ACY Tom]

Sorry to disappoint, Dave, but I think Sam's last paragraph tells you as much as I can tell you.  I simply don't know how much of what's wrong or right with the organization is attributable to Mr.  Boardman.   I have some misgivings about some recent developments, but I don't know whether he is behind them, or if they're being carried out without his knowledge, or something in between.  There are, and have been, some good people in middle management; but I saw fewer of them during my last months with the Company.  Does that mean they're busy fighting the good fight, or does it mean they're being marginalized, or does it mean they've stopped trying?  Or does it mean something else?  The workers out on the line know their jobs, and many have good ideas that can be tapped.  Is it Boardman's fault that this isn't happening?  I simply don't know. 

Tom 

[ROBERT WILLISON]

AcY, Boardman gets the credit for the numbers, good or bad.  His staff reports to him.  That's how it works in the real world.