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So What Do You Think Of Amtrak’s Proposed Breaking Its Corporate Framework In Three? [1]

['Alan Kandel', 'Chitown Kev', 'Belinda Ridgewood', 'Thom Hartmann', 'Bill In Portland Maine']

Date: 2026-08-06  

The railroad proposes breaking the corporate framework by creating three separate divisions: Fleet Management, Infrastructure Management and Passenger Services.

One division would be responsible for managing passenger services. A second would be responsible for managing all Amtrak-owned infrastructure. A third would have the responsibility of managing the Amtrak fleet.

A question I have is where would public and/or media relations fit in?

The most important thing here I think is how the company will be managed overall.

Having different divisions within a corporate framework: There’s really nothing revolutionary about it. The presumption is different people would oversee each division, the primary focus being on operations and management of that division they are to oversee.

Amtrak is asking for feedback from the public to get the public’s input. Which is as it should be.

This reminds me of when I worked for a Fresno publisher. The company had several divisions: Accounting, Customer Service, Editorial, Marketing, Production and Sales.

In a small firm, pehaps one or two people could handle all responsibilities.

But with a big outfit that employs thousands of people, having separate divisions within the corporate framework could very well make sense.

In this case if Amtrak were to go that route, reorganization within the company would be a must, is how I see it.

And, here’s what I say: If setting up the three separate divisions in question isn’t tried, there’s no way of knowing how such an arrangement would work.

What I would do is to start slow. Infrastructure and fleet management could at first be combined into one division while passenger services could be a stand-alone division just to see how this arrangement works out, for example. It could serve as a test case.

If that turns out to be a sensible move, then at a later point, the management of infrastructure and management of the fleet could each be handled independently and each could be its own separate division.

In other words, approach this slowly but deliberately.

Want to weigh in? Here’s your chance!

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/6/800080449/community/so-what-do-you-think-of-amtraks-proposed-breaking-its-corporate-framework-in-three/

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