Article “Official raps Amtrak for cost of work” continues:
“…The normally reserved Cowhey got riled when he told members of the county’s Transportation Technical Advisory Committee that Amtrak recently informed him it was tripling its fee for the renovation of the Lancaster station. The county is paying for the work being done on the station along McGovern Avenue….
“Amtrak initially estimated its workers could do the electrical work and painting for $833,280, Cowhey said. A year ago, before the work actually began, Cowhey said he received notice from Amtrak that it had underestimated its costs. The bill would be about double the initial estimate…
“One line item in a spreadsheet showed the cost of telephones climbing from $750 to $250,000, Cowhey said.”
WATCHDOG: This is another sign that Amtrak management is ‘brain-dead.’ Readers will recall the Watchdog exposing the idiocy of their initial parking plan which accomplished little if anything in increasing available station parking. The article and the Watchdog’s private intervention led to a total redesign.
This not only needs to be brought to the attention of elected officials, but also to the Attorney General. $250,000 for telephone lines? Ridiculous.
