Amtrak President and CEO Alan S. Boyd, late 1970s.
Black and white photograph from the 1979 Amtrak Annual Report (p1). Alan Stephenson Boyd served as Amtrak President and CEO from 1978 until 1982.
- Photograph Details
-
- Date Archived:
- May 6, 2013
- Decade:
- 1970s
- Data Format:
- Image
- Download the full-sized version of this photo
A lawyer by training, in 1967 Boyd became the first secretary of the newly-created U.S. Department of Transportation. He had headed a task force that looked into establishing a cabinet-level department that would be home to a collection of transportation-related agencies. Between his time with the federal government and Amtrak, Boyd led the Illinois Central Railroad.
In his first year with the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Boyd wrote, “I would like to stress again the need for the creation of a newly-structured relationship with the federal government. If there is one single thing we need, it is continuity in funding and stability in routes and services.” Boyd guided Amtrak through the 1979 route restructuring and the height of the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project; he is also credited with reorganizing management to take on the challenges of the 1980s and beyond.
