Regarding the management layers at Amtrak, when David Gunn took over as President he said : " Amtrak has more Vice - Presidents than a Bank ! " ( As an explanation, for legal purposes every bank branch manager is a vice - president. ) David Gunn recognized that Amtrak was top - heavy, so he cut many positions and forced the remaining managers to actually do their jobs. Many former managers who had to go back to their crafts hated Gunn for this, and may have worked against him as a result. Tis a shame, as the Amtrak employees I know, both management and on - board, think David Gunn was their best President ever.
Regarding conductors being moved to the cab, I'm much happier having them onboard the cars, as an authority figure and a knowledgable operating department person. I'm not so sure I want the cafe' car steward, who doesn' even know how much to charge for a soda, to be the authority figure onboard in case of an accident or unruly passenger.