Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Alex Kummant resigned after two years at the helm, giving President- elect Barack Obama a chance to put his stamp on the passenger railway.

Chief Operating Officer William Crosbie will lead Amtrak for an ``interim period'' as acting president and CEO, the Washington-based company said today in an e-mailed statement.

Former board member Michael Dukakis and some analysts have said Amtrak will benefit under Obama as he will be more supportive of passenger rail than the current administration, which appointed Kummant in 2006. U.S. President George W. Bush sought to cut subsidies, which covered 41 percent of Amtrak's expenses, and force it to operate more like a business.

``Our board is committed to keeping Amtrak on an aggressive path of performance improvement,'' Vice Chairman Hunter Biden, 38, son of U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden, said today in a statement.

The government-owned carrier set its sixth-straight year of record ridership, with 28.7 million passengers for the 12 months ended Sept. 30. Highway congestion, $4-a-gallon gasoline and air-traffic delays in the Northeast, Amtrak's busiest corridor, spurred the 11 percent increase.

Kummant likely left before being replaced by the Obama administration, said John Tolman, chief lobbyist for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

`Commendable'

``We are sorry to see that he is leaving,'' said David Johnson, deputy director of the Washington-based National Association of Railroad Passengers. ``Stewardship of the railroad over the past two years has been very commendable.''

Before joining Amtrak, Kummant, 48, was executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the U.S. unit of Tokyo- based construction-equipment maker Komatsu Ltd. He was also a regional vice president of Union Pacific Corp., the biggest U.S. railroad.

Amtrak may see aid jump at least 48 percent a year should lawmakers and Obama honor spending targets in legislation enacted by Congress and Bush last month. It calls for $13.1 billion in passenger-rail spending in the next five years, three-fourths for Amtrak operations, capital and debt service.

While states can spend some of the money on other rail lines, Amtrak would get at least an average of $1.93 billion in annual subsidies, up from $1.3 billion now.

Obama's administration will be able to pick five of the nine members on Amtrak's board after it grows by two positions in April as called for under the new law. One of the slots will be filled by the president-elect's transportation secretary.

Joe Biden, who commuted on Amtrak daily between Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington during his Senate career, may be part of the most ``train-friendly administration in history,'' said Dukakis, the former director.

To contact the reporters on this story: Angela Greiling Keane in Washington at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net; John Hughes in Washington jhughes5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 14, 2008 16:16 EST