David L. Gunn

A dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, Gunn retired to his family home on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. He has become associated with the Free Congress Foundation since his dismissal from Amtrak. He currently sits on the board of a local transit service in rural Richmond County known as the Strait Area Transit Cooperative and in 2010 returned as a consultant for former employer, WMATA. In November 2014, Amtrak named ACS-64 class unit number 600 after Gunn.

He was fired by the board of directors on November 9, 2005, ostensibly for his refusal to split the company in preparation for privatization; Gunn was opposed to this policy, pointing out that the entire reason Amtrak was created was because private railroad companies did not wish to run passenger services. The New York Times at the time wrote that Gunn's opposition was the reason for the firing, as he was "widely credited with improving the railroad's management, cutting costs and imposing better financial controls," as well as "improving the state of repair of Amtrak's locomotives and aging passenger cars, as well as its tracks, signals and electrical systems, which are truly antique."

Gunn assumed the presidency of Amtrak on May 15, 2002, after coming out of a three-year retirement to take the job. Gunn came to Amtrak with a reputation as an experienced operating manager. His work as president of the New York City Transit Authority from 1984 to 1990 and as chief general manager of the Toronto Transit Commission in Canada from 1995 to 1999 lent him a great deal of credibility, as these two agencies were each the largest transit operations of their respective countries.

Gunn eliminated almost all of the express business while improving critical equipment repair facilities and services to keep trains moving. In 2002, he stated that continued deferred maintenance would become a safety issue which he would not tolerate and his management team implemented Amtrak's first system-wide comprehensive capital program with planned target dates and budgeting. Under Gunn, Amtrak's ranks of unionized and salaried workers were reduced.

For his work in New York, he was inducted in the inaugural 1999 class of the New York Public Transit Association's Hall of Fame

He was chief general manager of Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), 1995 to 1999.

Toronto's only fatal subway train accident, the 1995 Russell Hill subway accident that claimed 3 lives, happened only 8 months after Gunn became head of the TTC, with Gunn addressing the incident in the media.

He was general manager of Washington DC Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), 1991 to 1994.

During his tenure at WMATA (the Washington Metro) from 1991 to 1994, Gunn was frequently at odds with that agency's board of directors, which included representatives from the District of Columbia and suburban jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia.

He was president of New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), 1984 to 1990, and according to The New York Times, Gunn is credited with turning around the New York City subway system in the late 1980s." During his tenure as president of the NYCTA, Gunn instituted operational changes that led to the reduction of graffiti and service improvements in the New York City Subway system, including the establishment of a "clean car program" and restoring the system to a state of good repair. Cars were to be regularly cleaned, hundreds of older cars overhauled and tracks and stations rebuilt. The "Redbird" cars were originally known as "Gunn Red" or "Broad Street Red" when they were repainted between 1984 and 1989, under Gunn's tenure.

As a reminder of the purchasing issues he overcame, he had a pair of R9 subway car lubricator pads mounted on a plaque in his office. The authority had thousands of them among over $40 million worth of obsolete and excess parts, yet the R9 fleet had been retired since 1977, leaving just a few used on work trains. At the same time, needed parts were not getting purchased.

Gunn was born in Boston to parents of Canadian ancestry whose families had emigrated to Massachusetts from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Gunn was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover and received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Harvard College in 1959. He served in the United States Navy Reserve from 1959 to 1962. He received a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1964.

David L. Gunn (born June 21, 1937) is a transportation system administrator who has headed several significant railroads and transit systems in North America. He was director of operations of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) from 1975 to 1979, general manager and chief operations officer of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) from 1979 to 1984, president of the New York City Transit Authority from 1984 to 1990, the general manager at WMATA (the Washington Metro) from 1991 to 1994, and chief general manager of the Toronto Transit Commission in Canada from 1995 to 1999. Gunn assumed the presidency of Amtrak on May 15, 2002, and held the position until political upheaval at the company in 2005. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, Gunn retired to his family home on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. He is currently associated with the Free Congress Foundation and the board of the Strait Area Transit Cooperative transit service in rural Richmond County, among other roles.