BOSTON -- Amtrak is losing Tommy Thompson as chairman, but gaining a replacement long attuned to transportation issues, according to an editorial in the Boston Globe. Norman Mineta, the Bush administration's secretary of transportation and the Cabinet's only Democrat, is well positioned to help solve Amtrak's financing problems.

Amtrak has never been able to meet its operating expenses (let alone its capital needs) through fares. But it plays an essential role in crowded transportation corridors and offers meaningful relief for congested airports as well as highways -- a point stressed by former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, another member of Amtrak's board.

Thompson gets much praise from Dukakis for understanding those needs. Mineta, once mayor of San Jose, Calif., and a long-time member of Congress who served on the House Transportation Committee, brings similar awareness.

It is a large undertaking. Congress has mandated that Amtrak be self-supporting by 2003, a target Dukakis says will be met but that can only be sustained by adequate investment in new equipment and maintenance over the next 10 years.

Mineta said recently that Amtrak's numbers ''do not look good at all,'' but added wisely, ''We can't afford to have Amtrak go down.'' He is right. Amtrak provides too vital a service in key areas and should do even better as high-speed service is added.