WASHINGTON -- Talk of liquidating Amtrak is overblown, says the director of a federal panel that voted to force Amtrak to develop a plan for its demise, according to a wire service.

Tom Till, executive director of the Amtrak Reform Council, said Thursday that the chances of a forced liquidation of the nation's passenger railroad are small.

The more important effect of the council's action, he said, is to press Congress and the White House to make significant and lasting changes to a railroad system that has bled money for decades.

"Nobody here seriously believes Amtrak is going to be liquidated, and that's not the intent of our finding," Till said at a media briefing. "There will be proposals on the table to debate and discuss, and that's what we want."

Among the council's ideas: Make states or Congress come up with money to keep unprofitable but politically popular Amtrak routes, and improve Amtrak's reservation system so fewer seats go unused.

Also, private concerns have approached the council claiming they could run long-haul passenger trains at a profit. Till said the idea is worth a look.

The reform council, created by Congress in 1997 to monitor Amtrak, voted 6-5 last Friday to declare that Amtrak will not meet a congressional deadline of Dec. 2, 2002, for covering its costs without annual operating subsidies from the federal government.

By law, that finding triggered a 90-day period in which Amtrak must submit to Congress a plan for its "complete liquidation." The council, meanwhile, will submit around Feb. 1 a plan for "a restructured and rationalized national intercity rail passenger system."

The Bush administration plans to release its own plan for passenger rail in January. That proposal may or may not include Amtrak.

Amtrak continues to operate as usual, spokesman Bill Schulz said. It is studying its responsibility to draw up a liquidation plan, which is not specifically defined under the 1997 law.

Amtrak posted a cash loss of $405 million in the first eight months of this year, $17 million more than the comparable period last year. It has consumed more than $24 billion in subsidies -- both operating and capital -- since its inception in 1971 and is receiving a $521 million federal subsidy this year.

In a report released in March, the council concluded Amtrak suffers from "fundamental institutional flaws" and should no longer be expected to balance business and governmental responsibilities.

The council laid out four possible scenarios that would allow Amtrak, or its successor, to focus solely on being a profit-focused train operator.

In three scenarios, a newly created government corporation would own and operate Amtrak's physical assets. In the fourth, the states would assume ownership of the physical assets.