LOS ANGELES -- Metrolink is trying to work out a deal to transfer its workforce of contracted Amtrak operators to a freight rail company, a move designed to make sure the commuter trains keep running if Amtrak shuts down later this year, reports the Associated Press.

Metrolink officials sent proposals to two short-haul freight train firms last week asking them to bid on hiring the nearly 145 Amtrak workers who run the commuter line's 416-mile, six-county network.

"It's still tough to tell what is going to happen with Amtrak,'' Metrolink chief executive David Solow said. "Obviously, that's scary for us. We're looking for a backstop to make sure we aren't affected by what happens with them.''

The Metrolink request was sent to Anacostia & Pacific, a Chicago-based company that operates out of the San Pedro area, and RailAmerica, a Florida-based company that runs trains in San Diego and Oxnard.