House Committee to Discuss Amtrak Today

Amtrak’s future will be discussed today in a hearing being conducted by the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

Witnesses appearing before the committee are expected to express their concerns about how Amtrak’s management is doing business.

This includes changes in food and beverage service that have been made in the past year aboard overnight eastern long-distance trains, removal of ticket agents at some stations, the stated desire of Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson to transform long distance routes into disconnected short corridors, and Amtrak’s imposition of mandatory arbitration in lieu of the ability to sue the carrier following catastrophic events such as derailments.

Anderson is scheduled to speak to the committee at the hearing that begins at 10 a.m. and be live streamed online.

A statement released by subcommittee chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-Illinois) and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) said the hearing will review recent Amtrak service changes and ponder the needs of the carrier “to sustain and strengthen its existing network.”

Among the witnesses who have been reported as scheduled to testify before the committee are Oregon state legislator Nancy Nathanson, San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Stacey Mortenson, Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews, AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department Secretary-Treasurer Greg Regan, Transportation Communications Union National Vice President Jack Dinsdale, and Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation Division Illinois Director Bob Guy.

Tags: Amtrak, Congress, House Subcomittee on Railroads Pipelines and Hazardous Materials