Without $2.8 billion in emergency aid by December to “stave off bankruptcy,” Amtrak will cut as many as 2,400 jobs and delay crucial infrastructure projects, including the Gateway tunnel between New York and New Jersey and bridge improvements in Connecticut, CEO William Flynn told Congress on 21 October.
After the pandemic and economic shutdown began, Amtrak’s ridership dropped by as much as 97 percent, and 2020 revenues are projected to finish 53 percent below last year’s.
In September, Congress passed an emergency budget resolution that included Amtrak’s usual $2-billion federal stipend but no additional aid.
The rail line already has furloughed about 10 percent of its 20,000 employees and cut long-distance trains in the South and West from daily runs to three times a week, a move criticized by Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
Flynn urged Congress to allot $5.1 billion to Amtrak in its next economic rescue package so all needed infrastructure projects can be carried out.
TRENDPOST: As we have reported, rather than investing in re-building its third world rail infrastructure and putting people to work as has China… the United States instead injected trillions of dollars of stimulus into equity markets, large corporations, and, to some extent, the unemployed, to artificially generate economic growth.
How bad is America’s rail system, and where is it going? Read the latest trends in Stephen Green’s article in this issue, “WITH RIDERSHIP PLUMMETING, MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS MAY SOON GRIND TO A HALT.”
