August 30, 2022
Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
We are writing on behalf of our members, as well as the millions of Americans who depend on public transportation on a regular basis to travel to work, see relatives, seek medical attention, food and other necessities of life. While we certainly appreciate the funding that Amtrak has received through the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) it appears that Amtrak management is once again setting the stage to further reduce passenger service on its long-distance routes. Currently, the three trains from Chicago to the West Coast are running every day, as well as the Lakeshore Limited to New York and the section of the train to Boston. In the southern part of the country, however, the Silver Meteor remains suspended and the City of New Orleans from New Orleans to Chicago and the Crescent to New York remain on a five-day schedule until October 2.
To make matters worse, Amtrak has been running shorter consists than has been customary despite demand that has exceeded the level from the past two summers and coach passengers are no longer permitted to purchase a meal or even enter the dining car. There are also reports of passenger cars backed up at the Amtrak shops at Beech Grove, Indiana for repairs. A reliable source in rail-blogging circles has reported that Amtrak is considering cutting service again this fall either to five days a week or even to three, on the entire long-distance network.
The meltdown of Amtrak’s service is also affecting state supported routes as well. We have just learned that the Wolverine Service which normally operate between Chicago and Pontiac is cancelled with no alternate transportation provided between August 29 through Friday, September 16, 2022.
We believe that Amtrak board must prioritize and designate already appropriated IIJA funding to fully restore Amtrak long distance service. This must include restoring daily service to all of the long-distance routes, repairing out of service equipment as well as developing a procurement program to replace the aging long-distance fleet and to provide adequate dining car staffing so that coach passengers are able to purchase meals in dining cars.
We also request that these issues are brought to Amtrak’s Board of Directors via your designee, Amit Bose, who serves as the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.
We look forward to your response regarding these matters.
Sincerely,
Richard Rudolph, Ph.D., Chairman, Rail Users Network rrudolph1022@gmail.com
Andrew Albert, Vice Chairman, Rail Users Network aalbertnyc1@gmail.com