Amtrak warns of layoffs and project delays without aid
WASHINGTON >> Amtrak’s chief executive warned federal lawmakers on Wednesday that the rail agency would have to continue steep cuts to its workforce and delay infrastructure improvements — including high-profile projects in New York and New Jersey — if it does not receive $2.8 billion in emergency funding by December.
In a hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, William Flynn said his agency might have to cut an additional 2,400 jobs and divert funding from critical capital projects, such as the multibillion- dollar tunnel between New York and New Jersey
— called the Gateway program — and improvements to New York Penn Station.
His total budget request to Congress is $4.9 billion. That includes the rail agency’s $2 billion standard ap
propriation.
Flynn urged Senate lawmakers to pass a version of the Heroes Act, which cleared the House on Oct. 1 and includes $2.4 billion in emergency funding for
Amtrak. In September, lawmakers passed a continuing resolution that kept the rail agency’s existing funding levels in place until Dec. 11.
“Given that nothing’s been enacted, we must be prudent and address the situation at hand,” Flynn said.
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on Amtrak since March. Shortly after the pandemic began in the spring, ridership on the train service plummeted 97%. Projected revenue for 2020 has declined by 53%, according to Amtrak data.
In response, Congress bailed out the rail network in March with $1 billion in emergency funds. Most of that has been spent, Flynn said on Wednesday, adding that Amtrak continued to rack up $200 million to $250 million in monthly spending that it could not sustain without emergency funding to supplement its declining revenue.
Flynn’s warning echoed the grim assessment that he has been providing lawmakers to motivate congressional action to bolster the rail agency.
As of this month, over 2,000 A mtrak workers have been furloughed, representing nearly 10% of the agency ’s approximately 20,0 0 0 - memb er workforce. In September, Flynn warned House lawmakers that additional cuts to service and the workforce would continue in order to “stave off bankruptcy” if the rail agency did not receive its requested $4.9 billion.
Flynn, who took over Amtrak in April, has also received criticism from
Democratic and Republican lawmakers for his cost- cutting measures in response to the pandemic.
Some lawmakers and rail advocates said his decision to cut service on long- distance routes — which serve nearly 220 communities across the Southern, mountain and Western regions — to three times a week from daily was a tremendous blow to local economies and rural Americans.
“In some areas, Amtrak is the only means of public transportation providing a direct line for economic success in rural communities,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., adding that she did not want to see a situation where the pandemic caused service cuts that would take “15 years to get reestablished.”