Amtrak

As published by Joan Lowy for the Associated Press.   House passes bipartisan Amtrak bill that could boost Northeast Corridor service WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare burst of bipartisanship, the House moved Wednesday to boost Amtrak’s popular service between Boston and Washington while giving states a greater say in the local routes they help […]

As published in Progressive Railroading.   House passes $8 billion Amtrak funding bill The U.S. House yesterday passed a bill that authorizes nearly $8 billion to fund Amtrak over the next four years. The Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA) would keep Amtrak funded at nearly current levels, about $1.4 billion per year, […]

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement about the House passage of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA): “Today the House of Representatives took an important step to sustain Amtrak, America’s national passenger railroad. The overwhelming vote today on the floor of the House […]

Vote YES on H.R. 749 – the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 Vote NO on the McClintock Amendment to Defund and Bankrupt Amtrak   March 3, 2015 Dear Representative: On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I urge you to support H.R. 749 – the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment […]

As published by Keith Laing in The Hill.   Amtrak vote bumped by DHS bill The House has pushed back a vote on a nearly a nearly $8 billion funding bill for Amtrak that was scheduled for a final taplly on Tuesday. The measure, which provides Amtrak about $1.7 billion per year for the next four […]

ATLANTA, GA—The Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) and its 32 affiliated unions waded into every major transportation policy debate in Washington and focused on expanding transportation investments, reforming safety policy, protecting workers’ rights, and rejecting job-killing trade policies. “2015 must be the year when we break the stalemate on funding our badly deteriorated transportation system […]

Transportation labor has been a leader in insisting on sustainable investment in Amtrak’s national network. Throughout the history of Amtrak, whose creation in 1971 followed the bankruptcy of private passenger rail operations, the passenger railroad company has been chronically underfunded. Even worse, for four decades too many politicians have attempted to shutdown Amtrak through bankruptcy […]

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement about the markup of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015: “We are pleased that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bipartisan passenger rail bill that provides multi-year investment for Amtrak while rejecting ill-advised attempts to force unwanted […]

Each year, public transportation agencies spend $5.4 billion on buses and trains. That represents an enormous investment of our taxpayer dollars, but in the absence of common-sense procurement reforms much of it ends up going to companies that manufacture components abroad. Together with the Jobs to Move America coalition, TTD has been working to change […]

On October 2nd, Amtrak reported that four of its century-old underwater rail tunnels in and out of New York City are in need of extensive repairs and that service will be “badly curtailed” — terrible news for both daily commuters and passengers who take 260 million trips a year along the vital Northeast Corridor. While some may […]