Happening Now

Amtrak On Time

Rail Passenges has been in court over late trains for the past several years. We've covered this issue nonstop for almost a decade. Now, Amtrak is taking the fight for on time trains to the next level:

Contact your elected officials about freight Interference today!

Take Action Now: YOUR Comment Needed On New Amtrak Rules

Freight railroads' new tactic is to get FRA to declare that Amtrak's schedules are unrealistic nearly across the board. Their ultimate goal is clear: get FRA to use the new rules to require Amtrak to lengthen schedules even more. The end goal would make Amtrak so trip-time uncompetitive that passenger rail dies in the United States.

YOU can help us stop this! The public has until June 1 to comment on FRA’s proposals...and to fight back against the idea that freights need even more time to carry Amtrak’s trains. I’m asking you today to add your voice to the public comment docket by visiting this link:

https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FRA-2019-0069

When you write your comment, you should stress the following:

I support FRA's proposed Customer On-Time Performance (Customer OTP) standard because it is passenger-focused, unambiguous, straightforward and easy to understand. Schedule recovery time should be redistributed throughout the route to ensure that host railroads can reasonably meet the standard, and not simply lengthened.
I encourage FRA to consider the enhancements Rail Passengers proposed in its formal comments on the rule on April 22. These enhancements include RPA-suggested metrics that evaluate the customer experience without relying on surveys, that incorporate concerns of elderly and disabled travelers, and that broaden and strengthen the assessment of public benefits from each route.

Before commenting, please be sure your comment is constructive, fact-based, and reflects how the standards in the rule will affect you as a passenger.

These rules will address not just on-time performance but many other areas which I know are important to you. The rules will measure not just timeliness but things like schedules, the quality of your on-board experience and even critical areas of concern like food service.

Don’t let this opportunity to be heard go to waste. Use the link to add your comments BEFORE JUNE 1.

"On behalf of Amtrak’s onboard service staff, I want to thank the Rail Passengers Association for honoring their hard work with this award. The past couple years have indeed been difficult for Amtrak onboard service staff – coping with furloughs and job insecurity, adapting to changing protocols and services, not to mention the unfortunate events such as a tragic derailment and a fatal shooting. Nevertheless, our dedicated members at Amtrak have handled these hurdles with the care, attention and diligence for which they’re known. We thank Rail Passengers for their acknowledgement of our members’ hard work and, as always, look forward to seeing you on the rails."

Arthur Maratea, TCU/IAM National President
December 21, 2021, on the Association awarding its 2021 Golden Spike Award to the Frontline Amtrak Employees.