Amtrak Aims to Restore Canceled Routes Following Unions' Tentative Agreement

Amtrak is swiftly working to reinstate canceled trains after President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that a tentative agreement has been reached with the nation's freight rail unions. This deal prevents a looming strike set to begin on Friday, which threatened to disrupt rail services nationwide if negotiations failed.

“Although these negotiations do not involve Amtrak or its workforce, many of our trains run on freight railroad tracks,” Amtrak stated in a September 13 announcement regarding the ongoing labor discussions.

With a resolution still uncertain as of Wednesday evening, Amtrak initiated preliminary service changes, including the cancellation of all long-distance trains to prevent potential disruptions.

However, following the tentative agreement, Amtrak announced that it “is working swiftly to reinstate canceled trains and is reaching out to affected customers to accommodate them on the earliest available departures,” according to a statement provided to Dinogo.

Union representatives and railroad officials convened with the Labor Department for 20 hours on Wednesday to finalize an agreement. The tentative deal will be presented to union members for a vote after a post-ratification cooling-off period lasting several weeks.

Alongside long-distance trains, Amtrak also intended to cancel service on routes such as the Capitol Corridor, Amtrak Cascades, Heartland Flyer, Illinois Service, Michigan Service, Pacific Surfliner (partially), Piedmont, San Joaquins, Springfield Service (north of Springfield), and Virginia Service. All these services are now being restored.

Routes that were unaffected by the cancellations include:

• Acela service connecting Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
• Empire Service linking New York City to Albany
• Keystone Service from New York City to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Amtrak Hartford Line between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts
• Downeaster service from Boston to Brunswick, Maine

The national rail network announced that it has contacted customers affected by the cancellations and is offering to change their reservations to a different travel date, waiving any fare differences for departures until October 31. Amtrak is also providing full refunds without cancellation fees for those who prefer this option.

What prompted the rail union workers to consider a strike?

The negotiations centered around the recommendations from a Presidential Emergency Board appointed by President Biden this summer, which suggested a 24 percent pay increase and $5,000 in bonuses as part of a five-year agreement retroactive to 2020. The recommendations also proposed an extra paid leave day per year and enhancements to health insurance.

Unions representing railway conductors and engineers were holding out, hoping that railroads would exceed those recommendations and address concerns regarding erratic schedules and rigid attendance policies that make taking time off challenging, as reported by the Associated Press. They argue that job cuts made by major railroads over the past six years—eliminating nearly a third of their workforce—have exacerbated an already difficult job. Railroads argue that their operations have simply become more efficient by using fewer, longer trains.

The Association of American Railroads projected that a strike would cost the U.S. economy over $2 billion per day.

Reporting contributed by the Associated Press.