The December Amtrak Open Board Meeting

Trains Magazine Passenger
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I was able to participate through Zoom in the Amtrak Board of Directors “public” meeting held yesterday in Richmond, VA. There was nothing radically new revealed, but I did get answers to several questions through their response to Q&A questions I submitted through Zoom, which was unexpected. I’ll summarize those responses in a moment, but first permit me some general observations.

I want to note though that Amtrak representatives took a very positive tone at this session and were respectful (and receptive to listening to) all participants.

It is a misnomer to call this a public Amtrak Board meeting, as the actual formal Board meeting took place in the morning and was not open. What was offered was similar to a media presentation and then a public hearing. But it was well worth three hours time!

From 100-230PM Amtrak presented a slide program on its 2023 accomplishments and some future plans, and provided a forum for the Virginia and North Carolina DOT passenger chiefs to explain their on-going efforts to expand service (and speed it up) in those states. This was interesting, although if you follow the rail media there was really nothing not known before coming into this session–except perhaps the remarkable patronage surges continuing in both states. I don’t mean to be dismissive here. The state/Amtrak partnerships are vital nationwide and Virginia and North Carolina have much to show for their investments.

I was pleased to hear that as track upgrades are completed Virginia plans “near hourly” service Richmond to Washington and to add further trains to Newport News and Norfolk and is actively working to extend the Roanoke trains to the New River Valley in western Virginia. North Carolina sees another frequency for the Piedmont

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I already have an opinion on this but curious what your opinion is when you hear Business Executives talk like this in generalities and avoiding details…consistently? To me it’s always a red flag. Now you might pass it off as if they misunderstood your question if it only happened once. Repeatedly, I don’t think so. Additionally, compare their answers to how Wes Edens answered questions about Brightline. Wes sounds passionate and ethusiastic. Amtrak officials above sound more like they are there for the paycheck and trying to stay out of trouble with their remarks but not all that interested in running the business.

One other thing is that you do not have to wait for the next Board meeting you can have an indirect discussion with Amtrak any time of your chosing. Two methods there. First call a Congressperson from your state if you have one on the Transportation sub-committee or committee. Usually their staff is in contact with Amtrak management once a month or once a quarter. Second method is to Email the Amtrak Passenger Advocates, they have one for Long Distance and one for Corridor Service. Don’t have their emails offhand but you can find them somewhere in the fine print of the Amtrak website, or else use Google. I am sure there are other approaches here.