International Railway Journal on Amtrak

Amtrak of course is all too familiar with the bear baiting that occurs on Capitol Hill. So often a political football, its leaders have regularly had to scrap with Congressional committees with varying degrees of sympathy to secure annual operating budgets over the years. Demands for capital dollars have been equally tempestuous. However, this time things feel a little different. With politicians from both sides determined to show their constituents that they can get things done in Washington, a significant infrastructure package—which has been promised for many decades—might yet get over the line.

Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn certainly hopes so. Indeed, Flynn, who was speaking to IRJ shortly before the bill was approved by the Senate, remains optimistic that the promised capital funding will find its way to the railway.

“It’s more money than has ever been directed Amtrak’s way in our 50-year history,” Flynn says. “We’re not celebrating yet; there’s a ways to go. But I think a month ago, we would have been more cautious.”