White House forces out CEO of passenger railroad Amtrak

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House this week forced Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner to step down as head of the U.S. passenger railroad after President Donald Trump sought the changes, two sources told Reuters.

Gardner said on Wednesday he will resign immediately, ending more than four years as head of the railroad, citing concerns about maintaining the carrier's support from the Trump administration.

"I am stepping down as CEO to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration," Gardner said in a statement.

A White House official told Reuters Gardner had been asked to step down. An Amtrak spokesperson declined to comment on whether he had been asked to leave.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement that Amtrak needs to address safety concerns at Washington's Union Station.

"It’s time for Amtrak leadership to clean up Union Station," he said. "It’s time to rid our nation's treasures of homelessness and crime. Commuters and travelers need to feel safe in our capital."

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising Trump on plans to radically shrink the U.S. government, said earlier this month he thought Amtrak should be privatized.

Trump, during his first term, repeatedly sought to cut funding to Amtrak, which received about $2.4 billion in annual federal support in 2023. Congress last week approved $2.42 billion for Amtrak through September 30 in annual funding.

Amtrak said in December ridership topped 2019 pre-COVID-19 levels for the first time in 2024, reaching a record high even with less capacity.

Ridership increased over 15% in 2023 to a record 32.8 million customer trips, as passenger revenue hit $2.5 billion, up 9% over the prior year. The rail operator reported an adjusted operating loss of $705 million for the 12 months ended September 30, 2024, down 9% versus 2023.

Amtrak faced service woes over the last year. In November, it was forced to temporarily suspend all train service between New York and Washington due to overhead power issues in Philadelphia, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of riders.

Amtrak in March said it was boosting passenger services on the East Coast as it aims to double ridership nationwide by 2040 to 66 million passengers.

Congress approved $66 billion for rail projects as part of a massive infrastructure bill in 2021, with $22 billion dedicated to Amtrak over five years on top of regular funding.

In 2023, then-President Joe Biden announced $16.4 billion in grant funding for 25 rail projects on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor -- Boston to Washington -- the busiest U.S. rail corridor with 800,000 daily trips in a region representing 20% of the U.S. economy.

Many bridges, tunnels and other parts of the corridor are in serious need of repairs, especially a key tunnel connecting New York City and New Jersey.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft and Bill Berkrot)