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“These initial adjustments … could be followed by impacts on all long-haul and most state-supported routes,” Amtrak said in a statement. “These adjustments are necessary to ensure that trains can reach their terminals before freight service is interrupted if a negotiated solution is not reached.”
Amtrak owns and operates much of its own track in the busy Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, but elsewhere it crosses the country on tracks owned by freight lines. Commuter lines that run between major cities and suburbs often operate on a similar model. These freight tracks would likely be unavailable for passenger trains in the event of a widespread strike.
Any disruption would affect a passenger rail industry already weakened by 2 1/2 years of the pandemic, which has hit commuter rail particularly hard.
Amtrak said it is closely monitoring the labor negotiations and is “hopeful that the parties will reach a resolution,” citing potential impacts on passenger operations. Amtrak said it has begun gradual adjustments to service in preparation for a possible disruption of freight train service later this week, adding that “such disruption could have a significant impact on intercity passenger trains.”
Amtrak Monday announced train cancellations with Tuesday departures on the Empire Builder, California Zephyr and Southwest Chief routes.
Most travel within the Northeast Corridor will not be affected, Amtrak said. However, minor schedule changes are expected on a small number of Northeast Regional trains serving destinations from Virginia to Boston. The company will let passengers change their booking free of charge for departures scheduled for October 31
Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association, said it makes sense to cancel trains early in the week to avoid a scenario where rail passengers could be stranded.
“It’s better to cancel some trains now than send some people out on the road and then have them stranded in the middle of nowhere because the strike has hit and the train can’t move anymore,” he said. “In the meantime, we’re all crossing our fingers for it to finally happen [the railroads and labor unions] come to a settlement.”
Freight railroads and unions representing their workers have been locked in a long-running dispute over wages and working conditions. After a presidential panel recommended a compromise, 10 of 12 unions involved in the negotiations have signed the deal, but the two largest have not. A cooling-off period ends Thursday night, after which workers could strike or the railroads could lock out passenger rail agencies.
Officials at several regional rail agencies said Monday they were holding internal meetings to determine the potential impacts and to develop emergency plans. A strike is not certain and the extent of any disruption to passenger traffic was not clear.
A key question would be whether freight railway clerks – whose job it is to direct trains – would continue to work. Without them, passenger trains probably couldn’t run on freight tracks.
Metrolink, a network of seven lines serving Los Angeles and other Southern California communities, last week warned customers about the potential for disruption. Scott Johnson, a spokesman for the agency, said five of its seven lines use tracks owned by freight railroads, meaning as many as 70 percent of its customers could be affected.
Still, Johnson said Metrolink had little information Monday about what the exact impacts might be.
“We’re pretty much working from a position of darkness,” he said.
Usually when Metrolink cancels trains, Johnson said it organizes buses as a replacement. However, in the event of a strike, the agency does not expect to be able to provide an alternative means of transport.
“Due to the potentially expansive nature and the high number of trains, there simply aren’t enough buses to provide alternative service,” Johnson said.
The Maryland Department of Transportation said Monday that freight railroad CSX had notified it of the potential for a strike starting Friday. The state said a strike would result in the “immediate suspension” of all service on two of its three MARC commuter lines serving the district — one to Baltimore and another to Martinsburg, W.Va.
Virginia Railway Express officials did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
DJ Stadtler, executive director of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, which oversees passenger service in the state, said the authority is working with Amtrak and freight railroads to ensure passengers get the “most up-to-date information available” in the event of a strike.
Not all commuter trains will be affected. RTD, the transit agency that serves Denver, said it did not expect its lines to suffer in the event of a strike. The nation’s largest transit operator, New York’s MTA, said its two commuter rail services were also not expected to be affected.
The looming strike by rail workers could further snarl a national rail network that has slowed to a crawl for months, Rail Passengers Association officials said, particularly hurting Amtrak passengers.
Disruptions to intercity train services are increasing and more are likely as the uncertainty comes amid staff shortages and increased demand. Amtrak trips have been hampered by worsening problems on freight lines, which often share tracks with Amtrak trains.
A third of Amtrak customers encountered delays in July, according to Time data, with an average delay of 71 minutes. The proportion of delayed customers is rising, Amtrak data shows, and delays are getting longer.
The disruption is more pronounced for travelers on long-haul routes – which are delayed more than half the time – and in parts of the country outside the north-east corridor. Rail union officials said the dispute could result in more widespread late trains or cancellations.
Commuter rail operators have been hit hard by changed work patterns caused by the pandemic. In many cases, they offer more limited service during peak hours, which no longer suits workers with more flexible schedules. In Los Angeles, for example, Johnson said Metrolink had about 40,000 on weekdays before the pandemic, a figure that now stands at about 17,000.
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