Happening Now
Amtrak Board of Directors to Hold Public Meeting in St. Louis
October 28, 2022
The Amtrak Board of Directors announced this week that it will hold a public meeting on December 1 of this year at the historic Union Station Hotel in St. Louis.
The Amtrak Board of Directors announced this week that it will hold a public meeting on December 1 of this year at the historic Union Station Hotel in St. Louis. There will be options for the riding public to attend in-person or virtually, with attendees required to register in advance.
This public meeting is the result of a provision that Rail Passengers successfully advocated for, passed by Congress as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which requires Amtrak’s board to meet annually with the riding public. In addition, the BIL requires the Amtrak board to meet annually with representatives from the disability community and with Amtrak employees. Our association worked with Congressional allies to include this requirement because we believe it's important for the Amtrak Board to be accountable to the public; that means being transparent in its decision-making on the use of public funds and hearing directly from passengers about their experience of the network.
Amtrak said the meeting will review fiscal year 2022 and provide an overview of Amtrak’s strategic priorities and annual operating plan for fiscal year 2023. Rail Passengers is also encouraging the Amtrak Board to address recent service failures, and answer questions outlined by Rail Passengers President & CEO Jim Mathews in a letter to Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose.
“We have already begun conversations with Amtrak management about what happened that day, and we were encouraged to learn from Amtrak leadership that the railroad recognizes the seriousness of the incident and its aftermath,” wrote Mathews. “Nevertheless, we feel an obligation in representing our members and the traveling public to elevate our request for a formal debriefing and review whose results – subject to appropriate redaction of personally identifiable information – can be shared with the public.”
[You can read the full letter here.]
The registration deadline is November 23. Capacity will be limited.
WHEN: 10:00-11:30 a.m. CT; Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022
WHERE: St. Louis Union Station Hotel; 1820 Market St.; St. Louis, Mo., 63103
"It is an honor to be recognized by the Rail Passengers Association for my efforts to strengthen and expand America’s passenger rail. Golden spikes were once used by railroads to mark the completion of important rail projects, so I am truly grateful to receive the Golden Spike Award as a way to mark the end of a career that I’ve spent fighting to invest in our country’s rail system. As Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it has been my priority to bolster funding for Amtrak, increase and expand routes, look to the future by supporting high-speed projects, and improve safety, culminating in $66 billion in new funding in the Bipartisan infrastructure Law."
Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
March 30, 2022, on receiving the Association's Golden Spike Award for his years of dedication and commitment to passenger rail.
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