Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn has joined the call by two labor unions for increased security for Amtrak passengers and railroad workers, especially in the Washington, D.C., area, in the wake of last week’s violence at the Capitol building. “There is nothing more important than the safety of our employees,” Flynn said in a statement. “Since the start of the pandemic, our dedicated frontline employees have kept our trains running, providing a vital transportation service to essential workers. We join our labor partners in continuing to call upon Congress and the Administration to make assaults against rail workers a Federal crime, as it is for aviation workers, and to expand the TSA’s ‘No Fly List’ to rail passenger service.”
Flynn’s statement also said the passenger railroad is increasing its police enforcement of mask requirements, removing and banning non-complying customers and increasing the number of Amtrak police onboard trains and in stations. “The Amtrak Police Department is a member of the steering committee for the upcoming Inaugural Ceremonies and has prepared a robust strategy to secure our stations, trains and infrastructure. We also continue to work closely with and utilize the resources of our federal, state and local partners.”
Two unions, the International Association fo Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, have called on the Federal Railroad Administration and Department of Homeland Security to increase rail security and to create a rail equivalent of the no-fly list [see “Digest: Union Pacific traffic in Wyoming …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 14, 2021].
