President Biden to appear at Amtrak event in Philadelphia
President Joe Biden will travel to Philadelphia on Friday to take part in Amtrak’s 50th anniversary celebration, the White House has announced. The New York Times reports Biden will appear at an event at 30th Street Station, promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, as well as celebrating the passenger carrier with which he is closely identified. As a senator, Biden used Amtrak to commute between his home in Wilmington, Del., and Washington on a near-daily basis, and he continued to occasionally use the train as vice president. Amtrak had previously informed the media that Biden would be participating in a virtual event to mark the 50th anniversary, but had not indicated specifics of his participation.
Metra plans to hire more than 100 as pandemic recovery increases
Chicago-area commuter rail operator Metra plans to hire more than 100 workers in the months ahead, both to prepare for an expected increase in ridership as part of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to fill positions left vacant during the pandemic. The positions available will be posted and open to online applications starting May 3; hiring will take place this spring and fall. “We want to make sure we are properly staffed to meet the needs of our riders as more and more of them begin returning to our trains,” Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski said in a press release. The jobs will be in a variety of areas, but Metra says it will particularly need extra list clerks, assistant signalmen, assistant building and bridge mechanics, trackmen, substation electricians, electrician apprentices, carmen, and coach cleaners, along with other positions. Videos explaining the positions are posted here at the Metra website.
VIA to hold annual public meeting May 27
VIA Rail Canada has set its annual public meeting for May 27. The meeting will be carried on VIA’s Facebook page and YouTube channel at 4 p.m. EDT but this year will be prerecorded. The meeting will update performance, financial results, and projects for 2020. Presenters will include VIA Rail’s board chair, Françoise Bertrand; CEO Cynthia Garneau; and Chief Financial Officer Marie-Claude Cardin, Canadians are invited to submit questions prior to the meeting; answers to the most frequently asked questions will be published May 27 on the public meeting page. More information is available here.
