Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) joined U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in a letter to Amtrak’s President and CEO William Flynn expressing dismay at the recent announcement that the company might cut jobs and reduce service in rural areas amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In their letter, the senators demanded that the railroad commit to a timeline for resuming full, long distance passenger service.
“Rural networks could see trains running three days a week instead of seven, and 20 percent of Amtrak employees could lose their jobs,” wrote the senators. “Putting the brunt of budget shortfalls on rural America and its workers is unacceptable, no matter the circumstances, but it’s particularly egregious when Amtrak’s long-distance provided double the revenue of state-supported routes or the Northeast Corridor combined in May. If Congress is going to continue funding Amtrak at historic levels, you need to work to ensure this path forward works for places such as Montana, Nevada, and West Virginia alike.”
A full copy of the letter can be found HERE.
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