Transit systems across the country were strained on Wednesday amid the threat of a strike by rail freight workers, preparing for potential travel disruptions that could affect hundreds of thousands of rail customers. Amtrak said it was canceling all of its long-distance trains beginning Thursday.
Some regional transit companies said they were preparing for service disruptions as early as Thursday evening ahead of a possible 12:01am Friday shutdown. They are preparing plans to communicate with commuters if a strike is not averted, and some are Working with other agencies to point people to bus alternatives.
The disruptions to passenger systems running on cargo lines would be felt in several major metropolitan areas, including Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. The threat of strikes also shut down most Amtrak services outside of the Northeast Corridor, forcing travelers to find alternative transportation or cancel plans at the last minute.
Amtrak suspended service on all of its long-distance routes starting Thursday, most of which have a daily trip in each direction and provide overland connections to thousands of Americans. Between 24 and 28 days, trains do not run while services are suspended.
“One can only hope that there is a resolution before Friday,” said Karen Finucan Clarkson, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Railway Express, which carries commuters from the Northern Virginia suburbs to the nation’s capital. “We really hope that we can have a service on Friday. That would be best for the region.”
A strike would affect workers on the two private railroads that house AER trains – CSX and Norfolk Southern – and result in the suspension of all operations. Several S-Bahn agencies and the vast majority of Amtrak routes operate on tracks owned by freight railroads whose workers are threatening to go on strike.
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Freight rail companies and unions representing their workers have negotiated a new contract in a long-running dispute over wages and working conditions, but have failed to reach an agreement. A “reflection period” prescribed by the federal government ends on Friday, which opens up the possibility of a strike or lockout.
The Biden administration has sought to resolve the labor dispute to stave off the possibility of one of the most disruptive strikes in recent US history. The Association of American Railroads estimates that a closure will cost the economy more than $2 billion a day and “shut down more than 7,000 trains a day, causing retail product shortages, widespread production shutdowns, job losses and disruption to hundreds of thousands of passenger rail customers.” could. ”
The industrial dispute began affecting intercity traffic earlier in the week. Hundreds of Amtrak passengers had to transfer or cancel plans as the railroad cut intercity trains on 10 of its 14 long-distance routes before extending Wednesday’s service disruption. The airline said the changes to these multi-day trips were necessary ahead of a possible strike to avoid disruption to passengers mid-route.
The DC to Boston corridor, the busiest in the country, would be largely unaffected by a strike because Amtrak owns the tracks. But Amtrak said more cancellations are likely, including for short-haul, government-funded services that operate on freight lines. Amtrak operates most of its 21,000 line miles on railroad-owned, maintained, and serviced track.
Major regional train systems on Wednesday continued to encourage passengers to plan alternative journeys later this week.
The Chicago Metra service said customers could see disruptions on lines that run on freight tracks starting Thursday night. The agency said BSNF Railway and Union Pacific plan to limit service during Thursday night’s rush in preparation for a work stoppage. Four lines that are contractually bound by freight rails would be affected.
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Metrolink, a network of seven lines serving Los Angeles and other Southern California communities, has been warning customers of possible disruptions since last week and on Wednesday says some disruptions will likely begin Thursday night. Five of the system’s seven lines use rail freight tracks, meaning up to 70 percent of customers could be affected.
“We are coordinating with our rail partners to offer as many alternative services as possible, but there may be complete service disruptions on some lines,” the agency said in a service update.
The Maryland Department of Transportation on Wednesday continued to issue warnings to passengers about the possibility of an “immediate suspension” of all services on two of its three MARC commuter lines serving the district — one to Baltimore and one to Martinsburg, W. Virginia state transportation officials said , MARC provides passengers with a list of bus and other transit alternatives.
“MARC Train stands ready to provide regular scheduled service on the Camden and Brunswick lines should CSX not suffer a strike from its unions,” said Veronica Battisti, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Transit Administration.
In Virginia, the suspension of AER service is likely to affect up to 10,000 commuters daily. The railroad, which until recently carried about 5,200 passengers — about 70 percent fewer than before the pandemic — saw a surge in ridership after Labor Day as some subway commuters amid a week-long closure of several subway stations south transferred to the system from Reagan National Airport.
“If there is a rail strike, it means for blue and yellow line drivers, as well as AER drivers, there will be no rail service as an option into the district,” Clarkson said.
Everything you need to know about the looming rail strike
AER is preparing announcements that it will run on its stations on Friday when the system is forced to shut down. The agency also coordinates commuter and local bus systems in Northern Virginia, which could be used as alternatives. As of Wednesday afternoon, officials said the prospects for a strike were still unclear and it was hoped that there would be no impact next Friday.
“We have to make a decision on Thursday afternoon,” Clarkson said. “When it comes to the wire, it can be the early hours [Friday] Tomorrow before we can release anything… Then we will send out notifications.”
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a rail infrastructure advocate, called the unions’ demands “reasonable” and urged railroads to work towards an agreement that avoids a strike and a significant impact on trade and transport.
“Given that Amtrak has already preemptively canceled a number of its long-distance trains in anticipation of a strike, it doesn’t take much of an imagination to predict the chaos a strike would cause,” he said.
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