How will Amtrak, infrastructure funding, and safety regulation fare under Trump?

I’m still in Savannah, Ga., for the tourist railroad and museums conference, but my thoughts today turned to a national issue: How will Amtrak, infrastructure funding, and safety regulation play out under President Trump?

Those have to be the questions on the mind of every railroad executive, labor union, and almost brand new Amtrak President Wick Moorman. With a Republican majority in both houses of Congress, will the party take aim at Amtrak? Will the party in charge cut it back to the Northeast Corridor and other significant regional corridors? Will it look to privatize the carrier’s significant long-distance routes? Such language almost became part of the party’s platform in Cleveland last summer. Will it reappear in the new administration?

Trump has said he wants to pour money into rebuilding America’s infrastructure. Does that funding include money to improve rail freight capacity and passenger service? (And does that contradict the Republican Party’s continued interest in curtailing or ending Amtrak funding? Doesn’t the government have a responsibility to provide transportation to the people, and to provide alternatives to air and vehicular traffic?)   

And what of the Federal Railroad Administration? Trump has said he wants to reduce regulation. How will that play out with Positive Train Control? There have been significant obstacles to implementing PTC, and many have questioned whether the money could be better spent on other safety measures. Will its implementation come to a screeching halt? What about other safety initiatives?

 The railroad industry’s relationship with the federal government will no doubt change on Jan. 20 when Trump takes the presidency, and all of us interested in railroading will want to watch these and other issues to see how they play out.