Amtrak Pulls It's Horizon Cars Causing Service Disruptions and Cancellations - The Downeaster Maintains Its Regular Schedule

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Created: 27 March 2025 27 March 2025

From Amtrak: "In compliance with federal requirements and its ongoing commitment to safety, Amtrak routinely inspects its railcars and locomotives. We discovered corrosion in several Horizon railcars. While working with the manufacturer, we decided to remove the equipment from service after learning of additional areas of concern from intensive inspections of multiple cars. The removal of this equipment from service will affect services on several routes: Downeaster, Hiawatha, Borealis, and Amtrak Cascades. Some trains, such as the Downeaster, will operate with fewer cars, while other services will be provided substitute transportation until a long-term plan is developed." 

Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority stated in an email to Trains News Wire that the Downeaster trains have been running for several months with one Horizon car and three Amfleet cars. Quinn wrote, “The Downeaster service continues to operate its five round trips daily but with three Amfleet coaches in each consist.” 

A total of 70 cars — 61 coaches and nine food-service cars were pulled from service. More details from Trains Magazine. 

Amtrak CEO Resigns

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Created: 25 March 2025 25 March 2025

The unexpected resignation of Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner sent shock waves through the passenger rail community - its advocates, employees, and passengers.  

From the AP: The announcement signaled that the leadership change came down to Amtrak maintaining support from U.S. President Donald Trump. In a statement, Gardner said he was stepping down “to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration.” A successor for Gardner was not immediately named.

Gardner’s departure also arrives just weeks after billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of privatizing Amtrak at a Morgan Stanley tech conference earlier this month.

Musk, who has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s aggressive push to downsize the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency, reportedly called Amtrak “kind of embarrassing” — while comparing the U.S. carrier to passenger rails seen in other countries, such as bullet trains in China.

A statement from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy took aim at Amtrak’s Washington D.C. operations — calling on Amtrak’s leadership to “clean up Union Station” and “rid of our nation’s treasures of homelessness and crime.”

Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association, was interviewed by NPR. Here is his perspective.