Amtrak announced it has created a new Board-level System Expansion Committee to manage its growing passenger rail service.
The committee comes on the heels of the agency’s announcement of expanded passenger rail service, including a second daily train on the Pennsylvanian route between Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and New York. Officials said the committee will help guide new routes, added frequencies and investments across the railroad’s network. Initial members of the committee are Amtrak Board members Robert A. Gleason, Elaine Clegg, Joel Szabat, Chris Koos, and a designate of the U.S. Transportation Department, the agency said.
“Expanding passenger rail service is essential to meeting growing demand, strengthening mobility, and connecting more communities to economic opportunity,” Chair of the System Expansion Committee and Amtrak Board Member Rob Gleason said. “The creation of this committee reflects Amtrak’s commitment to working with states, host railroads, and federal partners to advance new service opportunities and increase frequencies where investments and partnerships make growth possible.”
The committee was approved by the Amtrak Board of Directors on July 30, and will serve as the primary forum for advancing passenger rail growth, the board said. The committee will oversee passenger growth, advancing corridor development opportunities, expanding state-supported service partnerships, ensuring infrastructure and fleet readiness, strengthening host railroad partnerships and developing sustainable funding strategies for growth.
Officials said the committee reflects “Amtrak’s continued focus on turning growing demand into real service expansion, building on recent milestones,” like the one-year anniversary of Amtrak Mardi Gras service and the launch of the Borealis, between the Twin Cities and Chicago.