Skift Take
Amtrak has selected expert Stephen Gardner as its next CEO. He takes over a railroad still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, however flush with cash for expansion from President Biden’s infrastructure costs.
Edward Russell
Amtrak has picked veteran staffer Stephen Gardner as its next CEO following the retirement of Bill Flynn in January.
Gardner’s promotion marks the 3rd CEO in four years to helm the beleaguered national traveler railroad.
Gardner, who has worked for the railway in different management roles considering that 2009 and is currently its president, takes control of the top job on January 17, Amtrak stated Wednesday. He is credited with shaping the railway’s expansive Connect U.S. expansion plan that Amtrak aims to implement with a few of the $66 billion allocated to traveler rail under President Biden’s facilities bill.
Flynn, who joined Amtrak from cargo airline Atlas Air in 2020, will stay on as a senior advisor to Gardner through completion of the fiscal year in September 2022. Flynn was the 2nd former aviation leader at Amtrak following on the heels of previous Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson who led the railway from 2017 to 2020.
The transition comes as Amtrak deals with a sluggish recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, while also benefitting from among the biggest infusions of federal funds in its 50-year history. The railway is the recipient of $22 billion in direct financing from the infrastructure bill, and it can obtain a few of the $36 billion available through competitive grants.
Amtrak Chair Tony Coscia said Wednesday that Gardner has the “service abilities, market knowledge and vision to enhance and improve service” at the guest railway.
Further Reading
Upgraded Dec. 14, 2021
Speaking at a Home Committee on Transportation & Facilities hearing on December 10, Gardner mentioned Amtrak’s ambitious growth strategies, consisting of long-needed upgrades to the Northeast Corridor linking Boston, New york city, and Washington, D.C., and broadening local corridors around the nation but specifically in area’s underserved by Amtrak in the south and west.
“Atlanta, whose city population is 5.6 million and should be the hub of a network of routes serving the Southeast, is served by a single day-to-day long-distance train,” stated Gardner at the hearing. Amtrak’s strategy requires new trains to Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala., Nashville, and Savannah in the next 15 years.
Amtrak ridership had actually recuperated to roughly 70 percent of 2019 levels by the end of its fiscal year in September. However, the ongoing absence of numerous company tourists– particularly on the busy Northeast Corridor– has the railway forecasting that ridership will just recuperate another 10 indicate 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels during its 2022 .
Gardner, speaking at the hearing, said Amtrak is concentrated on bring in new leisure travelers to its trains to comprise a few of the gap left by corporate roadway warriors.