America’s national railway service could be heading off the tracks, as Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner announced on March 19 that he was stepping down from his position. Gardner’s resignation comes amid a flurry of criticism aimed at Amtrak from the Trump administration — specifically from Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.
The White House has been at odds with Amtrak over its desire to privatize the company, something that Musk has mused over several times. Gardner’s resignation came at the specific request of the Trump administration, according to a report by Reuters. His resignation, along with continuing pushes for privatization, have left some wondering where the for-profit company goes from here.
Push to privatize
Amtrak is one of several institutions, along with the U.S. Postal Service, that Musk has suggested privatizing, claiming that a national rail service is a burden on taxpayer dollars. President Donald Trump himself hasn’t spoken on the privatization issue, but this anger toward Amtrak isn’t new for his White House. Trump “tried to cut federal funding for the company in half during his first administration — but it’s taken a sharper turn this time around,” said Gizmodo. Billions of federal dollars for Amtrak “got caught in Trump’s federal funding freeze,” putting further strain on the country’s train commuters.
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Gardner had “tried to go along with as much of the Trump administration’s demands as possible,” but it “seemed inevitable that he and the company would continue to receive significant scrutiny,” said Gizmodo. Musk, meanwhile, has “mused about the privatization of Amtrak, claiming that the railroad’s service pales in comparison to the high-speed rail systems in other countries,” said Bloomberg.
Musk 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,” said The Associated Press. While countries like China have fully state-owned railway systems, others, like Canada, have a mix of both. Musk has further claimed that privatization is the “only way to fix the national rail system,” said The New York Times. Amtrak has indeed “struggled with aging infrastructure and frequent delays” and has never turned a profit.
Amtrak’s future
Amtrak could be brought in a different direction if Musk’s privatization wish comes true. The company is the nation’s largest high-speed rail provider, and privatizing it “could have a huge impact on the technology’s future,” said Newsweek. Such an effort “could prompt investment and improve services for passengers,” a spokesperson for AmeriStarRail, a company considering a private sector investment with Amtrak, said to Newsweek. AmeriStarRail and other “private-sector investors recognize a significant opportunity to grow ridership, revenue and profits,” the spokesperson said.
However, while Trump and Musk lament over Amtrak, the company seems to be heading in the right direction, at least on paper. During the 2024 fiscal year, Amtrak said it saw an all-time ridership record of 23.8 million people. This represented a 15% boost from 2023. Ticket revenue also reached $2.5 billion, a “first in Amtrak’s history and 9% higher year-over-year,” Amtrak said. It also dropped its losses 9% to $705.2 million. And while “profitability is not Amtrak’s objective,” according to the company itself, Amtrak has said it expects to make a profit sometime during the next four years.
