NEW ORLEANS — A full complement of Amtrak board members convened in the Crescent City on Thursday for the only yearly meeting where the railroad’s management and board take questions from the public.
As has been the case since the first mandatory annual public meeting held in St. Louis in 2022, many concerns affecting company operations were addressed in the in-person and online question-and-answer session that followed management presentations.
Debating capacity
Management reports largely covered Amtrak’s fiscal 2025 performance [See “Amtrak sets ridership record…,” Trains.com, Nov. 16, 2025]. But Chief Commercial Officer Eliot Hamlisch revealed that October 2025 ridership (in the 2026 fiscal year) dipped more than 1% as a result of the delayed NextGen Acela rollout. November patronage was stronger, driven in part by air travel disruptions.
Board Vice Chairman Joel Szabat pointed out that even after more NextGen Acelas and new Airo trainsets enter service next year, Amtrak still will have less capacity than it did at the beginning of last year. Later, when board member and former Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Ron Batory asked where the greatest near-term capacity challenges and risks were on the system, Hamlisch said they were on the Northeast Corridor.
No mention was made about the status of either single-level or bilevel long-distance procurement, initiatives that are currently stalled in the “Request for Information” or “Request for Proposal” stages.
Idaho-based board member Elaine Clegg asked what management plans to do about expanding long-distance train capacity.
“We are working to be extremely efficient in our deployment of capacity on the long-distance network to minimize the losses so we can have the high-producing other part of the business offset those losses [and] to become profitable,” Chief Financial Officer Costin Corneanu replied. This thinking reflects why the Coast Starlight has been turning away customers most of the year by operating with only two coaches.
Blue Sky CSI
Amtrak’s Hamlisch unveiled a new way the company plans on splitting Customer Satisfaction Index score goals into “Blue Sky” experiences — when trains aren’t delayed — and “Non-Blue Sky” instances, when delays occur. CSI scores are largely driven by delays. The overall CSI goal, currently a component of executive bonus compensation, has been set at 80, which the railroad has not been achieving.
“When trains are late, customers aren’t happy,” Hamlisch says, so “the intent is for us to see what we can take action on when the trains are on time in the most ideal operating conditions — cabin comfort, hospitality, and customer service.”
The presentation slides he displayed set an overall 2026 Blue Sky goal at 90.6 and 65.9 for Non-Blue Sky, with different goals for different services.
A potential drawback is that this dual-reporting protocol could mask the negative impact of mechanical delays that, unlike freight train interference, are entirely under Amtrak’s control. Not mentioned: Whether the new reporting system will alter executive compensation formulas.
Other Updates
Among the revelations in responses to attendees’ questions:
Loss of shunt issues: Operations Vice President Gery Williams says truck-mounted antennas, “have been designed, are being built, the states have agreed to fund five of them for the Midwest Chargers, and the notice to proceed was granted [by the FRA] in mid-October.” Once installed, as demanded by Canadian National, they would counteract CN’s requirement for seven Superliners on Chicago-Carbondale, Ill., state-sponsored trains. No timeline for installation was divulged.
Sidelined Horizon coaches: “Most of the fleet has been evaluated and we’ve found a certain number of coaches that can be repaired and repairs are underway on a small number at the moment,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said. He hopes to have the first few returned to service in early 2026. “But there are limitations to how long equipment can be maintained safely,” he said.
Wreck repair: Harris says all out-of-service equipment “that is viable is being worked on for a return to service.”
Printed timetables: Don’t expect Amtrak to again offer PDF schedules. Hamlisch cited constantly changing schedules as the reason Amtrak “has opted for more dynamic” online information and doesn’t produce PDF versions, essentially discounting their value for trip planning and showing passengers each train’s route. The Rail Passengers Association continues to offer PDF schedules on its website and some regional corridors offer them as well.
Elimination of “flex” meals on the Crescent, Texas Eagle, and City of New Orleans: Hamlisch says Amtrak is “actively contemplating potential expansion of traditional dining and/or different approaches to flex dining.” He did not reveal any specifics.
Charger locomotive reliability: Williams said the company is working with Siemens and state sponsors and “continues to see increased reliability — not as quick as we want it to but there are a lot of things that we’re working on with our partners.”
“On the other side of that,” he adds, “we are working with Siemens to improve our troubleshooting capability in the field and at the Consolidated National Operations Center. And we’re focused very much on our response time to make sure we are taking care of the customers.”
Daily Sunset Limited: Harris says Amtrak is deferring to the Federal Railroad Administration’s “long-distance study framework” on plans to convert the Sunset Limited to daily operation.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
It would be interesting to know if ANY or ALL of the Amtrak Executive Team, attending the public Board of Directors meeting, actually rode from Washington, DC to New Orleans in the Amtrak Inspection Car and accompanying Amtrak Executive Team Sleeping Car(s) attached to the rear of the CRESCENT for the roundtrip journey. If they did, then there is some hope they are acting like true railroad corporation leaders. If they didn’t, and chose to FLY between Washington and New Orleans, then that tells you all you need to know about the mindset of the Amtrak Executive Team.
So the elephant in the room revolving around the very very sad procurement process is ignored.