The CEO of Amtrak introduced Wednesday that he’s stepping down after billionaire Elon Musk urged privatizing Amtrak and criticized the nationwide rail carrier as “a sad situation.”
“I am stepping down as CEO to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration,” Stephen Gardner mentioned in a commentary. “I am so proud of what the Amtrak team has accomplished to bring passenger rail service to more people and places across the country over these past 16 years, and I thank the Board for their trust and support.”
“We did a lot together to make Amtrak safer, more modern, and a better travel experience for all our customers,” Gardner added. “From my start as an Amtrak intern back in the 1990s to ending as CEO, it has been my honor and privilege to lead this great American company, and I wish Amtrak every success. See you on the rails.”
Throughout a March 5 digital look at a Morgan Stanley generation convention, Musk, who leads the non-Cupboard stage Division of Govt Potency, which targets to chop executive spending, mentioned the federal government must “privatize everything we possibly can.” Musk reportedly mentioned the federal government is “in much worse shape than any commercial company could ever be,” including, “I think logically we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized.”
Amtrak CEO Stephen J. Gardner speaks ahead of the Area Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Fabrics on June 6, 2023. Participants of the subcommittee held the listening to to talk about Amtrak operations and protection.
Anna Moneymaker by means of Getty Pictures
After Musk’s remarks on the generation convention, Amtrak printed a report on its website online that said, “It is not clear what problem Amtrak privatization proposals are intended to solve” and “despite inadequate federal funding” since its inception, “Amtrak has achieved notable success.”
The report additionally mentioned that if Amtrak had been privatized, it “would face the same constraints,” however would lack the “essential statutory right to operate over the national rail network.”
Amtrak additionally presented Britain for instance, writing within the report that during 1994, Britain’s teach operations went non-public after which later backtracked after 42 folks died as a result of the “negligence of the private infrastructure owner.”
In a commentary on Wednesday, Amtrak’s board thanked Gardner for his paintings and mentioned its participants “look forward” to running with Trump and Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, on construction a “world-class passenger rail system this country deserves.”
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Trump has additionally urged privatizing the U.S. Postal Provider, and in March, Musk referred to as Social Safety a “Ponzi scheme” that are meant to be privatized.
Throughout the generation convention, Musk criticized Amtrak, announcing, “If you’re coming from another country, please don’t use our national rail. It can leave you with a very bad impression of America.”
