Amtrak Averts Strike; SEPTA Riders Exhale

Amtrak announced today it had reached an agreement with nine unions, averting a strike that would have angered way too many people in the suburbs.

Amtrak will apparently grant back wages to its workers worth $150 million, which the government will probably pay since Amtrak is run almost entirely on federal subsidies. However, $150 million for the government is absolutely nothing, so hooray, everybody wins!

Amtrak To Screw Up Entire East Coast

Everything seems to be going pretty smoothly for SEPTA recently. The transit agency raised fares without any riots, it’s planning to update to a smart card system for fare collection and it now has state money coming in. Nothing is that easy, though; SEPTA might have to shut down six regional rail lines due to a possible Amtrak strike beginning on Jan. 30.

The regional rail lines that run on Amtrak lines are: R1 Airport, R2 Newark, R5 Paoli, R6 Cynwyd, R7 Trenton and R8 Chestnut Hill West. (The Inquirer says it would affect 54,000 daily rail riders.) Similarly, NJ Transit would have to shut down its Northeast Corridor Line, which runs from Trenton to New York and is by far the best way to get into New York City. (SEPTA to NJ Transit to Penn Station. When I started college, this was actually pretty cheap, too!)

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