Amtrak CEO Gardner leaves as operator pushes back against Musk’s privatisation drive

USA: Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner announced on March 19 that he was stepping down from the national passenger operator with immediate effect.

In a brief statement, he said that he was leaving ‘to ensure that Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration’. According to the Reuters news agency citing a White House official, he was asked to step down by the Trump administration.

Having previously been an intern at the operator, Gardner joined Amtrak in 2009, rising to Chief Operating & Commercial Officer before being appointed President in 2021, taking on overall leadership of the business.

Widely seen as a keen rail advocate, in his early career, Gardner worked for Guilford Rail System, now Pan Am Railways, and the Buckingham Branch Railroad in Virginia. He then worked on rail and transportation policy for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation before joining Amtrak.

‘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’, he said in his departing statement.

‘We did a lot together to make Amtrak safer, more modern, and a better travel experience for all our customers. From my start as an Amtrak intern back in the 1990s to ending as CEO, it has been my honour and privilege to lead this great American company, and I wish Amtrak every success. See you on the rails.’

DOGE targets Amtrak

Gardner’s departure comes only a few weeks after US government advisor and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk raised the prospect of Amtrak being privatised. Musk is the co-leader of the Department of Government