The staffing shortage plaguing American businesses of all kinds continues to bite down hard at Amtrak, whose leadership acknowledged yesterday during a public Board of Directors meeting in St. Louis that despite their best efforts those shortages are going to keep crimping service for much of 2023.

Like many sectors in the 2024-2026 period, Amtrak has faced significant labor challenges, though the situation has stabilized compared to the immediate post-pandemic years. The "shortage" is most visible in specialized roles, such as conductors, engineers, and skilled mechanical workers required to maintain the aging fleet. This has occasionally led to reduced frequencies on certain Long-Distance routes or "bus substitutions" for regional services. To combat this, Amtrak has embarked on a massive hiring spree, aiming to add thousands of new employees to support its ambitious "Amtrak Connects US" expansion plan. However, the time required for rigorous safety training—which can take several months for a conductor and over a year for an engineer—means that the "pipeline" of new staff takes time to reach the tracks. For passengers, this can sometimes manifest as longer wait times for customer service or limited "traditional dining" options on some trains. While they are no longer in a "crisis" state of understaffing, the pressure to maintain current service levels while simultaneously expanding to new corridors keeps the workforce operating at a very high capacity with little room for error.