PoliticsNY’s latest special edition, Inside Government: Transportation features the government officials shaping New York’s transportation landscape. Today’s Q&A is with Chair of the Amtrak Board of Directors Anthony Coscia. Amtrak is the national passenger railroad company of the United States and connects passengers to 500 destinations across 46 states and parts of Canada.
How has your career up until your appointment prepared you for your role as board chair of Amtrak?
I have always been passionate about transportation in addition to my extensive experience in redevelopment finance, commercial real estate, and corporate governance. Before joining Amtrak, I served as chairman of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. I started as a member of the Amtrak Board in 2010, and served in key leadership roles before being appointed board chair in 2013.
What are some new routes or initiatives Amtrak customers can expect to see in 2027?
Part of Amtrak’s bold transformation in passenger rail, Airo trainsets are designed to deliver a more comfortable, connected, and reliable travel experience. 83 new Airo trainsets will roll out across the country, that started with Amtrak Cascades this September, and will continue into 2027 for Northeast Regional trains and other key routes. We also recently announced the creation of a new Board-level System Expansion Committee focused on growing passenger rail service across the country.
How do you expect advancements in technology to impact Amtrak’s service and the overall customer experience?
Amtrak has several interconnected technology transformation efforts underway, and focusing on a single program could oversimplify how all of these investments will collectively improve the customer experience. The improved customer outcomes will be enabled through a combination of investments Amtrak is making across data, marketing technology, digital and agent-assisted channels, payments, and reservation modernization, making a broader reference to holistic technology transformation more accurate.
What are the most challenging parts of your role as board chair of Amtrak?
We need to ensure that we provide reliable, on-time, and safe service all across the country on over 300 trains per day at 500 stations in 46 states and Washington, DC across 21,000 route miles. We are experiencing year-over-year record levels of demand, and we need to ensure we meet and exceed that demand in every possible way with new trains, safe and strong infrastructure, and exceptional customer service.
How is Amtrak working to make services more accessible to customers?
This past fiscal year, Amtrak invested more than $200 million in accessibility improvements and brought 28 stations into ADA compliance, with 58 more targeted for completion in FY27. We also advanced 141 station designs and 101 construction projects as part of Amtrak’s commitment to achieving full accessibility by 2029.