#Amtrak CEO calls for Congress to expand TSA’s ‘No Fly List’ to rail passenger service

Amtrak is responding to the largest union of rail workers calling for heightened security in Washington DC ahead of Inauguration Day travel.

“We join our labor partners in continuing to call upon Congress and the Administration to make assaults against rail workers a Federal crime, as it is for aviation workers and to expand the TSA’s ‘No Fly List’ to rail passenger service,” Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said in a statement obtained by Fox News Thursday.

Amtrak said it was increasing police enforcement, limiting ticket sales and banning anyone who is not compliant with its policies, including mask-wearing following the violent attack on the US Capitol for Wednesday’s Inauguration ceremony. 

“We are taking extra steps to continue ensuring the safety of our employees and customers in Washington DC and across our network as we prepare for the Inauguration. We are increasing our police enforcement to ensure strong compliance, remove non-complying customers and ban those that don’t follow our policies,” Flynn said in the statement.

Amtrak will also deploy additional police officers onboard trains and in stations to support our frontline workers and utilize additional support from TSA and partner law enforcement agencies, Flynn said. 

The rail company’s response comes after the Transportation Communications Union (TCU), which represents around 35,000 people working in the transportation sector and around 6,100 on Amtrak, urged Amtrak to utilize the “no-fly” list in screening passengers and deny ticket sales to those individuals in a statement released Monday.

“We must not let our nation’s trains or DC’s Union Station – with its surrounding grounds and proximity to the Capitol – become the site of, or aid in, another historically tragic event. We must be prepared for all situations and hope for the best,” TCU National President Artie Maratea said in a statement.

The urgency to prohibit violent protestors from railways comes after flight attendants demanded the pro-Trump rioters be banned from planes.

It’s unclear if, or how many, Pro-Trump rioters took trains into DC last week.

The news comes as President-elect Joe Biden canceled plans to take Amtrak to his Inauguration Day due to concerns over safety risks, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, signaling heightened risk for potential threats in DC.

The FBI has warned of several political events planned by violent extremist groups posing safety threats in the days leading up to Inauguration Day on Wednesday in wake of the US Capitol riot.