(The Associated Press circulated the following story on December 11.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — If Amtrak workers go ahead and strike, commuters on Virginia Railway Express and MARC trains will also feel the pain.
Amtrak runs both VRE lines and the MARC Penn Line.
At VRE, spokesman Mark Roeber says an Amtrak strike would likely shut them down, since Amtrak provides both crews and maintenance.
More than 15,000 riders use the Manassas and Fredericksburg lines. Roeber says a strike in January would be worse than this month, when the holidays keep ridership lighter than normal.
MARC spokesman Richard Scher tells The Associated Press the impact would depend on which unions walk out. The Penn Line is MARC’s most traveled — averaging about 16,000 trips a day.
But since Amtrak owns Union Station, that could also hit the Brunswick and Camden Lines. Scher says they’d try to run those trains at least as far as a Metro station.
A federal judge today cleared the way for Amtrak workers to hold a one-day strike to protest what they say is a lack of support from the White House and Congress.