Amtrak plans to cut its nation-wide payroll over the next three years — including potentially dangerous 20 percent reductions in its police force set to begin next month, The Post has learned.
Amtrak Police Department Chief Neil Trugman told union officials for the 452-member force on Wednesday that their payroll will be slashed to 369 by 2022, said William Gonzalez, president of Amtrak’s Fraternal Order of Police.
The extent of cuts to the rest of Amtrak was not divulged, Gonzales said.
“We don’t have enough cops now to cover all the stations and tracks,” he said.
“We get over 100,000 calls a year. If we cut the number of cops we have it will jeopardize the safety and security for the passengers and employees. We will also be more vulnerable for terrorist attacks. They are talking about cutting our counterterrorism unit.”
Amtrak officials are promising there will be no police layoffs, Gonzalez said. But Amtrak police retirements alone could never support a 20 percent payroll cut, he said. Amtrak police cannot retire until they have 30 years on the force or reach age 60, he said.
“We were told the process was going to begin June 1 and that there would be no layoffs. But there’s no way they can reduce manpower without layoffs,” Gonzalez told The Post.
More than 30 million customers travel on Amtrak’s 21,400 miles of routes each year, according to company stats.
Amtrak cops deter and respond to crime and emergencies at stations and on trains, and work with other law enforcement to secure special events and conduct K-9 baggage sweeps and screenings.
Rumblings about Amtrak layoffs began back in October, when workers rallied outside Penn Station against an anticipated 1,700 layoffs to the train system’s food prep and service personnel.
President Trump has already targeted Amtrak for federal funding cuts. In his proposed 2020 budget, he asked Congress for a 24 percent cut to the rail system, which would result in a $455 million reduction in funding.
Still, Congress in recent years has appropriated more money for Amtrak than requested by the White House, Business Traveler noted last month.
An Amtrak spokesman issued this statement on Friday:
“We are currently evaluating the deployment of our Amtrak Police Department staff to ensure we have appropriate staffing levels for the safety and security of our customers and employees across our network. As part of this evaluation, we anticipate adjusting some of our staffing size and deployment levels, including increasing the presence of officers on board trains.”