Amtrak workers’ union denounces plan to let passengers bring guns on trains: ‘Sheer lunacy’

The Transport Workers Union, which represents 360 onboard service workers at national passenger rail operator Amtrak, has lambasted the planned implementation of a new policy that would permit passengers to bring their guns on its US intercity trains.

The forthcoming protocols will allow people to carry on firearms in personal lock boxes.

“You can’t walk on to a plane with a gun, it has to be checked with your luggage and stowed away,” said John Feltz, International Rail Division director of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), in a statement. “So why allow guns in passenger cars on trains where there are also passengers in confined spaces? This is sheer lunacy.”

The union noted the new policy is now scheduled to begin in January 2027. Amtrak had previously noted it was considering the policy, amid pressure from the Trump administration to ease restrictions on transporting weapons, but had not announced a timeline.

According to the union, gun owners will be able to bring their weapons in cases to an Amtrak station agent, who would add an Amtrak-owned combination lock. Passengers take their weapons onboard and a station agent at the arrival stations would remove the Amtrak lock.

“A case or lock could be defective, or an enraged rider could use brute force to access a weapon. Either scenario will endanger the lives of riders and our members working on trains,” Feltz added.

Currently, Amtrak allows passengers to take guns on a few long distance trains, stored in secure baggage cars. The new policy would permit passengers to take guns to their seats in lockboxes on an additional 1,500 trains a day across the US, said Brian Delucia, staff representative at TWU International, including routes that about 750,000 people travel every day in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor that includes its busiest services connecting Washington, New York and Boston.

The union called on the federal government to reverse course on the policy, noting many Amtrak stations don’t have Amtrak staff or law enforcement presence to respond if something goes awry.

Amtrak did not immediately respond to a request for comment.