Stephen J. Gardner, Amtrak’s chief executive, announced on Wednesday that he would be stepping down from the passenger rail service about three years into the job.
In a statement, Mr. Gardner said he was leaving to ensure “Amtrak continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration.”
“We did a lot together to make Amtrak safer, more modern and a better travel experience for all our customers,” Mr. Gardner said.
Mr. Gardner joined Amtrak in 2009 and held several executive positions, including executive vice president and chief operating and commercial officer, as well as president of the rail service.
After being named Amtrak’s president in December 2020, he steered the passenger rail network through the Covid-19 pandemic, when ridership levels plummeted. Since then, ridership has rebounded, with Amtrak having a record 32.8 million customers in fiscal year 2024, according to a recent year-end report.
As chief executive, Mr. Gardner has overseen an era of modernization and expansion in part through investments from the 2021 infrastructure law.
But challenges with getting the new Acela trains running on Amtrak’s busiest, and most profitable, corridor, in the Northeast, remain.
Amtrak’s effort to replace its Acela trains with new, high-speed, red, white and blue Avelia Liberty trains has been delayed for years. The trains were originally scheduled to begin carrying passengers from Washington to Boston in 2021, but safety and design disputes have continued to delay the project.
The passenger rail service is now aiming to get the trains on the tracks this spring, according to Amtrak’s website.
Mr. Gardner’s announcement comes two weeks after Elon Musk proposed privatizing Amtrak, claiming that was the only way to fix the national rail system. Speaking at a tech conference, Mr. Musk called Amtrak a “sad situation” compared with China’s bullet trains.
Amtrak has historically struggled with aging infrastructure and frequent delays. In its decades of operation, it has yet to turn a profit.
Amtrak has said it expects to make a profit for the first time under the Trump administration.
It remains unclear whether President Trump supports privatizing Amtrak. During his first administration, he proposed steep funding cuts to the rail service.