All aboard! Biden to help Amtrak mark 50 years on the rails
Darlene Superville
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FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2020, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden boards his train at Amtrak s Pittsburgh Train Station in Pittsburgh. President Joe Biden is set to help the nation s passenger rail system celebrate 50 years of service. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden, once a regular Amtrak rider, is set on Friday to help the nation s passenger rail system celebrate 50 years of service.
As a U.S. senator, Biden was a fixture on Amtrak trains between his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., when the Senate was in session. He continued riding Amtrak as vice president. He has sometimes been referred to as “Amtrak Joe.”
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President Joe Biden campaigned on sparking the “second great railroad revolution” in a car-centric nation where rail infrastructure has languished for decades.
The president famously commuted daily from Wilmington, Delaware, to Washington, D.C., during his time as a senator, logging millions of miles riding the rails and earning the nickname “Amtrak Joe.”
WATCH: Biden celebrates Amtrak’s 50 years on the railsPolitics Updated on Apr 30, 2021 4:15 PM EDT Published on Apr 30, 2021 10:46 AM EDT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) President Joe Biden, once a regular Amtrak rider, helped the nation’s passenger rail system celebrate 50 years of service Friday.
Watch Biden’s remarks in the video player above.
As a U.S. senator, Biden was a fixture on Amtrak trains between his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., when the Senate was in session. He continued riding Amtrak as vice president. He has sometimes been referred to as “Amtrak Joe.”
But with a presidential train trip challenging because of security concerns, Biden instead flew to Philadelphia for Amtrak’s celebration at its busy 30th Street Station. He was introduced by a conductor who worked the route when Biden was a regular passenger. The next generation of Amtrak’s high-speed Acela train, sched
“He regularly engaged with them and knew quite a bit about them, and I think that s why he was anxious or willing to be part of our 50th anniversary,” Flynn said.
Biden s appearance in Philadelphia, his third visit to Pennsylvania while in office, comes as he marks his first 100 days as president. It also follows his speech to Congress on Wednesday, when he outlined his $2.3 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan and previewed some $1.8 trillion in proposed spending on education, child care and other family needs.
The Amtrak party will be Biden s latest stop in a post-speech tour to sell the infrastructure, jobs and families plans. He campaigned in Atlanta on Thursday and plans a stop in Yorktown, Virginia, on Monday.