Passenger Rail Outlook: Building Back Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor RAILWAY AGE, JANUARY 2021 ISSUE: First, getting through the pandemic—then, building a new normal. Amid uncertainty, there is cautious optimism for passenger rail in 2021. That was the general consensus of industry experts Railway Age interviewed in December. President-elect Joe Biden said he was “heartened” by the compromise in Congress, noting it was “a first step and down payment on more action that we’ll need to take early in the new year to revive the economy and contain the pandemic.” Addressing the dire financial needs of transit agencies and helping to keep their systems running is what this round of funding will attempt to do. New York MTA, for instance, will receive $4 billion, allowing it to avert drastic service cuts of up to 50% and layoffs of some 9,400 in 2021. It still faces deficits in subsequent years.