More than 18,000 Amtrak employees will receive $900 bonuses before the end of the year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday evening.
The bonuses will be funded by reductions in the executive leadership team’s bonus packages. Officials encouraged executives “to forgo 50% of the bonus packages that would have been paid out under the previous executive bonus structure,” redirecting the funds to front-line workers.
Amtrak reported record ridership and revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, earning over $2.7 billion from 34.5 million passengers. The bonuses were praised by unions representing train workers.
“End-of-year bonuses will now go to 18,000 front-line workers rather than being limited to the executive ranks,” said Mark Wallace, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National Union. “This long-overdue recognition of the employees who keep the railroad moving is a step in the right direction.”
The announcement comes amid controversy over previous bonus programs under the Trump administration, which limited $10,000 payments to air traffic controllers and technicians with perfect attendance during a government shutdown. That policy left nearly 20,000 workers without bonuses, drawing criticism from unions at the time.
“We are concerned that thousands of air traffic controllers who consistently reported for duty during the shutdown, ensuring the safe transport of passengers and cargo while working without pay, were excluded from this recognition,” the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a statement.