SAFETY AND SECURITY: Addressing Security Weaknesses and Operational Impacts of Amtrak Express is Critical to the Program’s Future

Amtrak Express is a shipping program by which individuals can pay to ship packages and pallets on Amtrak trains between more than 100 locations. Our prior work helped identify security vulnerabilities with the program, including a drug-trafficking organization that used it to ship hundreds of packages of illegal drugs on trains from 2010 to 2016. This report evaluates the effectiveness of the program’s security controls and operations.

We found that security weaknesses in Amtrak Express continue to place employees, passengers, and the company’s brand at risk, and operational inefficiencies continue to contribute to train delays among other impacts.

To address the findings in our report, we recommended the company implement security controls to mitigate risks. Additionally, we recommended the company improve its paper-based, manual process, including investing in electronic tools to reduce operational inefficiencies that contribute to train delays and have other impacts.