# US rail union warns expanded onboard firearms access could endanger passengers and staff

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/amtrak-workers-union-denounces-plan-to-let-passengers-bring-guns-on-trains-sheer-lunacy/
- Published: 2026-11-05T14:34:44+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T14:47:47+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/nov/05/amtrak-workers-union-passengers-guns
- Topics: Americas, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Amtrak plans to allow firearms in lockboxes on more trains from January 2027.
- The union says the change could endanger passengers and onboard workers.
- The plan would cover 1,500 additional trains a day.

## Summary

The Transport Workers Union has criticised Amtrak’s plan to let passengers carry firearms in lockboxes to their seats on more trains, calling it a safety risk. The policy is scheduled to begin in January 2027 and would expand access to guns on services where passengers and staff share confined spaces.

Under the proposed process, station staff would secure each passenger’s gun case with an Amtrak-owned combination lock, which staff at the destination would remove. The union says faulty locks or attempts to force cases open could endanger riders and workers, and notes that many stations lack Amtrak staff or law enforcement. It says the change would cover 1,500 additional trains a day, including busy Northeast Corridor routes used by about 750,000 people daily; currently, guns are permitted on some long-distance trains if stored in secure baggage cars.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.