"While we are hopeful that parties will reach a resolution, Amtrak has now begun phased adjustments to our service in preparation for a possible freight rail service interruption later this week," Amtrak said late Wednesday night. "For Thursday, Sept[ember] 15, all Amtrak Long Distance Trains are canceled... Service updates for Friday, Sept. 16 will be announced on Thursday."
Amtrak said the ongoing negotiations between unions and freight railroad companies do not involve the company or its workforce.
Railroad unions will launch a full-fledged strike throughout the United States on Friday if a deal is not achieved.
Amtrak said such an interruption could significantly impact intercity passenger rail service because Amtrak operates almost all of its 21,000 route miles outside the US Northeast Corridor on track owned, maintained, and dispatched by freight railroads.
However, Amtrak noted that travel within Boston, New York, and Washington, DC, would not be affected.
Earlier in the day, the US Senate failed to pass legislation that would prevent a railway strike by resolving the disputes unions have with freight railroad companies. US Senator Mitch McConnell warned that such a strike could cause a supply chain crisis and paralyze food, fertilizer, and energy shipments in the United States.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 19 said on Wednesday it rejected a tentative deal with the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the United States' freight railroads, but it is extending its strike deadline until the end of the month to allow room for further negotiations.
Other railroad unions are in the middle of negotiations with the NCCC as well.
The Biden administration is working with other modes of transportation such as the trucking industry and air carriers to plan for mitigation efforts in the event of a strike. US Labor Secretary Martin Walk hosted on Wednesday representatives of unions and railway companies as part of the Biden administration’s effort to avoid a strike.
The US Chamber of Commerce warned that a potential rail strike would lead to an "economic disaster" and called on Congress to be prepared to intervene.