Amtrak suspends some service south of DC ahead of inauguration

Amtrak announced Saturday that it is suspending some service south of Washington, D.C., due to security concerns surrounding Wednesday’s inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Amtrak said in a statement that is suspending some service to Virginia and that no Northeast Regional service south of Washington, including all Virginia stations, will run on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“After last week’s violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, we are taking extra steps to continue ensuring the safety of our employees and customers in Washington DC and across our network as we prepare for the Inauguration,”  the company said. “In addition to limiting ticket sales and requiring masks to be worn at all times, we are increasing our police enforcement to ensure strong compliance, remove noncomplying customers and ban those that don’t follow our policies.”

The move is the latest effort by transportation companies and local and state officials to bolster security ahead of next week’s inauguration.

Last week’s violent riots at the Capitol, for which law enforcement was woefully underprepared, rattled the nation’s faith in the security surrounding the quadrennial affair. Federal officials have warned of several armed threats to the event, and up to 25,000 armed members of the National Guard are set to protect the Capitol area.

Biden had originally intended to take Amtrak from his home in Delaware to the inauguration, but that plan was scrapped over security concerns.