Traffic & Transit

NYC Train Daddy Returns: All-Aboard For New Amtrak Job: Report

Andy Byford, once a top MTA boss until he clashed with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, will join Amtrak next month, Streetsblog first reported.

A fan of Andy Byford created stickers depicting the subway boss as the "Train Daddy."
A fan of Andy Byford created stickers depicting the subway boss as the "Train Daddy." (Photo courtesy of Liz Baker/Twitter)

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's "Train Daddy" is back. Sort of.

Andy Byford is slated to become an executive vice president for Amtrak starting in April, according to an exclusive report by Streetsblog NYC.

The reported new job will be a round trip of sorts for Byford, a Brit who came to New York City to run its subway and bus system.

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As MTA's city transit president, Byford became popular for his moves to modernize the system and improve on-time performance. So popular, in fact, that stickers with his head appeared on subway trains.

"Train Daddy loves you very much," the stickers read.

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But that love apparently didn't extend between Train Daddy and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Byford quit the MTA in 2020 amid repeated reported clashes with Cuomo and the governor's micromanagement. It didn't take long, however, for Byford to find a new job — he became London's "Train Daddy."

After two years as London's top transportation official, Byford returned to the U.S. to find another job in the transit industry, the New York Post reported in November.

Now, it appears Amtrak has a Train Daddy.

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