Biden and Johnson discuss trains and trade deals during first US-UK call



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  • Joe Biden and Boris Johnson are said to have been linked by trains, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.
  • During the new president’s first transatlantic call, Johnson asked about Biden’s Amtrak travel.
  • Biden is said to have planned to visit the UK on his first presidential trip outside of North America.
  • Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke over the phone on Saturday night, with part of their conversation apparently focusing on a mutual love of train travel.

Johnson asked Biden about his travels with Amtrak, according to an article in The Telegraph on Sunday.

Biden, who is sometimes referred to as “Amtrak Joe”, commuted from Delaware to Washington on the train for 36 years. CNN estimated he made about 8,000 round trips on the same route.

Biden had planned to take the train the morning of its inauguration, but changed his schedule for safety reasons, according to the Associated Press. He promised a “rail revolution” during his presidency, which means he would work to improve the country’s ailing rail system.

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Vice President Biden speaks on an Amtrak train.

Larry Downing / Reuters


Biden and Johnson’s discussion of train travel led to a larger discussion of green energy and climate change, according to The Telegraph.

The official readings of the first Biden-Johnson appeal focused on cooperation between the two countries in the fight against climate change, COVID-19 and “global health security.”

The White House said: “The President has announced his intention to strengthen the privileged relations between our countries and to revitalize the transatlantic ties, underlining the critical role of NATO in our collective defense and our common values”.

The train conversation was also not part of the UK government’s official reading of the call, which said leaders “discussed the benefits of a possible free trade deal.”

Johnson “reiterated his intention to resolve existing trade issues as soon as possible,” the statement said.

Read more: Meet Joe Biden, America’s Imperfect Leader

White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to give a timeline for trade talks between the two allies on Friday, according to a transcript of her comments.

She said Biden and security adviser Jake Sullivan see a deal as important because “everything we do has to help advance working families and America’s middle class.”

Psaki added: “But at the moment, we are working to bring the pandemic under control, to bring economic aid to the American public. We can, of course, do several things at the same time, but those are our main priorities at this point.”

Saturday’s call marked the first transatlantic call for Biden since taking office on Wednesday.



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