US railroad Amtrak on track to break passenger records in 2024
Recasts lead; adds details, background
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) -U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Wednesday it expects ridership to toppre-COVID 2019 levels this year for the first time and reach a record high even though it hasless capacity.
Ridership was 20% higher in the first seven months of Amtrak's budget year that began Oct. 1, and ticket revenue was up 10% versus the same period in 2023, according to written testimony by Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner to be presented at a hearing ofa U.S. House of Representative subcommittee on Wednesday.
"We are on target to set a new all-time ridership record by exceeding the 32.3 million passengers" in 2019, Gardner said in thewritten testimony.
Amtrak passengers grew 45% from 2003 to 2019 to 32.3 million.
Gardner said Amtrak's year-to-date revenue is also higher than in 2019, but "has been impacted by the reduced business travel since the pandemic as virtual meetings have replaced many short-duration business trips."
Amtrak said it has fewer seats because of a number of factors including delays in starting service with new Siemens Venture cars that state partners have acquired for Midwestern and California route sand delays in beginning service of the new Acela trainsets by Alstom on the Northeast Corridor because of continued testing.
A busy California route has been severed on multiple occasions for extended periods due to worsening erosion at points where its right-of-way runs beneath bluffs along the Pacific Coast.
Amtrak in March said it was boosting passenger services on the East Coast as it aims to double ridership nationwide by 2040. It will boost service between Boston and Washington by as much as 20% on weekdays and will add 1 million additional seats over the next year.
Congress approved $66 billion in funding for rail projects as part of a massive infrastructure bill in 2021, with $22 billion dedicated to Amtrak and $36 billion made available for grants.
In November the White House announced $16.4 billion in new funding for 25 passenger rail projects on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which is the busiest U.S. rail corridor with 800,000 daily trips in a region that represents 20% of the U.S. economy.
Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft and Leslie Adler
Mga Kaugnay na Asset
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
