Amtrak Fiscal Year 2022: The Beginning of a New Era of Rail

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Nov 29, 2022, 18:32 ET

Company focused on service restoration, ridership growth, building a new workforce and infrastructure improvement

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amtrak continued rebuilding its business and began a new era of intercity passenger rail investment in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 by growing ridership by 89%, restoring and expanding service across the nation and launching major infrastructure projects. From hiring a record level of employees to building a new Capital Delivery organization focused on modernizing infrastructure, major stations and trains, Amtrak is creating the capacity and talent to bring sustainable investments and improvements to intercity passenger rail communities across the nation.

"We worked hard to restore service and grow ridership in the face of lingering impacts from the pandemic, all while modernizing our assets to make train travel a better experience for customers," said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of every employee and the bipartisan support and collaboration from the Biden Administration, Congress and our state partners, Amtrak brought more trains back to more places and expanded our network to connect more people across America."

Demand for Amtrak service returned strongly in the second half of FY22 following last winter's Omicron wave, with overall ridership reaching about 85% of pre-COVID levels. Northeast Corridor (NEC), State Supported and Long Distance ridership grew 110%, 85% and 56% respectively compared to FY21 ridership. Based on current forecasts, Amtrak expects ridership and revenue to improve above 90% of pre-COVID levels by the end of FY23, bucking the trend of continued lower ridership seen on most commuter railroads and public transit systems. The increase in ridership and revenue helped Amtrak reduce operating losses by $145 million compared to anticipated FY22 levels, setting the stage for improving financial performance for train operations over the years ahead.

"Ridership exceeding our expectations shows that travelers are flocking back to Amtrak for intercity trips and that the United States is ready for more and better passenger rail service," said Amtrak Board Chair Tony Coscia. "We are doing our part to help deliver a new era of passenger rail improvements and low-carbon mobility. As we begin the new year, Amtrak will prioritize service improvements for customers, expand our network and advance our infrastructure and fleet modernization programs."

Preliminary results for FY22 (Oct. 2021 - Sept. 2022) can be found here and full ridership results can be found here.

SOURCE Amtrak