Amtrak Ridership Surpasses Pre-COVID Levels

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak announced that ridership exceeded 2019 pre-COVID levels for the first time in 2024, reaching a record high despite reduced capacity.

• Ridership grew by 15% over 2023, totaling 32.8 million customer trips.
• Passenger revenue hit $2.5 billion, a 9% increase from the prior year.
• Total operating revenue rose to $3.6 billion, marking a 7% increase.
• Amtrak reported an adjusted operating loss of $705 million for the year ending Sept. 30, which represents a 9% decrease compared to 2023.

Amtrak's previous record was 32.3 million passengers in 2019, a surge of 45% from 2003.

In March, Amtrak announced plans to enhance East Coast passenger services, aiming to double nationwide ridership by 2040 to 66 million passengers, despite facing hurdles in service expansion.

As of June, Amtrak had fewer available seats due to delays in new train car services.

In 2021, Congress approved $66 billion for rail projects, with $22 billion allocated specifically for Amtrak and $36 billion available for grants.

However, Amtrak's future funding remains precarious. Former President Donald Trump sought to decrease its funding during his first term, with Amtrak receiving about $2.4 billion in federal support this year.

In November 2023, the White House revealed $16.4 billion in new funding for 25 passenger rail projects on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, currently the busiest U.S. rail corridor with 800,000 daily trips and accounting for 20% of the U.S. economy. Many structure repairs are urgently needed.

Over the past six months, Amtrak has experienced several service disruptions. Last month, all train services between New York and Washington were temporarily suspended due to overhead power issues in Philadelphia, impacting thousands of travelers.

In the 12 months ending Sept. 30, over 14 million passengers traveled along the Northeast Corridor, including Washington and Boston. Amtrak now carries approximately five times as many passengers between New York and Washington compared to airlines.