Comment box Scope: summary, information, some analysis Tone: neutral Opinion: bits of it Sarcasm/humor: none Amtrak is doing very well, thanks to historic investment from the Bipartisan...
Comment box
Scope: summary, information, some analysis
Tone: neutral
Opinion: bits of it
Sarcasm/humor: none
Amtrak is doing very well, thanks to historic investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and greater demand for travel.
Amtrak achieved an all-time ridership record in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), welcoming a historic 32.8 million customers [a 15% increase over FY23] as demand for passenger rail service continues to grow in markets across the nation. Amtrak also invested an unprecedented $4.5 billion into major infrastructure and fleet projects...
Grew Northeast Corridor route ridership significantly, with a more than 9% increase on Acela and 18% on Northeast Regional services when compared to FY23.
Increased Northeast Regional capacity by adding 1 million seats; Northeast Regional service increased by 20% on weekdays and 10% on Sundays
Grew Long Distance route ridership to 4.2 million, an 8% increase compared to the previous fiscal year with a 29% increase on Capitol Limited and 13% on Lake Shore Limited when compared to FY23
The article discusses several other accomplishments this year, including new and expanded services, reductions in travel time on some routes, upgrades the food and dining experience, etc.
I care mostly about infrastructure, so this is nice:
Invested a record $4.5 billion into capital upgrades across the Amtrak network; includes manufacturing and testing new trains, beginning construction of new tunnels and bridges, conducting annual state-of-good repair upgrades, and additional projects that will improve future service for customers and partner railroads
Provided planning, engineering, and/or funding support for dozens of partner projects supported by the FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program and Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program
Examples include the Hudson Tunnel Project in New York/New Jersey, S-Line Project in North Carolina/Virginia, Downeaster Corridor Track Improvement Project in Maine, Pennsylvanian Rail Modernization Project, Transforming Rail in Virginia, Penn Station Access in New York, Walk Bridge and Devon Bridge Replacement Projects in Connecticut with additional projects in Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, and more
The article refers to various other infrastructure, safety, accessibility, etc improvements as well.
Something I thought was notable and probably helped with ridership a lot:
Offered new Google direct data integration helping travelers choose more transportation options when searching for intercity travel
Amtrak information will appear in Google search results when a user indicates they are considering rail travel between two Amtrak destinations
Google will also show train suggestions when travelers look for flights on Google Search or Google Flights
Once customers select a train, they can click through to Amtrak.com to complete the booking for their chosen itinerary without needing to re-enter their trip details
The Google integration makes taking the train more of a "normal" or "default" mode of choice rather than something people specifically search out.
that's awesome, I've in the past had quite some difficulty finding out whether or not Amtrak had a route that I wanted to take, because search results get so jammed with "amtrak planning xyz...
The Google integration makes taking the train more of a "normal" or "default" mode of choice rather than something people specifically search out.
that's awesome, I've in the past had quite some difficulty finding out whether or not Amtrak had a route that I wanted to take, because search results get so jammed with "amtrak planning xyz route" and I can't tell if it really exists or not
While not an infrastructure improvement, I'd love to see WiFi on the long-haul lines. I've taken the Southwest Chief many times when I lived in the Midwest. I've worked from the train before...
While not an infrastructure improvement, I'd love to see WiFi on the long-haul lines. I've taken the Southwest Chief many times when I lived in the Midwest. I've worked from the train before (perfect for this kind of thing; KC to Chicago is about a full workday, for example), but the route strays far from populated areas and interstates. As such, mobile data reception drops to zero a lot. Good to not have any meetings planned while on the train.
Even if Amtrak charged a small fee separately for it, not being disconnected for hours would be a nice benefit. WiFi on planes, even if not full connectivity, has been a thing forever now. It's time for Amtrak to catch up.
Comment box
Amtrak is doing very well, thanks to historic investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and greater demand for travel.
The article discusses several other accomplishments this year, including new and expanded services, reductions in travel time on some routes, upgrades the food and dining experience, etc.
I care mostly about infrastructure, so this is nice:
The article refers to various other infrastructure, safety, accessibility, etc improvements as well.
Something I thought was notable and probably helped with ridership a lot:
The Google integration makes taking the train more of a "normal" or "default" mode of choice rather than something people specifically search out.
that's awesome, I've in the past had quite some difficulty finding out whether or not Amtrak had a route that I wanted to take, because search results get so jammed with "amtrak planning xyz route" and I can't tell if it really exists or not
While not an infrastructure improvement, I'd love to see WiFi on the long-haul lines. I've taken the Southwest Chief many times when I lived in the Midwest. I've worked from the train before (perfect for this kind of thing; KC to Chicago is about a full workday, for example), but the route strays far from populated areas and interstates. As such, mobile data reception drops to zero a lot. Good to not have any meetings planned while on the train.
Even if Amtrak charged a small fee separately for it, not being disconnected for hours would be a nice benefit. WiFi on planes, even if not full connectivity, has been a thing forever now. It's time for Amtrak to catch up.