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Wikipedia

Amtrak

January 29, 2023

For other uses, see Amtrak (disambiguation) and Amtrac.

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak (/ˈæmtræk/) (reporting marks AMTK, AMTZ), is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track.

National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
Geographic map of the Amtrak system
The Southwest Chief in Laguna, New Mexico, typical of Amtrak's long-distance trains in the Western United States.
Overview
Headquarters1 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, D.C.
Reporting markAMTK and AMTZ
IATA code: 2V
Locale
Dates of operationMay 1, 1971[1][2]–present
Predecessors20 privately operated intercity passenger rail systems
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification
Length
  • 44 routes (21,400 miles (34,400 km) route miles)
  • Track owned: 623 miles (1,003 km)
Other
Websiteamtrak.com

Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but is managed as a for-profit organization. The company's headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C.[3]

Amtrak's network includes over 500 stations along 21,400 miles (34,000 km) of track. It directly owns approximately 623 miles (1,003 km) of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track. Some track sections allow trains to run as fast as 150 mph (240 km/h).

In fiscal year 2022, Amtrak served 22.9 million passengers and had $2.1 billion in revenue, with more than 17,100 employees as of fiscal year 2021. Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily.[4] Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas; 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles (645 km).[5]

History

 
The Pennsylvania Railroad's Congressional in the 1960s

Private passenger service

In 1916, 98% of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, and the remaining 2% moved by inland waterways.[6] Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation.[7] Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains.[8] As the 20th century progressed, patronage declined in the face of competition from buses, air travel, and the car. New streamlined diesel-powered trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend.[9] By 1940, railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger-miles in the United States. In real terms, passenger-miles had fallen by 40% since 1916, from 42 billion to 25 billion.[7]

Traffic surged during World War II, which was aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing. The railroad's market share surged to 74% in 1945, with a massive 94 billion passenger-miles.[10] After the war, railroads rejuvenated their overworked and neglected passenger fleets with fast and luxurious streamliners.[11] These new trains brought only temporary relief to the overall decline.[12] Even as postwar travel exploded, passenger travel percentages of the overall market share fell to 46% by 1950, and then 32% by 1957.[7] The railroads had lost money on passenger service since the Great Depression, but deficits reached $723 million in 1957. For many railroads, these losses threatened financial viability.[13]

The causes of this decline were heavily debated. The National Highway System and airports, both funded by the government, competed directly with the railroads, which paid for their own infrastructure.[14] American car culture was also on the rise in the post-World War II years. Progressive Era rate regulation limited the railroad's ability to turn a profit.[15] Railroads also faced antiquated work rules and inflexible relationships with trade unions. To take one example, workers continued to receive a day's pay for 100-to-150-mile (160 to 240 km) workdays. Streamliners covered that in two hours.[16]

Matters approached a crisis in the 1960s. Passenger service route-miles fell from 107,000 miles (172,000 km) in 1958 to 49,000 miles (79,000 km) in 1970, the last full year of private operation.[17] The diversion of most United States Post Office Department mail from passenger trains to trucks, airplanes, and freight trains in late 1967 deprived those trains of badly needed revenue.[18] In direct response, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway filed to discontinue 33 of its remaining 39 trains, ending almost all passenger service on one of the largest railroads in the country.[19] The equipment the railroads had ordered after World War II was now 20 years old, worn out, and in need of replacement.[20]

Formation

Main article: List of railroads eligible to participate in the formation of Amtrak
 
Penn Central Railroad's employee publication announcing the inauguration of Amtrak on May 1, 1971. Penn Central Amtrak routes are shown.

As passenger service declined, various proposals were brought forward to rescue it. The 1961 Doyle Report proposed that the private railroads pool their services into a single body.[21] Similar proposals were made in 1965 and 1968 but failed to attract support. The federal government passed the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 to fund pilot programs in the Northeast Corridor, but this did nothing to address passenger deficits. In late 1969, multiple proposals emerged in the United States Congress, including equipment subsidies, route subsidies, and, lastly, a "quasi-public corporation" to take over the operation of intercity passenger trains. Matters were brought to a head on June 21, 1970, when the Penn Central, the largest railroad in the Northeastern United States and teetering on bankruptcy, filed to discontinue 34 of its passenger trains.[22]

In October 1970, Congress passed, and President Richard Nixon signed into law, the Rail Passenger Service Act.[23] Proponents of the bill, led by the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), sought government funding to ensure the continuation of passenger trains. They conceived the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC), a quasi-public corporation that would be managed as a for-profit organization, but which would receive taxpayer funding and assume operation of intercity passenger trains.[4][24][25]

There were several key provisions:[26]

  • Any railroad operating intercity passenger service could contract with the NRPC, thereby joining the national system.
  • The United States federal government, through the Secretary of Transportation, would own all of the NRPC's issued and outstanding preferred stock.[27]
  • Participating railroads bought into the NRPC using a formula based on their recent intercity passenger losses. The purchase price could be satisfied either by cash or rolling stock; in exchange, the railroads received NRPC common stock.
  • Any participating railroad was freed of the obligation to operate intercity passenger service after May 1, 1971, except for those services chosen by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as part of a "basic system" of service and paid for by NRPC using its federal funds.
  • Railroads that chose not to join the NRPC system were required to continue operating their existing passenger service until 1975, at which time they could pursue the customary ICC approval process for any discontinuance or alteration to the service.

Of the 26 railroads still offering intercity passenger service in 1970, only six declined to join the NRPC.[28]

The original working brand name for NRPC was Railpax, but less than two weeks before operations began, the official marketing name was changed to Amtrak, a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track.[4][29][30][31]

Nearly everyone involved expected the experiment to be short-lived. The Nixon administration and many Washington insiders viewed the NRPC as a politically expedient way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains a "last hurrah" as demanded by the public. They expected the NRPC to quietly disappear as public interest waned.[32] After Fortune magazine exposed the manufactured mismanagement in 1974, Louis W. Menk, chairman of the Burlington Northern Railroad, remarked that the story was undermining the scheme to dismantle Amtrak.[33] Proponents also hoped that government intervention would be brief and that Amtrak would soon be able to support itself. Neither view had proved to be correct; for popular support allowed Amtrak to continue in operation longer than critics imagined, while financial results made passenger train service returning to private railroad operations infeasible.[34][35]

1970s: The Rainbow Era

 
The North Coast Hiawatha near Yakima, Washington, in July 1971, an example of early Amtrak "rainbow" consists, made up of equipment still painted in the colors of various railroads

Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971.[1][2][36] Amtrak received no rail tracks or rights-of-way at its inception. All Amtrak's routes were continuations of prior service, although Amtrak pruned about half the passenger rail network.[37] Of the 366 train routes that operated previously, Amtrak continued only 184.[38] Several major corridors became freight-only, including the ex-New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from New York to Ohio and Grand Trunk Western Railroad's Chicago to Detroit route. The reduced passenger train schedules created confusion amongst staff. At some stations, Amtrak service was available only late at night or early in the morning, prompting complaints from passengers.[39] Disputes with freight railroads over track usage caused some services to be rerouted, temporarily cancelled, or replaced with buses.[40][41] On the other hand, the creation of the Los Angeles–Seattle Coast Starlight from three formerly separate train routes was an immediate success, resulting in an increase to daily service by 1973.[42][43]

Needing to operate only half the train routes that had operated previously, Amtrak would lease around 1,200 of the best passenger cars from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. All were air-conditioned, and 90% were easy-to-maintain stainless steel.[44] When Amtrak took over, passenger cars and locomotives initially retained the paint schemes and logos of their former owners which resulted in Amtrak running trains with mismatched colors – the "Rainbow Era".[45] In mid-1971, Amtrak began purchasing some of the equipment it had leased, including 286 EMD E and F unit diesel locomotives, 30 GG1 electric locomotives and 1,290 passenger cars. By 1975, the official Amtrak color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment and newly purchased locomotives and the rolling stock began appearing.[46]

 
Classic Amtrak logo displayed at the Oakland – Jack London Square station, California

Amtrak inherited problems with train stations (most notably deferred maintenance) and redundant facilities from the competing railroads that once served the same areas. For example, on the day it started, Amtrak was given the responsibility of rerouting passenger trains from the seven train terminals in Chicago (LaSalle, Dearborn, Grand Central, Randolph, Chicago Northwestern Terminal, Central, and Union) into just one, Union Station. In New York City, Amtrak had to maintain two stations (Penn and Grand Central) due to the lack of track connections to bring trains from upstate New York into Penn Station; a problem that was rectified once the Empire Connection was built in 1991.[47] The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was launched in 1978 and proposed to build a standardized station design across the system with an aim to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image.[48][49] However, the cash-strapped railroad would ultimately build relatively few of these standard stations.[50]

 
An Amtrak EMD SDP40F with the San Francisco Zephyr in 1975. By the mid-1970s, Amtrak equipment was acquiring its own identity.

Amtrak soon had the opportunity to acquire rights-of-way. Following the bankruptcy of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s, including Penn Central, which owned and operated the Northeast Corridor (NEC), Congress passed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976.[51] A large part of the legislation was directed to the creation of Conrail, but the law also enabled the transfer of the portions of the NEC not already owned by state authorities to Amtrak. Amtrak acquired the majority of the NEC on April 1, 1976.[52] (The portion in Massachusetts is owned by the Commonwealth and managed by Amtrak. The route from New Haven to New Rochelle is owned by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation as the New Haven Line.)[53] This mainline became Amtrak's "jewel" asset, and helped the railroad generate revenue. While the NEC ridership and revenues were higher than any other segment of the system, the cost of operating and maintaining the corridor proved to be overwhelming. As a result, Amtrak's federal subsidy was increased dramatically. In subsequent years, other short route segments not needed for freight operations were transferred to Amtrak.[citation needed]

In its first decade, Amtrak fell far short of financial independence, which continues today, but it did find modest success rebuilding trade. Outside factors discouraged competing transport, such as fuel shortages which increased costs of automobile and airline travel, and strikes which disrupted airline operations. Investments in Amtrak's track, equipment and information also made Amtrak more relevant to America's transportation needs.[54][55] Amtrak's ridership increased from 16.6 million in 1972 to 21 million in 1981.[56]

In February 1978, Amtrak moved its headquarters to 400 N Capitol Street W, Washington D.C.[57]

1980s and 1990s: The Building Era

 
An EMD AEM-7 with a Metroliner in Seabrook, Maryland in 1987. The AEM-7 was Amtrak's workhorse on electrified routes for over 30 years.
 
An EMD F40PH leads the California Zephyr in 1995. The F40PH replaced the unreliable SDP40F.

In 1982, former Secretary of the Navy and retired Southern Railway head William Graham Claytor Jr. came out of retirement to lead Amtrak. During his time at Southern, Claytor was a vocal critic of Amtrak's prior managers, who call came from non-railroading backgrounds. Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis cited this criticism as a reason why the Democrat Claytor was acceptable to the Reagan White House.[58]: 7  Despite frequent clashes with the Reagan administration over funding, Claytor enjoyed a good relationship with Lewis, John H. Riley, the head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and with members of Congress. Limited funding led Claytor to use short-term debt to fund operations.[59]

Building on mechanical developments in the 1970s, high-speed Washington–New York Metroliner Service was improved with new equipment and faster schedules. Travel time between New York and Washington, D.C. was reduced to under 3 hours due to system improvements and limited stop service.[60] This improvement was cited as a reason why Amtrak grew its share of intercity trips between the cities along the corridor. Elsewhere in the country, demand for passenger rail service resulted in the creation of five new state-supported routes in California, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon and Pennsylvania, for a total of 15 state-supported routes.

Amtrak added two trains in 1983, the California Zephyr between Oakland and Chicago via Denver[60] and revived the Auto Train, a unique service that carries both passengers and their vehicles. Amtrak advertised it as a great way to avoid traffic along the I-95 running between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando) on the Silver Star alignment.[60]

In 1980s and 1990s, stations in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. received major rehabilitation and the Empire Connection tunnel opened in 1991, allowing Amtrak to consolidate all New York services at Penn Station. Despite the improvements, Amtrak's ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year, amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000.[56][61]

In the early 1990s, Amtrak tested several different high-speed trains from Europe on the Northeast Corridor. An X 2000 train was leased from Sweden for test runs from October 1992 to January 1993, followed by revenue service between Washington, D.C. and New York City from February to May and August to September 1993. Siemens showed the ICE 1 train from Germany, organizing the ICE Train North America Tour which started to operate on the Northeast Corridor on July 3, 1993.[62]

In 1993, Thomas Downs succeeded Claytor as Amtrak's fifth president. The stated goal remained "operational self-sufficiency". By this time, however, Amtrak had a large overhang of debt from years of underfunding. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak suffered through a serious cash crunch. Under Downs, Congress included a provision in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that resulted in Amtrak receiving a $2.3 billion tax refund that resolved their cash crisis.[63] However, Congress also instituted a "glide path" to financial self-sufficiency, excluding railroad retirement tax act payments.[64]

George Warrington became the sixth president in 1998, with a mandate to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient. Under Warrington, the company tried to expand into express freight shipping, placing Amtrak in competition with the "host" freight railroads and the trucking industry.

On March 9, 1999, Amtrak unveiled its plan for the Acela Express, a high-speed train on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston.[65][66] Several changes were made to the corridor to make it suitable for higher-speed electric trains. The Northend Electrification Project extended existing electrification from New Haven, Connecticut, to Boston to complete the overhead power supply along the 454-mile (731 km) route, and several grade crossings were improved or removed.[66][67][68]

2000s: Growth in the 21st century

 
GE Genesis diesel locomotives lead the Cardinal in 2006. In the 21st century, Amtrak replaced the F40PH with the Genesis series

Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in the NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs. The inauguration of the high-speed Acela in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains. However, through the late 1990s and very early 21st century, Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even. By 2002, it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self-sufficiency, but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from the requirement.[69] In early 2002, David L. Gunn replaced Warrington as seventh president. In a departure from his predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured.[70] Highways, airports, and air traffic control all require large government expenditures to build and operate, coming from the Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund paid for by user fees, highway fuel and road taxes, and, in the case of the General Fund, from general taxation.[71] Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance.[72]

A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn was fired.[73] Gunn's replacement, Alexander Kummant (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership.[74] He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $1 billion for ten years.[74] In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25 million passengers a year, its highest amount since its founding in 1970. Politico noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes."[75]

Joseph H. Boardman replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008.[76]

In 2011, Amtrak announced its intention to improve and expand the high-speed rail corridor from Penn Station in NYC, under the Hudson River in new tunnels, and double-tracking the line to Newark, NJ, called the Gateway Program, initially estimated to cost $13.5 billion (equal to $16 billion in 2021).[77][78][79]

From May 2011 to May 2012, Amtrak celebrated its 40th anniversary with festivities across the country that started on National Train Day (May 7, 2011). A commemorative book entitled Amtrak: An American Story was published, a documentary was created, six locomotives were painted in Amtrak's four prior paint schemes, and a Exhibit Train toured the country visting 45 communities and welcoming more than 85,000 visitors.[80]

After years of almost revolving-door CEOs at Amtrak, in December 2013, Boardman was named "Railroader of the Year" by Railway Age magazine, which noted that with over five years in the job, he is the second-longest serving head of Amtrak since it was formed more than 40 years ago.[81] On December 9, 2015, Boardman announced in a letter to employees that he would be leaving Amtrak in September 2016. He had advised the Amtrak Board of Directors of his decision the previous week. On August 19, 2016, the Amtrak Board of Directors named former Norfolk Southern Railway President & CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman as Boardman's successor with an effective date of September 1, 2016.[82] During his term, Moorman took no salary[83] and said that he saw his role as one of a "transitional CEO" who would reorganize Amtrak before turning it over to new leadership.[84]

On November 17, 2016, the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) was formed for the purpose of overseeing and effectuating the rail infrastructure improvements known as the Gateway Program.[85] GDC is a partnership of the States of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak. The Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project, to build a new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing century-old tunnel, and the Portal North Bridge, to replace a century-old moveable bridge with a modern structure that is less prone to failure. Later projects of the Gateway Program, including the expansion of track and platforms at Penn Station New York, construction of the Bergen Loop and other improvements will roughly double capacity for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains in the busiest, most complex section of the Northeast Corridor.[86]

In June 2017, it was announced that former Delta and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson would become Amtrak's next President & CEO.[84] Anderson began the job on July 12, assuming the title of President immediately and serving alongside Moorman as "co-CEOs" until the end of the year. On April 15, 2020, Atlas Air Chairman, President and CEO William Flynn was named Amtrak President and CEO. In addition to Atlas Air, Flynn has held senior roles at CSX Transportation, SeaLand Services and GeoLogistics Corp. Anderson would remain with Amtrak as a senior advisor until December 2020.[87]

As Amtrak approached profitability in 2020, the company undertook planning to expand and create new intermediate-distance corridors across the country. Included were several new services in Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado, and Minnesota, among other states.[88][89]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak continued operating as an essential service. It started requiring face coverings the week of May 17, and limited sales to 50% of capacity.[90] Most long-distance routes were reduced to three weekly round trips in October 2020.[91][92]

In March 2021, following President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan announcement, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn outlined a proposal called Amtrak Connects US that would expand state-supported intercity corridors with an infusion of upfront capital assistance.[93][94] This would expand service to cities including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Baton Rouge, Nashville, Chattanooga, Louisville, Columbus (Ohio), Wilmington (North Carolina), Cheyenne, Montgomery, Concord, and Scranton.[95] Also in March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return 12 of its long-distance routes to daily schedules later in the spring.[96] Most of these routes were restored to daily service in late-May 2021.[97] However, a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant caused Amtrak to modify and/or suspend many of these routes again from January to March 2022.[98]

Operations

 
New York City's Penn Station, Amtrak's busiest station by boardings
 
Chicago Union Station, Amtrak's busiest station off the Northeast Corridor and main hub for long-distance services.

Routes

Main articles: List of Amtrak routes, List of busiest Amtrak stations, and List of major cities in the United States lacking inter-city rail service

Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system.[99] Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, as well as the District of Columbia (with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota). Amtrak services fall into three groups: short-haul service on the Northeast Corridor, state-supported short-haul service outside the Northeast Corridor, and medium- and long-haul service known within Amtrak as the National Network. Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes. In addition to the federally funded routes, Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other short and medium-haul routes outside of the Northeast Corridor, some of which connect to it or are extensions from it. In addition to its inter-city services, Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies: the MARC Penn Line in Maryland, Shore Line East in Connecticut,[100] and Metrolink in Southern California.

Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston, and Washington, D.C., as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, is powered by overhead lines; for the rest of the system, diesel-fueled locomotives are used. Routes vary widely in the frequency of service, from three-days-a-week trains on the Sunset Limited to several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor.[101] For areas not served by trains, Amtrak Thruway routes provide guaranteed connections to trains via buses, vans, ferries and other modes.[102]

The most popular and heavily used services are those running on the NEC, including the Acela and Northeast Regional. The NEC runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. via New York City and Philadelphia. Some services continue into Virginia. The NEC services accounted for 4.4 million of Amtrak's 12.2 million passengers in fiscal year 2021.[103] Outside the NEC the most popular services are the short-haul corridors in California, the Pacific Surfliner, Capitol Corridor, and San Joaquin, which are supplemented by an extensive network of connecting buses. Together the California corridor trains accounted for a combined 2.35 million passengers in fiscal year 2021.[103] Other popular routes include the Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls, via Albany and Buffalo, which carried 613.2 thousand passengers in fiscal year 2021, and the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg via Philadelphia that carried 394.3 thousand passengers that same year.[103]

Four of the six busiest stations by boardings are on the NEC: New York Penn Station (first), Washington Union Station (second), Philadelphia 30th Street Station (third), and Boston South Station (fifth). The other two are Chicago Union Station (fourth) and Los Angeles Union Station (sixth).[4]

On-time performance

On-time performance is calculated differently for airlines than for Amtrak. A plane is considered on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of the schedule. Amtrak uses a sliding scale, with trips under 250 miles (400 km) considered late if they are more than 10 minutes behind schedule, up to 30 minutes for trips over 551 miles (887 km) in length.[104]

Outside the Northeast Corridor and stretches of track in Southern California and Michigan, most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned and operated by privately owned freight railroads. BNSF is the largest host to Amtrak routes, with 6.3 million miles.[105] Freight rail operators are required under federal law to give dispatching preference to Amtrak trains. However, Amtrak has accused freight railroads violating or skirting these regulations, resulting in passenger trains waiting for freight traffic to clear the track.[106]

The railroads' dispatching practices were investigated in 2008,[107] resulting in stricter laws about train priority. Subsequently, Amtrak's overall on-time performance went up from 74.7% in fiscal 2008 to 84.7% in 2009, with long-distance trains and others outside the NEC seeing the greatest benefit. The Missouri River Runner jumped from 11% to 95%, becoming one of Amtrak's best performers. The Texas Eagle went from 22.4% to 96.7%, and the California Zephyr, with a 5% on-time record in 2008, went up to 78.3%.[108] However, this improved performance coincided with a general economic downturn, resulting in the lowest freight-rail traffic volumes since at least 1988, meaning less freight traffic to impede passenger traffic.[109]

In 2018, Amtrak began issuing report cards, grading each host railroad similar to students, based on the railroad's impact to on-time performance. The first report card, issued in March 2018, includes one A (given to Canadian Pacific) and two Fs (given to Canadian National and Norfolk Southern).[110][111] Amtrak's 2020 host report card gives Canadian Pacific and Canadian National an A, BNSF and CSX a B, Union Pacific a C+, and Norfolk Southern a D-.[106]

Ridership

 
Annual ridership by fiscal year 1971–2022

Amtrak carried 15.8 million passengers in 1972, its first full year of operation.[112] Ridership has increased steadily ever since, carrying a record 32 million passengers in fiscal year 2019, more than double the total in 1972. For the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2020, Amtrak reported 16.8 million passengers, with the decline resulting from effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[113][114] Fiscal year 2021 saw ridership decrease more, with 12.2 million passengers reported.[103] Fiscal year 2022 saw an increase to 22.9 million passengers, however, it is still lower than pre-pandemic numbers.[115]

Guest Rewards

Amtrak's loyalty program, Guest Rewards,[116] is similar to the frequent-flyer programs of many airlines. Guest Rewards members accumulate points by riding Amtrak and through other activities, and can redeem these points for free Amtrak tickets and other rewards.[116]

Lines

 
In 2009, an Amtrak Lake Shore Limited train backing into Chicago Union Station

Along the NEC and in several other areas, Amtrak owns 730 miles (1,170 km) including 17 tunnels consisting of 29.7 miles (47.8 km) of track, and 1,186 bridges (including the famous Hell Gate Bridge) consisting of 42.5 miles (68.4 km) of track. In several places, primarily in New England, Amtrak leases tracks, providing track maintenance and controlling train movements. Most often, these tracks are leased from state, regional, or local governments. The lines are further divided into services. Amtrak owns and operates the following lines:[117]

In addition to these lines, Amtrak owns station and yard tracks in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland (Kirkham Street Yard),[123] Orlando, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Amtrak leases station and yard tracks in Hialeah, near Miami, Florida, from the State of Florida.[citation needed]

Amtrak owns New York Penn Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station, Baltimore Penn Station and Providence Station. It also owns Chicago Union Station through a wholly owned subsidiary, the Chicago Union Station Company. Through the Washington Terminal Company, in which it owns a 99.7 percent interest, it owns the rail infrastructure around Washington Union Station. It holds a 99% interest in 30th Street Limited, a partnership responsible for redeveloping the area in and around 30th Street Station.[124] Amtrak also owns Passenger Railroad Insurance.[125]

Service lines

Amtrak organizes its busness into six "service lines", which are treated like divisions at most companies.[126]

There are three operating service lines: Northeast Corridor, which operates Amtrak’s high-speed Acela and Northeast Regional trains; State Supported, which provides service on corridor routes of less than 750 miles through cost-sharing agreements with state governments; and Long Distance, which operates routes over 750 miles and receives financial support from the federal government.

Additionally there are three service lines involved in activities other than operating Amtrak trains. They are: Ancillary, which includes operating commuter trains under contract, establishing Amtrak Thruway connecting services, operating charter trains, and hauling private railcars; Real Estate & Commercial which manages property owned by Amtrak, including leasing space to other businesses inside stations; and Infrastructure Access/Reimbursable which charges other railroads for access to Amtrak owned tracks and perfoms work that can be reimbursed by other railroads or state governments. Net revenue generated by these service lines is used to fund Amtrak's other operations.

Rolling stock

Main article: List of Amtrak rolling stock

Amtrak owns 2,142 railway cars and 425 locomotives for revenue runs and service, collectively called rolling stock. Notable examples include the GE Genesis and Siemens Charger diesel locomotives, the Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotive, the Amfleet series of single-level passenger cars, and the Superliner series of double-decker passenger cars.

The railroad is currently working to replace its fleet, spending $2.4 billion on 28 Avela Liberty trainsets for its flagship Acela service and $7.3 billion for 65 Airo trainsets for other Northeast Corridor services. Additionally, California, North Carolina, and a group of Midwestern states purchased Siemens Venture trainsets for use on routes operated by Amtrak in their states, which started entering service in 2022. In 2023, Amtrak announced it had made a request for proposals, looking to replace hundreds of railcars used on long-distance routes.[127]

On-board services

Classes of service

 
The interior of a Viewliner sleeping car bedroom with the lower bed down
 
The interior of a long-distance Amfleet II coach

Amtrak offers four classes of service: First Class, Sleeper Service, Business Class, and Coach Class:[128]

  • First Class: First Class service is only offered on the Acela. Seats are larger than those of Business Class and come in a variety of seating styles (single, facing singles with table, double, facing doubles with table and wheelchair accessible). First Class is located in a separate car from business class and is located at the end of the train (to reduce the number of passengers walking in the aisles). A car attendant provides passengers with hot towel service, a complimentary meal and alcoholic beverages.[129] First Class passengers have access to lounges located at most larger stations.[130]
  • Sleeper Service: Private room accommodations on long-distance trains, including roomettes, bedrooms, bedroom suites, accessible bedrooms, and, on some trains, family bedrooms. Included in the price of a room are attendant service and on most routes, full hot meals. At night, attendants convert rooms into sleeping areas with fold-down beds and linens. Shower facilities with towels and bar soap are available. Complimentary juice, coffee and bottled water are included as well. Sleeper car passengers have access to all passenger facilities aboard the train. Sleeper Service passengers have access to lounges located at select stations.[130]
  • Business Class: Business Class seating is offered on the Acela, Northeast Regional, many short-haul corridor trains and some long-distance trains. It is the standard class of service on the Acela. On all other trains where it is offered, Business Class is located in a dedicated car or section of the train. While the specific features vary by route, many include extra legroom and complimentary non-alcoholic drinks. Seats in business class recline and feature a fold-down tray table, footrest, individual reading light, and power outlet.[131] Passengers have access to some lounges, but busier locations may exclude Business Class customers.[130]
  • Coach Class: Coach Class is the standard class of service on all Amtrak trains except the Acela. Seats in coach recline and feature a fold-down tray table, footrest, individual reading light, and power outlet. Coach cars on long-distance trains are configured with fewer seats per car so that passengers have additional legroom and seats which are equipped with leg rests.[132][133]

Wi-Fi and electronic services

Amtrak first offered free Wi-Fi service to passengers aboard the Downeaster in 2008, the Acela and the Northeast Regional trains on the NEC in 2010, and the Amtrak Cascades in 2011. In February 2014, Amtrak rolled out Wi-Fi on corridor trains out of Chicago. When all the Midwest cars offer the AmtrakConnect service, about 85% of all Amtrak passengers nationwide will have Wi-Fi access.[134][135] As of 2014, most Amtrak passengers have access to free Wi-Fi. The service has developed a reputation for being unreliable and slow due to its cellular network connection;[136][137] on some routes it is usually unusable, either freezing on the login page or, if it manages to log in, failing to provide any internet bandwidth.

Amtrak launched an e-ticketing system on the Downeaster in November 2011[138] and rolled it out nationwide on July 30, 2012. Amtrak officials said the system gives "more accurate knowledge in realtime of who is on the train which greatly improves the safety and security of passengers; en route reporting of onboard equipment problems to mechanical crews which may result in faster resolution of the issue; and more efficient financial reporting".[139]

Baggage and cargo services

 
A Viewliner II baggage car at New London in 2016

Amtrak allows carry-on baggage on all routes; services with baggage cars allow checked baggage at selected stations.[140][141] With the passage of the Wicker Amendment in 2010 passengers are allowed to put lawfully owned, unloaded firearms in checked Amtrak baggage, reversing a decade-long ban on such carriage.[142]

The Amtrak Express cargo service provides small-package and less-than-truckload shipping between most Amtrak stations that handle checked baggage (over 100 cities). Cargo travels alongside checked luggage in baggage cars. Service and hours vary by station, limited by available equipment and staffing. Nearly all stations with checked baggage service can handle small packages, while large stations with forklifts can handle palletized shipments. Amtrak Express also offers station-to-station shipment of human remains to many cities.

Amtrak is popular among bicycle touring enthusiasts due to the ease of riding with a bike. In contrast to airlines, which require riders to dismantle their bicycles and place them in specialized bags, most Amtrak trains have onboard bike racks in either the coaches or checked baggage car. Bicycle reservations are required on most routes and cost up to $20.[143]

Labor issues

In the modern era, Amtrak faces a number of important labor issues. In the area of pension funding, because of limitations originally imposed by Congress, most Amtrak workers were traditionally classified as "railroad employees" and contributions to the Railroad Retirement system have been made for those employees. However, because the size of the contributions is determined on an industry-wide basis rather than with reference to the employer for whom the employees work, some critics, such as the National Association of Railroad Passengers, maintain that Amtrak is subsidizing freight railroad pensions by as much as US$150 million/year.[144]

In recent times, efforts at reforming passenger rail have addressed labor issues. In 1997 Congress released Amtrak from a prohibition on contracting for labor outside the corporation (and outside its unions), opening the door to privatization.[145] Since that time, many of Amtrak's employees have been working without a contract. The most recent contract, signed in 1999, was mainly retroactive.

Because of the fragmentation of railroad unions by job, as of 2009 Amtrak has 14 separate unions to negotiate with. Plus, it has 24 separate contracts with those unions.[146] This makes it difficult to make substantial changes, in contrast to a situation where one union negotiates with one employer. Former Amtrak president Kummant followed a cooperative posture with Amtrak's trade unions, ruling out plans to privatize large parts of Amtrak's unionized workforce.[74]

Environmental impacts

Amtrak's environmental impact

Per passenger mile, Amtrak is 30–40 percent more energy-efficient than commercial airlines and automobiles overall,[147] though the exact figures for particular routes depend on load factor along with other variables. The electrified trains in the NEC are considerably more efficient than Amtrak's diesels and can feed energy captured from regenerative braking back to the electrical grid. Passenger rail is also very competitive with other modes in terms of safety per mile.

In 2005, Amtrak's carbon dioxide equivalent emissions were 0.411 lbs/mi (0.116 kg per km).[148] For comparison, this is similar to a car with two people,[149] about twice as high as the UK rail average (where more of the system is electrified),[150] about four times the average US motorcoach,[151] and about eight times a Finnish electric intercity train or fully loaded fifty-seat coach.[152][153] It is, however, about two thirds of the raw CO2-equivalent emissions of a long-distance domestic flight.[154]

Amtrak operates over thirty passenger train routes throughout the U.S. and Canada. The greenhouse gas emissions from passenger trains is larger than that of freight trains in the U.S., and can be up to double the amount of freight emissions.[155]

Amtrak operates diesel, electric, and dual-mode (diesel and electric) locomotives. Diesel-powered engines produce more greenhouse gas emissions during operation than electric trains.

As for the locational pollution directly from Amtrak operation, their diesel trains cause more regional air pollution, impacting the ecosystems around the sites of operation. Also, more stops along train routes can lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions.[156] Amtrak rail facilities located in Delaware were cited as the state's largest source of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination into the Delaware River, which build up in the tissue of animals and are human carcinogens.[157]

Environmental impact on Amtrak

Amtrak railways and surrounding infrastructure are susceptible to degradation by natural causes over time.[158] Railways experience water damage from climate change backed increases in rainfall in wet areas, and rail buckling caused by hotter and dryer seasons in naturally dry areas.[159]

Hurricane Ida flooded the Amtrak Northeast Corridor running from Boston to Washington D.C. and caused it to shut down for an entire day.[160]

Rising summertime temperatures are causing an increase in railway buckles. A study conducted on the railways in the southeast United Kingdom found that when temperature changes become extreme in the summertime due to climate change, the tracks buckle due to the outward force of the metal expanding in collaboration with the weight of train car traffic. This causes speed restrictions to be put in place around certain temperature intervals, slowing travel time and lessening the amount of train rides in a day. The study found that in 2004, 30,000 delay minutes were attributed to increased heat causing a total of over 1.7 million U.S. dollars, of total heat related delay cost.[159]

Public funding

Amtrak receives annual appropriations from federal and state governments to supplement operating and capital programs.

Total federal grant appropriations per year (in billions)
Fiscal Year Appropriation
2009 $1.488
2010 $1.565
2011 $1.484
2012 $1.418
2013 $1.374[161]
2014 $1.370
2015 $1.375
2016 $1.837
2017 $2.202
2018 $2.447
2019 $2.675[162]
2020 $3.018[a]
2021 $4.700[b]
2022 $6.731[c][163]

Funding history

1970s to 1990s

Amtrak commenced operations in 1971 with $40 million in direct federal aid, $100 million in federally insured loans, and a somewhat larger private contribution.[164] Officials expected that Amtrak would break even by 1974, but those expectations proved unrealistic and annual direct federal aid reached a 17-year high in 1981 of $1.25 billion.[165] During the Reagan administration, appropriations were halved and by 1986, federal support fell to a decade low of $601 million, almost none of which were capital appropriations.[166] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Congress continued the reductionist trend even while Amtrak expenses held steady or rose. Amtrak was forced to borrow to meet short-term operating needs, and by 1995 Amtrak was on the brink of a cash crisis and was unable to continue to service its debts.[167] In response, in 1997 Congress authorized $5.2 billion for Amtrak over the next five years – largely to complete the Acela capital project – on the condition that Amtrak submit to the ultimatum of self-sufficiency by 2003 or liquidation.[168] While Amtrak made financial improvements during this period,[citation needed] it did not achieve self-sufficiency.[169]

2000s

 
Amtrak's Piedmont near Charlotte, North Carolina, with a state-owned locomotive. This route is run under a partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, 2003
 
Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle, Washington, 2006

In 2004, a stalemate in federal support of Amtrak forced cutbacks in services and routes as well as the resumption of deferred maintenance. In fiscal 2004 and 2005, Congress appropriated about $1.2 billion for Amtrak, $300 million more than President George W. Bush had requested. However, the company's board requested $1.8 billion through fiscal 2006, the majority of which (about $1.3 billion) would be used to bring infrastructure, rolling stock, and motive power back to a state of good repair. In Congressional testimony, the DOT Inspector General confirmed that Amtrak would need at least $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion in fiscal 2006 and $2 billion in fiscal 2007 just to maintain the status quo. In 2006, Amtrak received just under $1.4 billion, with the condition that Amtrak would reduce (but not eliminate) food and sleeper service losses. Thus, dining service was simplified and now requires two fewer on-board service workers. Only Auto Train and Empire Builder services continue regular made-on-board meal service. In 2010 the Senate approved a bill to provide $1.96 billion to Amtrak, but cut the approval for high-speed rail to a $1 billion appropriation.[169]

State governments have partially filled the breach left by reductions in federal aid. Several states have entered into operating partnerships with Amtrak, notably California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Missouri, Washington, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, Vermont, Maine, and New York, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia, which provides some of the resources for the operation of the Cascades route.

With the dramatic rise in gasoline prices during 2007–08, Amtrak saw record ridership.[170] Capping a steady five-year increase in ridership overall, regional lines saw 12% year-over-year growth in May 2008.[171] In October 2007, the Senate passed S-294, Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act of 2007 (70–22) sponsored by Senators Frank Lautenberg and Trent Lott. Despite a veto threat by President Bush, a similar bill passed the House on June 11, 2008, with a veto-proof margin (311–104).[172] The final bill, spurred on by the September 12 Metrolink collision in California and retitled Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, was signed into law by President Bush on October 16, 2008. The bill appropriates $2.6 billion a year in Amtrak funding through 2013.[173]

2010s

Amtrak points out that in 2010, its farebox recovery (percentage of operating costs covered by revenues generated by passenger fares) was 79%, the highest reported for any U.S. passenger railroad.[174] This increased to 94.9% in 2018.[4]

Amtrak has argued that it needs to increase capital program costs in 2013 in order to replace old train equipment because the multi-year maintenance costs for those trains exceed what it would cost to simply buy new equipment that would not need to be repaired for several years. However, despite an initial request for more than $2.1 billion in funding for the year, the company had to deal with a year-over-year cut in 2013 federal appropriations, dropping to under $1.4 billion for the first time in several years.[161] Amtrak stated in 2010 that the backlog of needed repairs of the track it owns on the Northeast Corridor included over 200 bridges, most dating to the 19th century, tunnels under Baltimore dating to the American Civil War era and functionally obsolete track switches which would cost $5.2 billion to repair (more than triple Amtrak's total annual budget).[161] Amtrak's budget is only allocated on a yearly basis, and it has been argued by Joseph Vranich that this makes multi-year development programs and long-term fiscal planning difficult if not impossible.[175][page needed]

In Fiscal Year 2011, the U.S. Congress granted Amtrak $563 million for operating and $922 million for capital programs.[176]

Controversy

Government aid to Amtrak was controversial from the beginning. The formation of Amtrak in 1971 was criticized as a bailout serving corporate rail interests and union railroaders, not the traveling public. Critics have asserted that Amtrak has proven incapable of operating as a business and that it does not provide valuable transportation services meriting public support,[175][page needed] a "mobile money-burning machine".[177] Many fiscal conservatives have argued that subsidies should be ended, national rail service terminated, and the NEC turned over to private interests. "To fund a Nostalgia Limited is not in the public interest."[178] Critics also question Amtrak's energy efficiency,[179][180] though the U.S. Department of Energy considers Amtrak among the most energy-efficient forms of transportation.[181]

The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970, which established Amtrak, specifically states that, "The Corporation will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government".[182] Then common stock was issued in 1971 to railroads that contributed capital and equipment; these shares convey almost no benefits,[183] but their holders[184] declined a 2002 buy-out offer by Amtrak. There are currently 109,396,994 shares of preferred stock, at a par value of $100 per share, all held by the US government. There are 9,385,694 shares of common stock, with a par value of $10 per share, held by four other railroad companies: APU (formerly Penn Central) 53%, BNSF (35%), Canadian Pacific (7%), and Canadian National (5%).[185][186]

Incidents

Main article: List of accidents on Amtrak
 
Aerial view of the 1987 Maryland train collision

The following are major accidents and incidents that involved Amtrak trains:

Event Train Date Location Description Deaths Injuries
1971 Salem, Illinois, derailment City of New Orleans June 10, 1971 Salem, Illinois The City of New Orleans derailed due to a broken locomotive axle. 11 163
1979 Harvey train crash Shawnee October 12, 1979 Harvey, Illinois The Shawnee collided with a stationary Illinois Central Gulf freight train due to misaligned switches changed by a switchman shortly before the train passed them. 2 38
1987 Maryland train collision Colonial January 4, 1987 Chase, Maryland The Colonial collided with three Conrail locomotives which had overrun signals. 16 164
1990 Back Bay, Massachusetts train collision Night Owl December 12, 1990 Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts The Night Owl derailed due to excessive speed on a curve and collided with a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter train on an adjacent track. 0 453
1993 Big Bayou Canot rail accident Sunset Limited September 22, 1993 Mobile, Alabama The Sunset Limited derailed on a bridge which had been damaged by a barge. 47 103
1995 Palo Verde, Arizona derailment Sunset Limited October 9, 1995 Palo Verde, Arizona The Sunset Limited derailed because of track sabotage. 1 78
1996 Maryland train collision Capitol Limited February 16, 1996 Silver Spring, Maryland The Capitol Limited collided with a Maryland Area Regional Commuter train which had overrun signals. 11 26
1999 Bourbonnais, Illinois, train crash City of New Orleans March 15, 1999 Bourbonnais, Illinois The City of New Orleans collided with a semi-truck hauling steel that was trying to beat the train across a grade crossing. Eleven of the train's fourteen passenger cars derailed, hitting freight cars on an adjacent track. 13 122
2015 Philadelphia train derailment Northeast Regional May 12, 2015 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A Northeast Regional derailed due to excessive speed on a curve. 8 200+
2017 Washington train derailment Cascades December 18, 2017 DuPont, Washington A Cascades train derailed due to excessive speed on a curve. 3 62
2018 Cayce, South Carolina train collision Silver Star February 4, 2018 Cayce, South Carolina The Silver Star collided head-on into a parked CSX freight train, due to a track switch being improperly set by the conductor of the CSX train. 2 116
2021 Montana train derailment Empire Builder September 25, 2021 Joplin, Montana The westbound Empire Builder derailed at the control point East Buelow, with 146 passengers and 16 crew members on board. 3 50
2022 Missouri train derailment Southwest Chief June 27, 2022 Mendon, Missouri The eastbound Southwest Chief struck a dump truck on the tracks and derailed. 4 50

After settling for $17 million in the 2017 Washington state train crash, to prevent further lawsuits, the board adopted a new policy requiring arbitration.[187]

See also

Topics dealing with Amtrak

Other railway companies

Notes

Explanatory citations

  1. ^ Includes $1.018 billion in COVID-19 emergency funding
  2. ^ Includes $2.7 billion in COVID-19 emergency funding
  3. ^ Includes $4.4 billion in additional infrastructure investment via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Citations

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References

Further reading

  • "Articles of Incorporation of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation" (PDF). Muckrock.com. April 17, 1971.
  • Baron, David P. (August 1990). "Distributive Politics and the Persistence of Amtrak". The Journal of Politics. 52 (3): 883–913. doi:10.2307/2131831. JSTOR 2131831. S2CID 153981819.
  • Fostik, John (2017). Amtrak Across America: An Illustrated History (1st ed.). Enthusiast Books. ISBN 978-1583883501.
  • Hanus, Chris; Shaske, John (2009). USA West by Train: The Complete Amtrak Travel Guide. Way of the Rail Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9730897-6-9.
  • Pitt, John (2008). USA by Rail. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-84162-255-2.
  • The Staff of Amtrak (2011). Amtrak: An American Story (40th Anniversary Book). Kalmbach Publishing Company, Books Division. ISBN 9780871164445.
  • Wilner, Frank N. (2013). Amtrak: Past, Present, Future. Simmons-Boardman Books. ISBN 978-0-911-382600.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amtrak.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for rail travel in the United States.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Amtrak.
  • Official website  
  • Amtrak - Historical Timeline
  • Amtrak - Great American Stations
  • Amtrak Connects US - official website outlining 15-year expansion plans
  • All Aboard Amtrak! 50 Years of America's Railroad - digital exhibit from Northwestern University's Transportation Library for Amtrak's 50th anniversary
  • The Museum of Railway Timetables (Amtrak timetables from 1971 to 2016)

January 29, 2023
amtrak, other, uses, disambiguation, amtrac, national, railroad, passenger, corporation, doing, business, reporting, marks, amtk, amtz, national, passenger, railroad, company, united, states, operates, inter, city, rail, service, contiguous, states, three, can. For other uses see Amtrak disambiguation and Amtrac The National Railroad Passenger Corporation doing business as Amtrak ˈ ae m t r ae k reporting marks AMTK AMTZ is the national passenger railroad company of the United States It operates inter city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U S states and three Canadian provinces Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak the latter itself a sensational spelling of track National Railroad Passenger Corporation Amtrak Geographic map of the Amtrak systemThe Southwest Chief in Laguna New Mexico typical of Amtrak s long distance trains in the Western United States OverviewHeadquarters1 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington D C Reporting markAMTK and AMTZIATA code 2VLocaleContiguous United States except South Dakota and Wyoming British Columbia Ontario and Quebec in CanadaDates of operationMay 1 1971 1 2 presentPredecessors20 privately operated intercity passenger rail systemsTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeElectrification12 kV 25 Hz AC Northeast Corridor Washington New Rochelle and Keystone Corridor 25 kV 60 Hz AC Northeast Corridor New Rochelle Boston Length44 routes 21 400 miles 34 400 km route miles Track owned 623 miles 1 003 km OtherWebsiteamtrak wbr comFounded in 1971 as a quasi public corporation to operate many U S passenger rail routes Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but is managed as a for profit organization The company s headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington D C 3 Amtrak s network includes over 500 stations along 21 400 miles 34 000 km of track It directly owns approximately 623 miles 1 003 km of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track Some track sections allow trains to run as fast as 150 mph 240 km h In fiscal year 2022 Amtrak served 22 9 million passengers and had 2 1 billion in revenue with more than 17 100 employees as of fiscal year 2021 Nearly 87 000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily 4 Nearly two thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas 83 of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles 645 km 5 Contents 1 History 1 1 Private passenger service 1 2 Formation 1 3 1970s The Rainbow Era 1 4 1980s and 1990s The Building Era 1 5 2000s Growth in the 21st century 2 Operations 2 1 Routes 2 2 On time performance 2 3 Ridership 2 4 Guest Rewards 2 5 Lines 2 6 Service lines 3 Rolling stock 4 On board services 4 1 Classes of service 4 2 Wi Fi and electronic services 4 3 Baggage and cargo services 5 Labor issues 6 Environmental impacts 6 1 Amtrak s environmental impact 6 2 Environmental impact on Amtrak 7 Public funding 7 1 Funding history 7 1 1 1970s to 1990s 7 1 2 2000s 7 1 3 2010s 7 2 Controversy 8 Incidents 9 See also 9 1 Topics dealing with Amtrak 9 2 Other railway companies 10 Notes 10 1 Explanatory citations 10 2 Citations 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksHistory Edit The Pennsylvania Railroad s Congressional in the 1960s Private passenger service Edit In 1916 98 of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail and the remaining 2 moved by inland waterways 6 Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation 7 Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains 8 As the 20th century progressed patronage declined in the face of competition from buses air travel and the car New streamlined diesel powered trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend 9 By 1940 railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger miles in the United States In real terms passenger miles had fallen by 40 since 1916 from 42 billion to 25 billion 7 Traffic surged during World War II which was aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing The railroad s market share surged to 74 in 1945 with a massive 94 billion passenger miles 10 After the war railroads rejuvenated their overworked and neglected passenger fleets with fast and luxurious streamliners 11 These new trains brought only temporary relief to the overall decline 12 Even as postwar travel exploded passenger travel percentages of the overall market share fell to 46 by 1950 and then 32 by 1957 7 The railroads had lost money on passenger service since the Great Depression but deficits reached 723 million in 1957 For many railroads these losses threatened financial viability 13 The causes of this decline were heavily debated The National Highway System and airports both funded by the government competed directly with the railroads which paid for their own infrastructure 14 American car culture was also on the rise in the post World War II years Progressive Era rate regulation limited the railroad s ability to turn a profit 15 Railroads also faced antiquated work rules and inflexible relationships with trade unions To take one example workers continued to receive a day s pay for 100 to 150 mile 160 to 240 km workdays Streamliners covered that in two hours 16 Matters approached a crisis in the 1960s Passenger service route miles fell from 107 000 miles 172 000 km in 1958 to 49 000 miles 79 000 km in 1970 the last full year of private operation 17 The diversion of most United States Post Office Department mail from passenger trains to trucks airplanes and freight trains in late 1967 deprived those trains of badly needed revenue 18 In direct response the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway filed to discontinue 33 of its remaining 39 trains ending almost all passenger service on one of the largest railroads in the country 19 The equipment the railroads had ordered after World War II was now 20 years old worn out and in need of replacement 20 Formation Edit Main article List of railroads eligible to participate in the formation of Amtrak Penn Central Railroad s employee publication announcing the inauguration of Amtrak on May 1 1971 Penn Central Amtrak routes are shown As passenger service declined various proposals were brought forward to rescue it The 1961 Doyle Report proposed that the private railroads pool their services into a single body 21 Similar proposals were made in 1965 and 1968 but failed to attract support The federal government passed the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 to fund pilot programs in the Northeast Corridor but this did nothing to address passenger deficits In late 1969 multiple proposals emerged in the United States Congress including equipment subsidies route subsidies and lastly a quasi public corporation to take over the operation of intercity passenger trains Matters were brought to a head on June 21 1970 when the Penn Central the largest railroad in the Northeastern United States and teetering on bankruptcy filed to discontinue 34 of its passenger trains 22 In October 1970 Congress passed and President Richard Nixon signed into law the Rail Passenger Service Act 23 Proponents of the bill led by the National Association of Railroad Passengers NARP sought government funding to ensure the continuation of passenger trains They conceived the National Railroad Passenger Corporation NRPC a quasi public corporation that would be managed as a for profit organization but which would receive taxpayer funding and assume operation of intercity passenger trains 4 24 25 There were several key provisions 26 Any railroad operating intercity passenger service could contract with the NRPC thereby joining the national system The United States federal government through the Secretary of Transportation would own all of the NRPC s issued and outstanding preferred stock 27 Participating railroads bought into the NRPC using a formula based on their recent intercity passenger losses The purchase price could be satisfied either by cash or rolling stock in exchange the railroads received NRPC common stock Any participating railroad was freed of the obligation to operate intercity passenger service after May 1 1971 except for those services chosen by the Department of Transportation DOT as part of a basic system of service and paid for by NRPC using its federal funds Railroads that chose not to join the NRPC system were required to continue operating their existing passenger service until 1975 at which time they could pursue the customary ICC approval process for any discontinuance or alteration to the service Of the 26 railroads still offering intercity passenger service in 1970 only six declined to join the NRPC 28 The original working brand name for NRPC was Railpax but less than two weeks before operations began the official marketing name was changed to Amtrak a portmanteau of the words America and trak the latter itself a sensational spelling of track 4 29 30 31 Nearly everyone involved expected the experiment to be short lived The Nixon administration and many Washington insiders viewed the NRPC as a politically expedient way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains a last hurrah as demanded by the public They expected the NRPC to quietly disappear as public interest waned 32 After Fortune magazine exposed the manufactured mismanagement in 1974 Louis W Menk chairman of the Burlington Northern Railroad remarked that the story was undermining the scheme to dismantle Amtrak 33 Proponents also hoped that government intervention would be brief and that Amtrak would soon be able to support itself Neither view had proved to be correct for popular support allowed Amtrak to continue in operation longer than critics imagined while financial results made passenger train service returning to private railroad operations infeasible 34 35 1970s The Rainbow Era Edit The North Coast Hiawatha near Yakima Washington in July 1971 an example of early Amtrak rainbow consists made up of equipment still painted in the colors of various railroads Amtrak began operations on May 1 1971 1 2 36 Amtrak received no rail tracks or rights of way at its inception All Amtrak s routes were continuations of prior service although Amtrak pruned about half the passenger rail network 37 Of the 366 train routes that operated previously Amtrak continued only 184 38 Several major corridors became freight only including the ex New York Central Railroad s Water Level Route from New York to Ohio and Grand Trunk Western Railroad s Chicago to Detroit route The reduced passenger train schedules created confusion amongst staff At some stations Amtrak service was available only late at night or early in the morning prompting complaints from passengers 39 Disputes with freight railroads over track usage caused some services to be rerouted temporarily cancelled or replaced with buses 40 41 On the other hand the creation of the Los Angeles Seattle Coast Starlight from three formerly separate train routes was an immediate success resulting in an increase to daily service by 1973 42 43 Needing to operate only half the train routes that had operated previously Amtrak would lease around 1 200 of the best passenger cars from the 3 000 that the private railroads owned All were air conditioned and 90 were easy to maintain stainless steel 44 When Amtrak took over passenger cars and locomotives initially retained the paint schemes and logos of their former owners which resulted in Amtrak running trains with mismatched colors the Rainbow Era 45 In mid 1971 Amtrak began purchasing some of the equipment it had leased including 286 EMD E and F unit diesel locomotives 30 GG1 electric locomotives and 1 290 passenger cars By 1975 the official Amtrak color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment and newly purchased locomotives and the rolling stock began appearing 46 Classic Amtrak logo displayed at the Oakland Jack London Square station California Amtrak inherited problems with train stations most notably deferred maintenance and redundant facilities from the competing railroads that once served the same areas For example on the day it started Amtrak was given the responsibility of rerouting passenger trains from the seven train terminals in Chicago LaSalle Dearborn Grand Central Randolph Chicago Northwestern Terminal Central and Union into just one Union Station In New York City Amtrak had to maintain two stations Penn and Grand Central due to the lack of track connections to bring trains from upstate New York into Penn Station a problem that was rectified once the Empire Connection was built in 1991 47 The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was launched in 1978 and proposed to build a standardized station design across the system with an aim to reduce costs speed construction and improve its corporate image 48 49 However the cash strapped railroad would ultimately build relatively few of these standard stations 50 An Amtrak EMD SDP40F with the San Francisco Zephyr in 1975 By the mid 1970s Amtrak equipment was acquiring its own identity Amtrak soon had the opportunity to acquire rights of way Following the bankruptcy of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s including Penn Central which owned and operated the Northeast Corridor NEC Congress passed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 51 A large part of the legislation was directed to the creation of Conrail but the law also enabled the transfer of the portions of the NEC not already owned by state authorities to Amtrak Amtrak acquired the majority of the NEC on April 1 1976 52 The portion in Massachusetts is owned by the Commonwealth and managed by Amtrak The route from New Haven to New Rochelle is owned by New York s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation as the New Haven Line 53 This mainline became Amtrak s jewel asset and helped the railroad generate revenue While the NEC ridership and revenues were higher than any other segment of the system the cost of operating and maintaining the corridor proved to be overwhelming As a result Amtrak s federal subsidy was increased dramatically In subsequent years other short route segments not needed for freight operations were transferred to Amtrak citation needed In its first decade Amtrak fell far short of financial independence which continues today but it did find modest success rebuilding trade Outside factors discouraged competing transport such as fuel shortages which increased costs of automobile and airline travel and strikes which disrupted airline operations Investments in Amtrak s track equipment and information also made Amtrak more relevant to America s transportation needs 54 55 Amtrak s ridership increased from 16 6 million in 1972 to 21 million in 1981 56 In February 1978 Amtrak moved its headquarters to 400 N Capitol Street W Washington D C 57 1980s and 1990s The Building Era Edit An EMD AEM 7 with a Metroliner in Seabrook Maryland in 1987 The AEM 7 was Amtrak s workhorse on electrified routes for over 30 years An EMD F40PH leads the California Zephyr in 1995 The F40PH replaced the unreliable SDP40F In 1982 former Secretary of the Navy and retired Southern Railway head William Graham Claytor Jr came out of retirement to lead Amtrak During his time at Southern Claytor was a vocal critic of Amtrak s prior managers who call came from non railroading backgrounds Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis cited this criticism as a reason why the Democrat Claytor was acceptable to the Reagan White House 58 7 Despite frequent clashes with the Reagan administration over funding Claytor enjoyed a good relationship with Lewis John H Riley the head of the Federal Railroad Administration FRA and with members of Congress Limited funding led Claytor to use short term debt to fund operations 59 Building on mechanical developments in the 1970s high speed Washington New York Metroliner Service was improved with new equipment and faster schedules Travel time between New York and Washington D C was reduced to under 3 hours due to system improvements and limited stop service 60 This improvement was cited as a reason why Amtrak grew its share of intercity trips between the cities along the corridor Elsewhere in the country demand for passenger rail service resulted in the creation of five new state supported routes in California Illinois Missouri Oregon and Pennsylvania for a total of 15 state supported routes Amtrak added two trains in 1983 the California Zephyr between Oakland and Chicago via Denver 60 and revived the Auto Train a unique service that carries both passengers and their vehicles Amtrak advertised it as a great way to avoid traffic along the I 95 running between Lorton Virginia near Washington D C and Sanford Florida near Orlando on the Silver Star alignment 60 In 1980s and 1990s stations in Baltimore Chicago and Washington D C received major rehabilitation and the Empire Connection tunnel opened in 1991 allowing Amtrak to consolidate all New York services at Penn Station Despite the improvements Amtrak s ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000 56 61 In the early 1990s Amtrak tested several different high speed trains from Europe on the Northeast Corridor An X 2000 train was leased from Sweden for test runs from October 1992 to January 1993 followed by revenue service between Washington D C and New York City from February to May and August to September 1993 Siemens showed the ICE 1 train from Germany organizing the ICE Train North America Tour which started to operate on the Northeast Corridor on July 3 1993 62 In 1993 Thomas Downs succeeded Claytor as Amtrak s fifth president The stated goal remained operational self sufficiency By this time however Amtrak had a large overhang of debt from years of underfunding In the mid 1990s Amtrak suffered through a serious cash crunch Under Downs Congress included a provision in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that resulted in Amtrak receiving a 2 3 billion tax refund that resolved their cash crisis 63 However Congress also instituted a glide path to financial self sufficiency excluding railroad retirement tax act payments 64 George Warrington became the sixth president in 1998 with a mandate to make Amtrak financially self sufficient Under Warrington the company tried to expand into express freight shipping placing Amtrak in competition with the host freight railroads and the trucking industry On March 9 1999 Amtrak unveiled its plan for the Acela Express a high speed train on the Northeast Corridor between Washington D C and Boston 65 66 Several changes were made to the corridor to make it suitable for higher speed electric trains The Northend Electrification Project extended existing electrification from New Haven Connecticut to Boston to complete the overhead power supply along the 454 mile 731 km route and several grade crossings were improved or removed 66 67 68 2000s Growth in the 21st century Edit GE Genesis diesel locomotives lead the Cardinal in 2006 In the 21st century Amtrak replaced the F40PH with the Genesis series Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in the NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs The inauguration of the high speed Acela in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains However through the late 1990s and very early 21st century Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even By 2002 it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self sufficiency but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from the requirement 69 In early 2002 David L Gunn replaced Warrington as seventh president In a departure from his predecessors promises to make Amtrak self sufficient in the short term Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self sufficient as the economy is currently structured 70 Highways airports and air traffic control all require large government expenditures to build and operate coming from the Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund paid for by user fees highway fuel and road taxes and in the case of the General Fund from general taxation 71 Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance 72 A plan by the Bush administration to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership provoked disagreement within Amtrak s board of directors Late in 2005 Gunn was fired 73 Gunn s replacement Alexander Kummant 2006 08 was committed to operating a national rail network and like Gunn opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership 74 He said that shedding the system s long distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks and that Amtrak s abandonment of these routes would be irreversible In late 2006 Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of 1 billion for ten years 74 In early 2007 Amtrak employed 20 000 people in 46 states and served 25 million passengers a year its highest amount since its founding in 1970 Politico noted a key problem the rail system chronically operates in the red A pattern has emerged Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency But Amtrak advocates say that is not enough to fix the system s woes 75 Joseph H Boardman replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008 76 An Acela at Old Saybrook Connecticut in 2011 In 2011 Amtrak announced its intention to improve and expand the high speed rail corridor from Penn Station in NYC under the Hudson River in new tunnels and double tracking the line to Newark NJ called the Gateway Program initially estimated to cost 13 5 billion equal to 16 billion in 2021 77 78 79 From May 2011 to May 2012 Amtrak celebrated its 40th anniversary with festivities across the country that started on National Train Day May 7 2011 A commemorative book entitled Amtrak An American Story was published a documentary was created six locomotives were painted in Amtrak s four prior paint schemes and a Exhibit Train toured the country visting 45 communities and welcoming more than 85 000 visitors 80 After years of almost revolving door CEOs at Amtrak in December 2013 Boardman was named Railroader of the Year by Railway Age magazine which noted that with over five years in the job he is the second longest serving head of Amtrak since it was formed more than 40 years ago 81 On December 9 2015 Boardman announced in a letter to employees that he would be leaving Amtrak in September 2016 He had advised the Amtrak Board of Directors of his decision the previous week On August 19 2016 the Amtrak Board of Directors named former Norfolk Southern Railway President amp CEO Charles Wick Moorman as Boardman s successor with an effective date of September 1 2016 82 During his term Moorman took no salary 83 and said that he saw his role as one of a transitional CEO who would reorganize Amtrak before turning it over to new leadership 84 On November 17 2016 the Gateway Program Development Corporation GDC was formed for the purpose of overseeing and effectuating the rail infrastructure improvements known as the Gateway Program 85 GDC is a partnership of the States of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak The Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project to build a new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing century old tunnel and the Portal North Bridge to replace a century old moveable bridge with a modern structure that is less prone to failure Later projects of the Gateway Program including the expansion of track and platforms at Penn Station New York construction of the Bergen Loop and other improvements will roughly double capacity for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains in the busiest most complex section of the Northeast Corridor 86 In June 2017 it was announced that former Delta and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson would become Amtrak s next President amp CEO 84 Anderson began the job on July 12 assuming the title of President immediately and serving alongside Moorman as co CEOs until the end of the year On April 15 2020 Atlas Air Chairman President and CEO William Flynn was named Amtrak President and CEO In addition to Atlas Air Flynn has held senior roles at CSX Transportation SeaLand Services and GeoLogistics Corp Anderson would remain with Amtrak as a senior advisor until December 2020 87 As Amtrak approached profitability in 2020 the company undertook planning to expand and create new intermediate distance corridors across the country Included were several new services in Ohio Tennessee Colorado and Minnesota among other states 88 89 During the COVID 19 pandemic Amtrak continued operating as an essential service It started requiring face coverings the week of May 17 and limited sales to 50 of capacity 90 Most long distance routes were reduced to three weekly round trips in October 2020 91 92 In March 2021 following President Joe Biden s American Jobs Plan announcement Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn outlined a proposal called Amtrak Connects US that would expand state supported intercity corridors with an infusion of upfront capital assistance 93 94 This would expand service to cities including Las Vegas Phoenix Baton Rouge Nashville Chattanooga Louisville Columbus Ohio Wilmington North Carolina Cheyenne Montgomery Concord and Scranton 95 Also in March 2021 Amtrak announced plans to return 12 of its long distance routes to daily schedules later in the spring 96 Most of these routes were restored to daily service in late May 2021 97 However a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant caused Amtrak to modify and or suspend many of these routes again from January to March 2022 98 Operations Edit New York City s Penn Station Amtrak s busiest station by boardings Chicago Union Station Amtrak s busiest station off the Northeast Corridor and main hub for long distance services Routes Edit Main articles List of Amtrak routes List of busiest Amtrak stations and List of major cities in the United States lacking inter city rail service Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system 99 Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states as well as the District of Columbia with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota Amtrak services fall into three groups short haul service on the Northeast Corridor state supported short haul service outside the Northeast Corridor and medium and long haul service known within Amtrak as the National Network Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes In addition to the federally funded routes Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other short and medium haul routes outside of the Northeast Corridor some of which connect to it or are extensions from it In addition to its inter city services Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies the MARC Penn Line in Maryland Shore Line East in Connecticut 100 and Metrolink in Southern California Service on the Northeast Corridor NEC between Boston and Washington D C as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg is powered by overhead lines for the rest of the system diesel fueled locomotives are used Routes vary widely in the frequency of service from three days a week trains on the Sunset Limited to several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor 101 For areas not served by trains Amtrak Thruway routes provide guaranteed connections to trains via buses vans ferries and other modes 102 The most popular and heavily used services are those running on the NEC including the Acela and Northeast Regional The NEC runs between Boston and Washington D C via New York City and Philadelphia Some services continue into Virginia The NEC services accounted for 4 4 million of Amtrak s 12 2 million passengers in fiscal year 2021 103 Outside the NEC the most popular services are the short haul corridors in California the Pacific Surfliner Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin which are supplemented by an extensive network of connecting buses Together the California corridor trains accounted for a combined 2 35 million passengers in fiscal year 2021 103 Other popular routes include the Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls via Albany and Buffalo which carried 613 2 thousand passengers in fiscal year 2021 and the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg via Philadelphia that carried 394 3 thousand passengers that same year 103 Four of the six busiest stations by boardings are on the NEC New York Penn Station first Washington Union Station second Philadelphia 30th Street Station third and Boston South Station fifth The other two are Chicago Union Station fourth and Los Angeles Union Station sixth 4 On time performance Edit On time performance is calculated differently for airlines than for Amtrak A plane is considered on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of the schedule Amtrak uses a sliding scale with trips under 250 miles 400 km considered late if they are more than 10 minutes behind schedule up to 30 minutes for trips over 551 miles 887 km in length 104 Outside the Northeast Corridor and stretches of track in Southern California and Michigan most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned and operated by privately owned freight railroads BNSF is the largest host to Amtrak routes with 6 3 million miles 105 Freight rail operators are required under federal law to give dispatching preference to Amtrak trains However Amtrak has accused freight railroads violating or skirting these regulations resulting in passenger trains waiting for freight traffic to clear the track 106 The railroads dispatching practices were investigated in 2008 107 resulting in stricter laws about train priority Subsequently Amtrak s overall on time performance went up from 74 7 in fiscal 2008 to 84 7 in 2009 with long distance trains and others outside the NEC seeing the greatest benefit The Missouri River Runner jumped from 11 to 95 becoming one of Amtrak s best performers The Texas Eagle went from 22 4 to 96 7 and the California Zephyr with a 5 on time record in 2008 went up to 78 3 108 However this improved performance coincided with a general economic downturn resulting in the lowest freight rail traffic volumes since at least 1988 meaning less freight traffic to impede passenger traffic 109 In 2018 Amtrak began issuing report cards grading each host railroad similar to students based on the railroad s impact to on time performance The first report card issued in March 2018 includes one A given to Canadian Pacific and two Fs given to Canadian National and Norfolk Southern 110 111 Amtrak s 2020 host report card gives Canadian Pacific and Canadian National an A BNSF and CSX a B Union Pacific a C and Norfolk Southern a D 106 Ridership Edit Annual ridership by fiscal year 1971 2022 Amtrak carried 15 8 million passengers in 1972 its first full year of operation 112 Ridership has increased steadily ever since carrying a record 32 million passengers in fiscal year 2019 more than double the total in 1972 For the fiscal year ending on September 30 2020 Amtrak reported 16 8 million passengers with the decline resulting from effects of the COVID 19 pandemic 113 114 Fiscal year 2021 saw ridership decrease more with 12 2 million passengers reported 103 Fiscal year 2022 saw an increase to 22 9 million passengers however it is still lower than pre pandemic numbers 115 Guest Rewards Edit Amtrak s loyalty program Guest Rewards 116 is similar to the frequent flyer programs of many airlines Guest Rewards members accumulate points by riding Amtrak and through other activities and can redeem these points for free Amtrak tickets and other rewards 116 Lines Edit In 2009 an Amtrak Lake Shore Limited train backing into Chicago Union Station Along the NEC and in several other areas Amtrak owns 730 miles 1 170 km including 17 tunnels consisting of 29 7 miles 47 8 km of track and 1 186 bridges including the famous Hell Gate Bridge consisting of 42 5 miles 68 4 km of track In several places primarily in New England Amtrak leases tracks providing track maintenance and controlling train movements Most often these tracks are leased from state regional or local governments The lines are further divided into services Amtrak owns and operates the following lines 117 Northeast Corridor the Northeast Corridor between Washington D C and Boston via Baltimore Philadelphia Newark New York and Providence is largely owned by Amtrak 363 of 457 miles 4 working cooperatively with several state and regional commuter agencies 118 119 Between New Haven Connecticut and New Rochelle New York Northeast Corridor trains travel on the Metro North Railroad s New Haven Line which is owned and operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Keystone Corridor Amtrak owns the 104 2 mile line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg Pennsylvania 4 As a result of an investment partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania signal and track improvements were completed in October 2006 that allow all electric service with a top speed of 110 miles per hour 180 km h to run along the corridor Empire Corridor Amtrak owns the 11 miles 18 km between New York Penn Station and Spuyten Duyvil New York In 2012 Amtrak leased the 94 miles 151 km between Poughkeepsie New York and Schenectady New York from owner CSX 120 In addition Amtrak owns the tracks across the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and short approach sections near it 121 Michigan Line Amtrak acquired the west end of the former Michigan Central main line of 98 miles from Conrail in 1976 New Haven Springfield Line Amtrak purchased the 62 miles 100 km between New Haven and Springfield from Penn Central in 1976 122 Post Road Branch 12 42 miles 19 99 km Castleton on Hudson to Rensselaer New YorkIn addition to these lines Amtrak owns station and yard tracks in Chicago Los Angeles New Orleans New York City Oakland Kirkham Street Yard 123 Orlando Portland Oregon Seattle Philadelphia and Washington D C Amtrak leases station and yard tracks in Hialeah near Miami Florida from the State of Florida citation needed Amtrak owns New York Penn Station Philadelphia 30th Street Station Baltimore Penn Station and Providence Station It also owns Chicago Union Station through a wholly owned subsidiary the Chicago Union Station Company Through the Washington Terminal Company in which it owns a 99 7 percent interest it owns the rail infrastructure around Washington Union Station It holds a 99 interest in 30th Street Limited a partnership responsible for redeveloping the area in and around 30th Street Station 124 Amtrak also owns Passenger Railroad Insurance 125 Service lines Edit Amtrak organizes its busness into six service lines which are treated like divisions at most companies 126 There are three operating service lines Northeast Corridor which operates Amtrak s high speed Acela and Northeast Regional trains State Supported which provides service on corridor routes of less than 750 miles through cost sharing agreements with state governments and Long Distance which operates routes over 750 miles and receives financial support from the federal government Additionally there are three service lines involved in activities other than operating Amtrak trains They are Ancillary which includes operating commuter trains under contract establishing Amtrak Thruway connecting services operating charter trains and hauling private railcars Real Estate amp Commercial which manages property owned by Amtrak including leasing space to other businesses inside stations and Infrastructure Access Reimbursable which charges other railroads for access to Amtrak owned tracks and perfoms work that can be reimbursed by other railroads or state governments Net revenue generated by these service lines is used to fund Amtrak s other operations Rolling stock EditMain article List of Amtrak rolling stock Amtrak owns 2 142 railway cars and 425 locomotives for revenue runs and service collectively called rolling stock Notable examples include the GE Genesis and Siemens Charger diesel locomotives the Siemens ACS 64 electric locomotive the Amfleet series of single level passenger cars and the Superliner series of double decker passenger cars The railroad is currently working to replace its fleet spending 2 4 billion on 28 Avela Liberty trainsets for its flagship Acela service and 7 3 billion for 65 Airo trainsets for other Northeast Corridor services Additionally California North Carolina and a group of Midwestern states purchased Siemens Venture trainsets for use on routes operated by Amtrak in their states which started entering service in 2022 In 2023 Amtrak announced it had made a request for proposals looking to replace hundreds of railcars used on long distance routes 127 On board services EditClasses of service Edit The interior of a Viewliner sleeping car bedroom with the lower bed down The interior of a long distance Amfleet II coach Amtrak offers four classes of service First Class Sleeper Service Business Class and Coach Class 128 First Class First Class service is only offered on the Acela Seats are larger than those of Business Class and come in a variety of seating styles single facing singles with table double facing doubles with table and wheelchair accessible First Class is located in a separate car from business class and is located at the end of the train to reduce the number of passengers walking in the aisles A car attendant provides passengers with hot towel service a complimentary meal and alcoholic beverages 129 First Class passengers have access to lounges located at most larger stations 130 Sleeper Service Private room accommodations on long distance trains including roomettes bedrooms bedroom suites accessible bedrooms and on some trains family bedrooms Included in the price of a room are attendant service and on most routes full hot meals At night attendants convert rooms into sleeping areas with fold down beds and linens Shower facilities with towels and bar soap are available Complimentary juice coffee and bottled water are included as well Sleeper car passengers have access to all passenger facilities aboard the train Sleeper Service passengers have access to lounges located at select stations 130 Business Class Business Class seating is offered on the Acela Northeast Regional many short haul corridor trains and some long distance trains It is the standard class of service on the Acela On all other trains where it is offered Business Class is located in a dedicated car or section of the train While the specific features vary by route many include extra legroom and complimentary non alcoholic drinks Seats in business class recline and feature a fold down tray table footrest individual reading light and power outlet 131 Passengers have access to some lounges but busier locations may exclude Business Class customers 130 Coach Class Coach Class is the standard class of service on all Amtrak trains except the Acela Seats in coach recline and feature a fold down tray table footrest individual reading light and power outlet Coach cars on long distance trains are configured with fewer seats per car so that passengers have additional legroom and seats which are equipped with leg rests 132 133 Wi Fi and electronic services Edit Amtrak first offered free Wi Fi service to passengers aboard the Downeaster in 2008 the Acela and the Northeast Regional trains on the NEC in 2010 and the Amtrak Cascades in 2011 In February 2014 Amtrak rolled out Wi Fi on corridor trains out of Chicago When all the Midwest cars offer the AmtrakConnect service about 85 of all Amtrak passengers nationwide will have Wi Fi access 134 135 As of 2014 update most Amtrak passengers have access to free Wi Fi The service has developed a reputation for being unreliable and slow due to its cellular network connection 136 137 on some routes it is usually unusable either freezing on the login page or if it manages to log in failing to provide any internet bandwidth Amtrak launched an e ticketing system on the Downeaster in November 2011 138 and rolled it out nationwide on July 30 2012 Amtrak officials said the system gives more accurate knowledge in realtime of who is on the train which greatly improves the safety and security of passengers en route reporting of onboard equipment problems to mechanical crews which may result in faster resolution of the issue and more efficient financial reporting 139 Baggage and cargo services Edit A Viewliner II baggage car at New London in 2016 Amtrak allows carry on baggage on all routes services with baggage cars allow checked baggage at selected stations 140 141 With the passage of the Wicker Amendment in 2010 passengers are allowed to put lawfully owned unloaded firearms in checked Amtrak baggage reversing a decade long ban on such carriage 142 The Amtrak Express cargo service provides small package and less than truckload shipping between most Amtrak stations that handle checked baggage over 100 cities Cargo travels alongside checked luggage in baggage cars Service and hours vary by station limited by available equipment and staffing Nearly all stations with checked baggage service can handle small packages while large stations with forklifts can handle palletized shipments Amtrak Express also offers station to station shipment of human remains to many cities Amtrak is popular among bicycle touring enthusiasts due to the ease of riding with a bike In contrast to airlines which require riders to dismantle their bicycles and place them in specialized bags most Amtrak trains have onboard bike racks in either the coaches or checked baggage car Bicycle reservations are required on most routes and cost up to 20 143 Labor issues EditIn the modern era Amtrak faces a number of important labor issues In the area of pension funding because of limitations originally imposed by Congress most Amtrak workers were traditionally classified as railroad employees and contributions to the Railroad Retirement system have been made for those employees However because the size of the contributions is determined on an industry wide basis rather than with reference to the employer for whom the employees work some critics such as the National Association of Railroad Passengers maintain that Amtrak is subsidizing freight railroad pensions by as much as US 150 million year 144 In recent times efforts at reforming passenger rail have addressed labor issues In 1997 Congress released Amtrak from a prohibition on contracting for labor outside the corporation and outside its unions opening the door to privatization 145 Since that time many of Amtrak s employees have been working without a contract The most recent contract signed in 1999 was mainly retroactive Because of the fragmentation of railroad unions by job as of 2009 update Amtrak has 14 separate unions to negotiate with Plus it has 24 separate contracts with those unions 146 This makes it difficult to make substantial changes in contrast to a situation where one union negotiates with one employer Former Amtrak president Kummant followed a cooperative posture with Amtrak s trade unions ruling out plans to privatize large parts of Amtrak s unionized workforce 74 Environmental impacts EditAmtrak s environmental impact Edit Per passenger mile Amtrak is 30 40 percent more energy efficient than commercial airlines and automobiles overall 147 though the exact figures for particular routes depend on load factor along with other variables The electrified trains in the NEC are considerably more efficient than Amtrak s diesels and can feed energy captured from regenerative braking back to the electrical grid Passenger rail is also very competitive with other modes in terms of safety per mile In 2005 Amtrak s carbon dioxide equivalent emissions were 0 411 lbs mi 0 116 kg per km 148 For comparison this is similar to a car with two people 149 about twice as high as the UK rail average where more of the system is electrified 150 about four times the average US motorcoach 151 and about eight times a Finnish electric intercity train or fully loaded fifty seat coach 152 153 It is however about two thirds of the raw CO2 equivalent emissions of a long distance domestic flight 154 Amtrak operates over thirty passenger train routes throughout the U S and Canada The greenhouse gas emissions from passenger trains is larger than that of freight trains in the U S and can be up to double the amount of freight emissions 155 Amtrak operates diesel electric and dual mode diesel and electric locomotives Diesel powered engines produce more greenhouse gas emissions during operation than electric trains As for the locational pollution directly from Amtrak operation their diesel trains cause more regional air pollution impacting the ecosystems around the sites of operation Also more stops along train routes can lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions 156 Amtrak rail facilities located in Delaware were cited as the state s largest source of polychlorinated biphenyl PCB contamination into the Delaware River which build up in the tissue of animals and are human carcinogens 157 Environmental impact on Amtrak Edit Amtrak railways and surrounding infrastructure are susceptible to degradation by natural causes over time 158 Railways experience water damage from climate change backed increases in rainfall in wet areas and rail buckling caused by hotter and dryer seasons in naturally dry areas 159 Hurricane Ida flooded the Amtrak Northeast Corridor running from Boston to Washington D C and caused it to shut down for an entire day 160 Rising summertime temperatures are causing an increase in railway buckles A study conducted on the railways in the southeast United Kingdom found that when temperature changes become extreme in the summertime due to climate change the tracks buckle due to the outward force of the metal expanding in collaboration with the weight of train car traffic This causes speed restrictions to be put in place around certain temperature intervals slowing travel time and lessening the amount of train rides in a day The study found that in 2004 30 000 delay minutes were attributed to increased heat causing a total of over 1 7 million U S dollars of total heat related delay cost 159 Public funding EditAmtrak receives annual appropriations from federal and state governments to supplement operating and capital programs Total federal grant appropriations per year in billions Fiscal Year Appropriation2009 1 4882010 1 5652011 1 4842012 1 4182013 1 374 161 2014 1 3702015 1 3752016 1 8372017 2 2022018 2 4472019 2 675 162 2020 3 018 a 2021 4 700 b 2022 6 731 c 163 Funding history Edit 1970s to 1990s Edit Amtrak commenced operations in 1971 with 40 million in direct federal aid 100 million in federally insured loans and a somewhat larger private contribution 164 Officials expected that Amtrak would break even by 1974 but those expectations proved unrealistic and annual direct federal aid reached a 17 year high in 1981 of 1 25 billion 165 During the Reagan administration appropriations were halved and by 1986 federal support fell to a decade low of 601 million almost none of which were capital appropriations 166 In the late 1980s and early 1990s Congress continued the reductionist trend even while Amtrak expenses held steady or rose Amtrak was forced to borrow to meet short term operating needs and by 1995 Amtrak was on the brink of a cash crisis and was unable to continue to service its debts 167 In response in 1997 Congress authorized 5 2 billion for Amtrak over the next five years largely to complete the Acela capital project on the condition that Amtrak submit to the ultimatum of self sufficiency by 2003 or liquidation 168 While Amtrak made financial improvements during this period citation needed it did not achieve self sufficiency 169 2000s Edit Amtrak s Piedmont near Charlotte North Carolina with a state owned locomotive This route is run under a partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation 2003 Amtrak Cascades service with tilting Talgo trainsets in Seattle Washington 2006 In 2004 a stalemate in federal support of Amtrak forced cutbacks in services and routes as well as the resumption of deferred maintenance In fiscal 2004 and 2005 Congress appropriated about 1 2 billion for Amtrak 300 million more than President George W Bush had requested However the company s board requested 1 8 billion through fiscal 2006 the majority of which about 1 3 billion would be used to bring infrastructure rolling stock and motive power back to a state of good repair In Congressional testimony the DOT Inspector General confirmed that Amtrak would need at least 1 4 billion to 1 5 billion in fiscal 2006 and 2 billion in fiscal 2007 just to maintain the status quo In 2006 Amtrak received just under 1 4 billion with the condition that Amtrak would reduce but not eliminate food and sleeper service losses Thus dining service was simplified and now requires two fewer on board service workers Only Auto Train and Empire Builder services continue regular made on board meal service In 2010 the Senate approved a bill to provide 1 96 billion to Amtrak but cut the approval for high speed rail to a 1 billion appropriation 169 State governments have partially filled the breach left by reductions in federal aid Several states have entered into operating partnerships with Amtrak notably California Pennsylvania Illinois Michigan Oregon Missouri Washington North Carolina Oklahoma Texas Wisconsin Vermont Maine and New York as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia which provides some of the resources for the operation of the Cascades route With the dramatic rise in gasoline prices during 2007 08 Amtrak saw record ridership 170 Capping a steady five year increase in ridership overall regional lines saw 12 year over year growth in May 2008 171 In October 2007 the Senate passed S 294 Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act of 2007 70 22 sponsored by Senators Frank Lautenberg and Trent Lott Despite a veto threat by President Bush a similar bill passed the House on June 11 2008 with a veto proof margin 311 104 172 The final bill spurred on by the September 12 Metrolink collision in California and retitled Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 was signed into law by President Bush on October 16 2008 The bill appropriates 2 6 billion a year in Amtrak funding through 2013 173 2010s Edit Amtrak points out that in 2010 its farebox recovery percentage of operating costs covered by revenues generated by passenger fares was 79 the highest reported for any U S passenger railroad 174 This increased to 94 9 in 2018 4 Amtrak has argued that it needs to increase capital program costs in 2013 in order to replace old train equipment because the multi year maintenance costs for those trains exceed what it would cost to simply buy new equipment that would not need to be repaired for several years However despite an initial request for more than 2 1 billion in funding for the year the company had to deal with a year over year cut in 2013 federal appropriations dropping to under 1 4 billion for the first time in several years 161 Amtrak stated in 2010 that the backlog of needed repairs of the track it owns on the Northeast Corridor included over 200 bridges most dating to the 19th century tunnels under Baltimore dating to the American Civil War era and functionally obsolete track switches which would cost 5 2 billion to repair more than triple Amtrak s total annual budget 161 Amtrak s budget is only allocated on a yearly basis and it has been argued by Joseph Vranich that this makes multi year development programs and long term fiscal planning difficult if not impossible 175 page needed In Fiscal Year 2011 the U S Congress granted Amtrak 563 million for operating and 922 million for capital programs 176 Controversy Edit Government aid to Amtrak was controversial from the beginning The formation of Amtrak in 1971 was criticized as a bailout serving corporate rail interests and union railroaders not the traveling public Critics have asserted that Amtrak has proven incapable of operating as a business and that it does not provide valuable transportation services meriting public support 175 page needed a mobile money burning machine 177 Many fiscal conservatives have argued that subsidies should be ended national rail service terminated and the NEC turned over to private interests To fund a Nostalgia Limited is not in the public interest 178 Critics also question Amtrak s energy efficiency 179 180 though the U S Department of Energy considers Amtrak among the most energy efficient forms of transportation 181 The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 which established Amtrak specifically states that The Corporation will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government 182 Then common stock was issued in 1971 to railroads that contributed capital and equipment these shares convey almost no benefits 183 but their holders 184 declined a 2002 buy out offer by Amtrak There are currently 109 396 994 shares of preferred stock at a par value of 100 per share all held by the US government There are 9 385 694 shares of common stock with a par value of 10 per share held by four other railroad companies APU formerly Penn Central 53 BNSF 35 Canadian Pacific 7 and Canadian National 5 185 186 Incidents EditMain article List of accidents on Amtrak Aerial view of the 1987 Maryland train collision The following are major accidents and incidents that involved Amtrak trains Event Train Date Location Description Deaths Injuries1971 Salem Illinois derailment City of New Orleans June 10 1971 Salem Illinois The City of New Orleans derailed due to a broken locomotive axle 11 1631979 Harvey train crash Shawnee October 12 1979 Harvey Illinois The Shawnee collided with a stationary Illinois Central Gulf freight train due to misaligned switches changed by a switchman shortly before the train passed them 2 381987 Maryland train collision Colonial January 4 1987 Chase Maryland The Colonial collided with three Conrail locomotives which had overrun signals 16 1641990 Back Bay Massachusetts train collision Night Owl December 12 1990 Back Bay Boston Massachusetts The Night Owl derailed due to excessive speed on a curve and collided with a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter train on an adjacent track 0 4531993 Big Bayou Canot rail accident Sunset Limited September 22 1993 Mobile Alabama The Sunset Limited derailed on a bridge which had been damaged by a barge 47 1031995 Palo Verde Arizona derailment Sunset Limited October 9 1995 Palo Verde Arizona The Sunset Limited derailed because of track sabotage 1 781996 Maryland train collision Capitol Limited February 16 1996 Silver Spring Maryland The Capitol Limited collided with a Maryland Area Regional Commuter train which had overrun signals 11 261999 Bourbonnais Illinois train crash City of New Orleans March 15 1999 Bourbonnais Illinois The City of New Orleans collided with a semi truck hauling steel that was trying to beat the train across a grade crossing Eleven of the train s fourteen passenger cars derailed hitting freight cars on an adjacent track 13 1222015 Philadelphia train derailment Northeast Regional May 12 2015 Philadelphia Pennsylvania A Northeast Regional derailed due to excessive speed on a curve 8 200 2017 Washington train derailment Cascades December 18 2017 DuPont Washington A Cascades train derailed due to excessive speed on a curve 3 622018 Cayce South Carolina train collision Silver Star February 4 2018 Cayce South Carolina The Silver Star collided head on into a parked CSX freight train due to a track switch being improperly set by the conductor of the CSX train 2 1162021 Montana train derailment Empire Builder September 25 2021 Joplin Montana The westbound Empire Builder derailed at the control point East Buelow with 146 passengers and 16 crew members on board 3 502022 Missouri train derailment Southwest Chief June 27 2022 Mendon Missouri The eastbound Southwest Chief struck a dump truck on the tracks and derailed 4 50After settling for 17 million in the 2017 Washington state train crash to prevent further lawsuits the board adopted a new policy requiring arbitration 187 See also Edit Trains portal Companies portal United States portalTopics dealing with Amtrak Edit Amtrak Arrow Reservation System Amtrak paint schemes Amtrak Police Department Amtrak Standard Stations Program Beech Grove Shops History of rail transport in the United States List of Amtrak stations Positive train control Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team VIPR TSA s rail security operations Railway electrification systemOther railway companies Edit Auto Train Corporation Pioneer of car on train service Via Rail Canada connects with Amtrak List of railway companiesNotes EditExplanatory citations Edit Includes 1 018 billion in COVID 19 emergency funding Includes 2 7 billion in COVID 19 emergency funding Includes 4 4 billion in additional infrastructure investment via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Citations Edit a b Amtrak winner Spokane Daily Chronicle Washington D C UPI May 1 1971 p 12 Archived from the original on May 2 2021 Retrieved May 20 2020 a b Last court test fails to clear Amtrak rails Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press May 1 1971 p 1 Archived from the original on May 2 2021 Retrieved May 20 2020 Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2017 District of Columbia PDF Amtrak Government Affairs November 2017 Archived PDF from the original on December 30 2017 Retrieved June 25 2018 a b c d e f g Amtrak Company Profile FY 2018 PDF Report Amtrak March 1 2019 Archived PDF from the original on April 12 2019 Retrieved May 27 2019 Puentes Robert Tomer Adie Kane Joseph March 2013 A New Alignment Strengthening America s Commitment to Passenger Rail The Brookings Institution Archived from the original on December 3 2013 Retrieved January 15 2015 Historical Statistics of the United States PDF U S Census 1957 Archived PDF from the original on February 18 2017 Retrieved November 13 2017 a b c Stover 1997 p 219 Carper 1968 pp 112 113 Solomon 2004 pp 49 56 Stover 1997 pp 219 220 Solomon 2004 p 154 Solomon 2004 p 161 Stover 1997 p 220 Saunders 2001 pp 106 107 Saunders 2001 pp 32 33 Stover 1997 p 222 Stover 1997 p 228 McCommons 2009 pp 150 151 Glischinski 1997 p 96 Saunders 2003 p 55 Saunders 2001 p 124 Sanders 2006 pp 1 3 Pub L 91 518 H R 17849 84 Stat 1327 enacted October 30 1970 Thoms 1973 pp 38 39 Land John S October 17 1971 Amtrak isn t railroading improvements through to passengers Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press p 8A Archived from the original on May 10 2021 Retrieved May 20 2020 Thoms 1973 pp 39 42 Management discussion Fiscal 2019 PDF Archived PDF from the original on June 25 2020 Retrieved June 23 2020 Sanders 2006 pp 7 8 Railpax er AMTRAK Eyes Loss Fort Worth Star Telegram Associated Press April 20 1971 p 21 Delay Asked In Rail Plan Fort Worth Star Telegram Associated Press April 20 1971 p 1 Thoms 1973 p 51 Luberoff David November 1996 Amtrak and the States Governing Magazine 85 Loving Rush Jr March 2009 Trains formula for fixing Amtrak Trains Casey Robert J January 5 1978 Federal Money Priorities and the Railroads Pittsburgh Post Gazette Archived from the original on October 2 2021 Retrieved October 2 2021 Forrester Steve June 1 1984 Amtrak funding no longer a battle Eugene Register Guard Archived from the original on October 2 2021 Retrieved October 2 2021 Stover 1997 p 234 Cook Louise May 1 1971 Many famous trains roll into history Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press p 1 Archived from the original on May 9 2021 Retrieved May 20 2020 Sanders 2006 pp 5 6 Daylight hours asked for local train Williamson Daily News April 28 1976 Archived from the original on October 2 2021 Retrieved October 2 2021 Temporarily Halt Rail Service To Repair Penn Central Tracks Times Union Warsaw Indiana August 2 1974 Archived from the original on October 2 2021 Retrieved October 2 2021 Hoosiers fighting over rails The Rochester Sentinel Associated Press July 14 1978 Archived from the original on October 2 2021 Retrieved October 2 2021 Barr Robert A March 18 1973 Amtrak s coastal train may run daily in June The Seattle Times p D12 Barr Robert A June 14 1972 Riders filling Amtrak s Seattle San Diego trains The Seattle Times p H4 We ve Rejected 2 Out Of Every 3 Cars advertisement 1971 Amtrak June 11 2013 Archived from the original on September 10 2018 Retrieved April 21 2018 Amtrak interiors through the years USA Today September 27 2017 Archived from the original on March 22 2018 Retrieved March 21 2018 Kelly John June 5 2001 Amtrak s beginnings Classic Trains Magazine Archived from the original on October 15 2015 Retrieved December 29 2010 Digging into the Archives The West Side Connection Amtrak History Amtrak April 3 2013 Archived from the original on June 25 2018 Retrieved June 25 2018 The Amtrak Standard Stations Program Amtrak March 4 2013 Retrieved July 27 2019 Standard Stations Program Executive Summary National Railroad Passenger Corporation Office of the Chief Engineer 1978 Sanders Craig May 11 2006 Amtrak in the Heartland Bloomington Indiana University Press p 270 ISBN 978 0 253 02793 1 OCLC 965827095 Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act Pub L 94 210 90 Stat 31 45 U S C 801 February 5 1976 Northeast Corridor Main Line U S Federal Railroad Administration Archived from the original on December 2 2011 Retrieved November 15 2011 Frisman Paul 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Retrieved August 14 2017 1999 Annual Report Amtrak ICE Train North America Tour Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau in German 42 11 756 1993 Phillips Don March 18 1994 Amtrak Is Way Off Track Fiscally Its President and the GAO Say The Washington Post Scheinberg Phyllis F October 28 1999 Intercity Passenger Rail Amtrak Faces Challenges in Improving its Financial Condition Report GAO T RCED 00 30 PDF Speech House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Ground Transportation Archived from the original PDF on June 24 2008 Retrieved June 12 2008 Amtrak unveils high speed shuttle trains for busy travelers Service between Boston Washington is designed to compete with airlines Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 10 1999 Archived from the original on October 26 2012 Retrieved August 29 2009 a b Amtrak To Unveil High Speed Service Associated Press March 9 1999 Archived from the original on October 26 2012 Retrieved August 29 2009 At grade crossings Innovation safety sophisticated new technology Railway Track and Structures June 1 1999 Retrieved August 29 2009 Public Archaeology Laboratory 2001 Amtrak s High Speed Rail Program New Haven to Boston History and Historic Resources PDF National Railroad Passenger Corporation Amtrak Wirzbicki Alan October 31 2007 Senate votes to increase funding for Amtrak service The Boston Globe Archived from the original on September 23 2009 Retrieved June 12 2008 Gunn David L June 20 2002 Testimony of David Gunn Before Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies Speech Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies Archived from the original on June 27 2012 Retrieved June 12 2008 Szep Jason June 12 2008 Q amp A with Amtrak President Alex Kummant Reuters Archived from the original on January 11 2009 Retrieved June 14 2008 Amtrak President David Gunn Lectures at UIUC CEE Alumni Association Newsletter Online Edition University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign CEE Alumni Association Spring Summer 2005 Archived from the original on August 25 2007 Retrieved June 12 2008 Wald Matthew November 9 2005 Amtrak s President Is Fired by Its Board The New York Times Retrieved May 14 2015 a b c Wald Matthew L Phillips Don December 23 2006 Surprising Forecast for Amtrak Growth The New York Times Glass Andrew February 7 2007 A Younger Biden Goes the Extra Miles for Amtrak Politico Archived from the original on June 3 2015 Retrieved May 11 2015 Amtrak Selects Transportation Industry Veteran as President amp CEO Press release Amtrak November 25 2008 Archived from the original on December 29 2008 Retrieved November 26 2008 Frassinelli Mike February 6 2011 N J senators Amtrak official to announce new commuter train tunnel project across the Hudson The Star Ledger Archived from the original on February 7 2011 Retrieved February 7 2011 Gateway Project PDF Amtrak February 2011 Archived from the original PDF on February 7 2011 Retrieved February 7 2011 Fleisher Liza Grossman Andrew February 8 2011 Amtrak s Plan For New Tunnel Gains Support The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on July 12 2015 Retrieved August 28 2011 National Railroad Bulletin Board 40th Anniversary Train Ends U S PDF Amtrak Ink National Railroad Passenger Corporation Archived from the original PDF on November 8 2012 Retrieved July 30 2012 Vantuono William C December 9 2013 Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman named Railroader of the Year Railway Age Archived from the original on February 2 2014 Retrieved April 12 2014 Amtrak Names Industry Veteran Wick Moorman President and Chief Executive Officer Amtrak Media August 19 2016 Archived from the original on September 21 2016 Retrieved September 1 2016 McGeehan Patrick June 26 2017 Amtrak Picks Delta s Former Chief to Lead It Through Challenging Time The New York Times a b Aratani Lori June 26 2017 Amtrak names new chief executive The Washington Post Archived from the original on June 26 2017 Retrieved June 27 2017 Gateway Program Overview PDF Gatewayprogram org December 9 2018 Archived PDF from the original on February 3 2019 Retrieved December 9 2018 Gateway Program Overview PDF Gatewayprogram org December 9 2018 Archived PDF from the original on February 3 2019 Retrieved December 9 2018 Amtrak Names William Flynn as CEO and President Amtrak March 2 2020 Archived from the original on June 9 2020 Retrieved June 9 2020 McMurtry Ian October 24 2020 Amtrak 2035 Does Amtrak Finally Have a Strong Plan Against Airlines Airline Geeks Archived from the original on December 5 2020 Retrieved February 7 2021 Anderson Eric February 5 2021 Amtrak route restructure targets new corridors Times Union Archived from the original on February 7 2021 Retrieved February 7 2021 Amtrak will require passengers to wear face coverings starting next week Boston Globe com May 7 2020 Archived from the original on July 24 2020 Retrieved July 24 2020 Lewis Shanna October 9 2020 Coronavirus Service Cuts For Amtrak 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Largest U S Air Carriers Bureau of Transportation Statistics Archived from the original on January 15 2014 Retrieved March 30 2014 2020 Corporate Profile PDF Archived PDF from the original on November 29 2021 Retrieved January 10 2022 a b Amtrak Host Railroad Report Card 2021 PDF Retrieved January 27 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Root Causes of Amtrak Train Delays U S Department of Transportation September 8 2008 Archived from the original on May 26 2010 Retrieved February 4 2010 Monthly Performance Report for September 2009 PDF Amtrak December 31 2009 Archived PDF from the original on November 6 2010 Retrieved February 4 2010 Rail Traffic in 2009 Lowest since at least 1988 Calculated Risk January 13 2010 Archived from the original on January 17 2010 Retrieved February 7 2010 Kingston John March 26 2018 Amtrak s initial report card on freight railroads ranges from A to a pair of F s Freight Waves Archived from the 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Future of U S Passenger Rail Service sec 4 n 21 Congressional Budget Office September 2003 Archived from the original on November 13 2008 Retrieved November 14 2008 Subcommittee on Railroads Hearing on Current Amtrak Issues U S House of Representatives April 30 2003 Archived from the original on November 10 2006 Vranich Joseph Chapman Cornelius amp Hudgins Edward L February 8 2002 A Plan to Liquidate Amtrak PDF Cato Institute Archived PDF from the original on October 15 2013 Retrieved October 12 2013 Amtrak Freedom of Information Act FOIA that list complete number of Amtrak issued Common and Preferred stock shares and shareholders Retrieved on 27 May 2022 dead link Passengers can no longer sue Amtrak after company loses millions in deadly derailment lawsuits KING5 November 16 2019 Archived from the original on November 17 2019 Retrieved November 17 2019 References EditCarper Robert S 1968 American Railroads in Transition The Passing of the Steam Locomotives A S Barnes ISBN 978 0 498 06678 8 Edmonson Harold A 2000 Journey to Amtrak The year history rode the passenger train Kalmbach Books ISBN 978 0 89024 023 6 Glischinski Steve 1997 Santa Fe Railway Osceola Wisconsin Motorbooks International ISBN 978 0 7603 0380 1 Government Accountability Office October 2005 Amtrak Management Systemic Problems Require Actions to Improve Efficiency Effectiveness and Accountability PDF Archived from the original PDF on November 25 2005 Retrieved November 23 2005 Hosmer Howard et al 1958 Railroad Passenger Train Deficit Report Interstate Commerce Commission 31954 Karr Ronald Dale 2017 The Rail Lines of Southern New England 2nd ed Pepperell Massachusetts Branch Line Press ISBN 978 0 942147 12 4 OCLC 1038017689 Archived from the original on October 24 2021 Retrieved October 22 2021 McCommons James 2009 Waiting on a Train The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service White River Junction Vermont Chelsea Green ISBN 978 1 60358 064 9 McKinney Kevin June 1991 At the dawn of Amtrak Trains 34 41 OCLC 23730369 Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation July 10 2012 Analysis of the Causes of AMTRAK Train Delays PDF United States Department of Transportation OCLC 862979061 Peterman David Randall September 28 2017 Amtrak Overview PDF Washington D C Congressional Research Service Sanders Craig 2006 Amtrak in the Heartland Bloomington Indiana Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 34705 3 Saunders Richard 2001 1978 Merging Lines American Railroads 1900 1970 Revised ed DeKalb Illinois Northern Illinois University Press ISBN 978 0 87580 265 7 Saunders Richard 2003 Main Lines Rebirth of the North American Railroads 1970 2002 DeKalb Illinois Northern Illinois University Press ISBN 0 87580 316 4 Schafer Mike Welsh Joe Holland Kevin J 2001 The American Passenger Train Saint Paul MN MBI ISBN 0 7603 0896 9 Schafer Mike June 1991 Amtrak s Atlas 1971 1991 Trains Solomon Brian 2004 Amtrak Saint Paul Minnesota MBI ISBN 978 0 7603 1765 5 Stover John F 1997 American Railroads 2nd ed Chicago University of Chicago Press ISBN 0 226 77657 3 Thoms William E 1973 Reprieve for the Iron Horse The AMTRAK Experiment Its Predecessors and Prospects Baton Rouge LA Claitor s Publishing Division OCLC 1094744 Vranich Joseph 1997 Derailed What Went Wrong and What to Do about America s Passenger Trains New York St Martin s Press ISBN 0 3121 7182 X Vranich Joseph 2004 End of the Line The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America s Passenger Trains Washington D C AEI Press ISBN 0 8447 4203 1 Wilner Frank N 1994 The Amtrak Story Omaha NE Simmons Boardman ISBN 0 9113 8216 X Zimmermann Karl R 1981 Amtrak at Milepost 10 PTJ Publishing ISBN 0 937658 06 5 Further reading Edit Articles of Incorporation of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation PDF Muckrock com April 17 1971 Baron David P August 1990 Distributive Politics and the Persistence of Amtrak The Journal of Politics 52 3 883 913 doi 10 2307 2131831 JSTOR 2131831 S2CID 153981819 Fostik John 2017 Amtrak Across America An Illustrated History 1st ed Enthusiast Books ISBN 978 1583883501 Hanus Chris Shaske John 2009 USA West by Train The Complete Amtrak Travel Guide Way of the Rail Publishing ISBN 978 0 9730897 6 9 Pitt John 2008 USA by Rail Bradt Travel Guides ISBN 978 1 84162 255 2 The Staff of Amtrak 2011 Amtrak An American Story 40th Anniversary Book Kalmbach Publishing Company Books Division ISBN 9780871164445 Wilner Frank N 2013 Amtrak Past Present Future Simmons Boardman Books ISBN 978 0 911 382600 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amtrak Wikivoyage has a travel guide for rail travel in the United States Wikiquote has quotations related to Amtrak Official website Amtrak Historical Timeline Amtrak Great American Stations Amtrak Connects US official website outlining 15 year expansion plans All Aboard Amtrak 50 Years of America s Railroad digital exhibit from Northwestern University s Transportation Library for Amtrak s 50th anniversary The Museum of Railway Timetables Amtrak timetables from 1971 to 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amtrak amp oldid 1135953341, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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