Amtrak aims to double ridership by 2040. Fiscal year 2023 ridership was a good sign for achieving that goal, in a post-pandemic ridership recovery.
Amtrak trains carried 28.6 million passengers in Fiscal Year 2023, which ended in September, a 24.6% increase over Fiscal Year 2022. FY23 fourth quarter ridership on the Northeast Corridor was 8% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The boost in ridership was not all organic. Some of that increase came after Amtrak resumed service on all remaining routes previously suspended during the pandemic. It also added more trains on the Northeast Regional, Piedmont and Amtrak Cascades routes.
Amtrak credits much of the gain in ridership to significant growth on the Northeast Corridor, where ridership has consistently exceeded pre-pandemic levels since early this summer. Northeast Regional ridership was up 29% from fiscal 2022, with 9.2 million customer trips.
Acela ridership grew 38%, with nearly 3 million customer trips. Amtrak expanded weekend Acela service, including additional trips between Boston and New York on Sundays.
Amtrak long distance ridership was up 12% with nearly 3.9 million riders.
Amtrak hired 4,800 new employees in Fiscal Year 2023.
Amtrak’s annual operating revenue was $3.4 billion, up 20% from 2022. It had an adjusted operating loss of $752.2 million, compared to a loss of $882.2 million the previous year.
Amtrak’s full ridership data by route for Fiscal Year 2023 is posted online.
