Amtrak is planning to double its overall ridership on the rail system by 2040.
The company said this new goal builds on the ridership gains it has made since the COVID-19 pandemic. Amtrak wants to move 66 million passengers, up from a current 33 million.
CEO Stephen Gardner said the billions Amtrak is receiving from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act for new rail cars and significant safety and capacity improvements will help make the goal a reality.
“Amtrak has rebounded from the pandemic and is growing again as part of our plan to double ridership by 2040,” Gardner said. “With funding from the infrastructure bill in hand, we and our partners are transforming intercity passenger rail across the country in a big way.”
Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul are expected to see significant service and infrastructure improvements. Overall, the company said it will invest an estimated $5.5 billion in Amtrak’s largest ever annual capital program to modernize trains, enhance stations, tunnels and bridges, and upgrade critical infrastructure; this includes the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program and East River Tunnel Rehab Project.
It also plans construction for several major Northeast Corridor projects, including the Portal North Bridge and Hudson Tunnel Projects and advancing Sawtooth Bridges Replacement and Dock Bridge Rehab projects, all in coordination with the Gateway Development Commission and partners in New York and New Jersey.
D.C.’s Union Station has a nearly $9 billion upgrade on the drawing board, which will benefit not only Amtrak but passengers on the VRE and MARC systems.
The railroad said the Union Station project, as well as a major redevelopment of New York City’s Penn Station, which sits below the iconic sports arena, Madison Square Garden, will transform rail service in the Northeast.
Amtrak also said the first of its new Acela and Amtrak Airo trains lines should be prepared for testing by the end of this year.
“Amtrak is working on two overarching objectives in 2024 — improving passenger train service for our customers and efficiently and effectively carrying out a massive major infrastructure capital program aimed to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure, stations, fleet and technology,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said. “As both a passenger rail service provider and a major construction company, we are quickly growing and evolving to deliver on both.”
Also set to be renovated is the Long Bridge Project over the Potomac River connecting D.C. to Virginia. It’s expected to cost nearly $2.3 billion, up nearly $240 million from a year ago, according to new budget projections by the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. The funding gap could put the project at risk for delays, although officials said that the bridge is still on track for a 2030 opening.
The company is also selecting proposals to begin replacing Amtrak’s long-distance fleet.
The railroad said it’s also emphasizing its commitment to the environment with this announcement with the goal of having an all-electric vehicle fleet by 2035.
Amtrak said many of the improvements it is making will focus on improving customer service, improving its food and beverage service and providing passengers with more choices and higher quality food and continuing to advance accessibility to improve services, communications, equipment, and experiences for customers with disabilities while making stations accessible through Amtrak’s Americans with Disabilities Act Stations Program.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been changed to reflect the correct names of Amtrak’s train lines.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
