Amtrak CEO Pleads For Federal Funding As Covid-19 Decimates Ridership

Topline

Amtrak CEO William Flynn on Wednesday asked the Senate to provide emergency funding to help the transportation company operate next year, as ridership continues to decline amid the pandemic and is forecasted to remain 70% below pre-Covid levels in 2021.

Key Facts

Big Number

17,000. That’s how many passengers rode Amtrak on Tuesday, said Flynn, a huge decrease from the 89,000 average daily passengers the rail service saw in February before the pandemic.

Crucial Quote

“Unless these challenges can be addressed by Congress, we will be unable to better serve our country,” Flynn said.

Key Background

Amtrak saw record ridership and revenue in 2019, driven by a 3.3% increase in passengers on the Northeast Corridor, the train route connecting Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Though the company still isn’t profitable, 2020 was projected to be another record-breaking year until the pandemic hit.

What To Watch For

The House included $2.4 billion for Amtrak in the HEROES Act, the Democrats’ stimulus proposal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are still negotiating a final package, but it’s unclear if Amtrak funding will make it into a compromise bill. 

Tangent

House Republicans sent a letter to Flynn on Tuesday raising concerns that the Biden campaign’s use of an Amtrak charter train “redirected Amtrak’s scarce resources during a time of record losses, employee layoffs, and service cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic.”