Amtrak Ridership, Revenues Roar Into FY25

By Rail Passengers Staff

Amtrak’s financials seem to be off to a roaring start in the early months of Fiscal 2025, with ridership and revenues at least double year-ago levels in all three Amtrak business lines – Northeast Corridor, State-Supported, and Long-Distance.

The Fiscal Year begins on October 1, and on Friday afternoon Amtrak reported that for the Fiscal year to date – October and November combined – NEC ridership was up 123 percent, and revenues on the Corridor were more than doubled to $270.5 million. Ridership on all the state trains during those first two months was up 106 percent, and revenues soared 119 percent to nearly $92 million. Long-distance ridership doubled, too, reaching 730,000 in the first two months of the fiscal year, and revenues were up 104 percent to nearly $100 million.

Systemwide, Amtrak finished November at just under 6 million riders and $462 million in revenues, 112 percent better ridership than the first two months of FY24, and 106 percent higher revenue than the same period a year ago.

The regional trains were the biggest gainers on the NEC, notching a shade more than 2 million riders through November, compared with 902 million a year earlier. The regionals pulled in $166 million in revenue, while the Acelas took in $103 million.

Among state-supported trains, the beleaguered Adirondack had a strong showing in revenues, more than tripling to $726,000 during the period. In ridership, the Cascades rebounded the most, growing 161 percent to 165,500 passengers. New York’s Empire Service, the Kansas City Mule, and the Pennsylvanian each saw ridership improvements higher than 130 percent.

Seven long-distance routes more than doubled their ridership, led by the Cardinal at 134 percent, although in absolute terms the Palmetto was the ridership winner, carrying 69,300 passengers during the first two months of Fiscal 2025. The biggest revenue improvement for long-distance trains came courtesy of the California Zephyr, which turned in 153 percent better revenues compared with a year ago of $11 million. But in absolute dollars, the Auto Train was the clear winner, generating $17 million in revenue for October and November – the beginning of “snowbird season.”