USA: Amtrak has announced the steps it will take this year in support of its ‘ambitious’ plans to double annual ridership to 66 million passengers in 2040.
On February 1, the national passenger operator’s President Roger Harris said Amtrak has two overarching objectives for 2024: ‘improving passenger train service for our customers’, and ‘efficiently and effectively’ undertaking a major capital programme.
The plans include:
- investing $5·5bn in Amtrak’s ‘largest ever’ annual capital programme to modernise trains, enhance stations and upgrade critical infrastructure; this includes the Frederick Douglass Tunnel and East River Tunnel Rehab projects in the Northeast Corridor;
- continuing construction of major NEC projects, including the Portal North Bridge and Hudson Tunnel and advancing Sawtooth Bridges replacement and Dock Bridge rehabilitation;
- advancing projects including the Chicago Hub improvement, New York Penn station expansion and Washington Union redevelopment, and supporting partners with the Penn Station Access in New York, the Long Bridge Project in Virginia and Compass Rail in Massachusetts;
- the first Siemens Mobility Airo trainset is expected to be nearly ready for testing by the end of 2024;
- a proposal for the replacement of the Long Distance fleet will be selected;
- the National Network Climate Vulnerability Assessment & Resilience Strategic Plan will be progressed, including engagement with suppliers on carbon reduction goals;
- Amtrak will work with states to develop new and expanded service through FRA’s Corridor ID programme; this includes twice-daily services between New Orleans and Mobile and extending the Hiawatha from Milwaukee to St Paul;
- implementing a ‘customer-centric’ pricing structure in collaboration with state governments;
- updating food and drink services ‘with more offerings that our customers want’;
- investment in talent and training;
- increasing accessibility to improve services, communications, equipment and experiences for people with disabilities;
- hiring more than 3 500 new employees;
- implementing a Connected Workforce that transforms team collaboration, improves digital engagement and enables better decision-making leveraging real-time data;
- advancing the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging strategy and aiming to retain and recruit the best talent.
‘Amtrak has rebounded from the pandemic and is growing again’, added CEO Stephen Gardner. ‘With funding from the infrastructure bill in hand, we and our partners are transforming intercity passenger rail across the country in a big way.’
