Amtrak Releases Annual Grant Request for FY26

Amtrak released its annual Legislative Report and Fiscal Year 2026 Legislative Grant Request this week, echoing the Trump Administration’s presidential budget request while highlighting record ridership and revenue figures.

The railroad highlighted its strongest performance ever in FY24, setting records in ridership, revenue, and capital investment. Amtrak carried 32.8 million intercity passengers, surpassing pre-COVID levels, and generated $3.6 billion in revenue, with ticket sales reaching nearly $2.5 billion. Amtrak also invested $4.5 billion in infrastructure improvements—most of which was funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—modernizing train equipment and upgrading stations, including accessibility enhancements under the ADA.

Amtrak also laid out its most detailed plan yet to become “operationally profitable” by FY2028. Amtrak intends to achieve operational profitability by subdividing its operating losses into two categories: passenger train operations and infrastructure/construction activities. Essentially, Amtrak seems to be saying that it will cover the above-the-rail costs (e.g., payroll for onboard and maintenance of way employees, fuel and energy, day-to-day maintenance, provision of food & beverage, etc.) through revenue, while separating out the cost of administering its major capital program (e.g. the administrative costs associated with major projects like the Hudson River Tunnels, procuring new equipment, and the redevelopment of Penn Station).

Rail Passengers has made it clear we oppose pennywise, pound-foolish decisions to chase “profitability”—a goal not required in any law passed by Congress, during a period of record taxpayer subsidies to the Federal interstate highway system.

“These cuts have the potential to undermine billions of dollars’ worth of long-term recapitalization efforts, just to save millions in its operating budget,” wrote Rail Passengers President Jim Mathews in a piece posted on Railway Age. “Amtrak only recently announced record levels of ridership and revenue, both nationally and on key State-supported corridors. The American public is best served by Amtrak adopting a strategy of improving its operating ratio by growing service, not by pretending to be a for-profit corporation delivering earnings-per-share at the expense of carrying out the mission Congress set for it more than half a century ago.”

[In fairness, here is Amtrak President Roger Harris’ response to Mathews’ editorial.]

Interestingly, the approach Amtrak outlines appears to align with Mathews’ position, accepting that administering Infrastructure Investment in Jobs Act (IIJA) programs should fall outside of the question of “profitability”.

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Some other key takeaways include:

More Equipment Needed - Amtrak was blunt that the funds provided by the IIJA are barely sufficient to replace the existing aging fleet, and that more public investment will be needed for service expansion: “Long-term fleet needs illustrate the limits of currently-available capital funding. Amtrak is experiencing a surge in demand for service both on the NEC and across the National Network. Meeting more of that demand could further improve the company’s financial performance; notably, NEC trains are already operationally profitable at current service levels. However, in order to fully meet existing demand, Amtrak will need additional train equipment… While the IIJA provides enough supplemental funding to replace a significant portion of our existing fleet, it does not provide sufficient resources for all replacements needed to maintain current service, nor does it provide sufficient resources to procure additional fleet (and supporting facilities) needed for growth.”

Doing More with Existing Equipment - “On the Northeast Corridor (NEC), introduction of a new ‘quick-turn’ operating model enabled the addition of several Northeast Regional round trips daily beginning in early March; ultimately, some segments saw weekday service levels increase by as much as 20%.”

Added Frequencies - Amtrak spotlighted added service on existing routes and restored services, including:

• The Borealis route, which doubled daily service between Chicago, Illinois, and St. Paul, Minnesota, which has carried over 100,000 passengers in the first six months;
• Working with Washington and Oregon to add two Seattle - Portland round trips to the Amtrak Cascades, for a daily total of six;
• Renewing the seasonal Berkshire Flyer train in New York and Massachusetts at increased service levels;
• An additional daily Pacific Surfliner round trip was added, bringing average daily service levels along the route’s core Los Angeles-to-San Diego segment to eleven round trips per day; and
• Amtrak expect to initiate a new route between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama—the Mardi Gras Service—in the summer of 2025.

Recommitment to Long-Distance Services - Amtrak writes that the “IIJA contains a provision stating that ‘Amtrak may not discontinue, reduce the frequency of, suspend, or substantially alter the route’ of Long-Distance Rail service, except in specified circumstances; Amtrak remains committed to following this directive.”