Amtrak Holds Public Board Meeting, Highlights Financial Metrics

by Sean Jeans-Gail, VP of Gov't Affairs

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The Amtrak Board of Directors convened a public meeting to review the company’s operational performance, capital delivery projects, and long-term planning. A key focus was on financial and ridership metrics, particularly the strong ticket revenue performance across Amtrak’s network. The PowerPoint presented during the meeting is available online.

A Focus on Metrics

The meeting highlighted strong ticket revenue performance across the network, driven by strong customer demand. The Long Distance Routes (LDR) financial performance has been boosted by a successful effort to return coach and sleeper cars to service. On a more negative note, the recent loss of the Horizon cars will negatively impact State-Supported routes until the Airo trainsets are delivered in 2026.

Amtrak executives pointed to lack of capacity on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) as a hindrance on growth. The capacity constraints stem from delays in getting FRA clearance of the NextGen Acelas. However, a strategy of “quick turns” on the Northeast Regional offset some of these constraints, allowing for NEC ridership growth. Additionally, Amtrak is holding to a Spring 2025 launch goal for revenue service for the NextGen Acelas (the last day of spring is June 19).

Amtrak executives also highlighted the massive portfolio of capital renewal projects the railroad is advancing, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment in Jobs Act. The company is overseeing $6.8 billion worth of capital spending in Fiscal Year 2025, a number that’s projected to jump to $9.5 billion in FY26.

Board Member Questions

Vice Chairman Joel Szabat pointed out that, when the new Acelas were introduced, the higher number of seats per train would dramatically increase capacity. He asked if the company was confident that the demand would be there. Chief Commercial Officer Eliot Hamlisch responded that Szabat's read was “generally correct,” with the new Acelas increasing service line capacity by 50%, and that they are “very confident there is demand out there for the service.”

Elaine Clegg asked whether LDRs that share infrastructure or overlap with existing State-Supported corridors (as identified in the FRA’s expansion study) would have an advantage in Amtrak’s expansion planning, considering the potential for cost-sharing and operational efficiencies. Hamlisch said that was a “fair assumption,” while stating that—without new equipment to add routes—the only path available to improve financial performance on the LDRs is “driving incremental demand and cost containment”.

Open Meetings Requirements in the Spotlight

The decision to have this meeting in a public forum may be a response to proposed legislation that would mandate Amtrak comply with the Open Meetings Act—although the next scheduled board meeting open to the public won’t be until December. It’s also worth mentioning that much of the information included in this board meeting has been shared in other venues—including at Rail Passengers’ RailNation:DC event earlier this year. This is also the kind of data one would expect to find in Amtrak’s annual legislative grant request, which hasn’t been released to the public this year.

Rail Passengers supports the goals of the Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayers Act (H.R.188), which would require Amtrak’s Board of Directors to comply with the Government in the Sunshine Act, and we believe it should be moved as part of a comprehensive surface transportation reauthorization. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), would introduce greater transparency into decision-making, while providing necessary exceptions for contract negotiations, collective bargaining agreements, and matters involving the employment status of individual employees.

It's worth noting that we’ve heard from a few of our members who found the content of the public board meeting underwhelming (even “boring”). This shouldn't be a surprise; open meetings were never going to provide a magic window into the internal dialogues happening at the railroad. The fact remains: an expectation that this kind of information is provided to the public is beneficial, and good governance is often boring.