In a letter to Congress on Tuesday, Amtrak said it needed an additional $1.475 billion in supplemental funding in Fiscal Year 2021 to maintain minimum services levels across its passenger rail network while continuing capital investments in the future.
Despite taking steps to cut costs by approximately $500 million, the passenger train company said the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the company’s ability to provide services to its 17 state partners, as well as the nine commuter and state partners on the Northeast Corridor. The $1.475 billion is on top of the $2.040 billion Amtrak requested from Congress earlier this year.
“As the severity and duration of this pandemic and its economic fallout become clearer, we are seeking supplemental federal funding for the next fiscal year,” said Amtrak President and CEO Bill Flynn in the letter.
To cut costs, the company said it had temporarily reduced train capacity to match demand, restructured its workforce, and put controls on discretionary expenses. But the impact of the national public health and economic crisis has left the passenger train company with a dramatic decline in demand for its services.
The company said it anticipated ridership would not return to normal in 2021, but instead would only return to about half of what it was.
“It is clear that Amtrak faces daunting challenges in Fiscal Year 2021, which will require us to take action to protect our rail network, our critical capital assets, and the livelihoods of our employees,” said Flynn in the letter.
According to Amtrak’s 2019 Company Profile, the passenger rail company was on track to take in record revenues of $3.5 billion in 2019, up 3.4 percent over FY 2018.