Amtrak, the government-subsidized
U.S. railroad facing a Bush administration plan that would
dismantle its operations, said it carried a monthly record 2.22
million passengers in July.
The 32-year-old railroad still isn’t profitable, spokesman
Dan Stessel said. Its previous high was 2.20 million riders in
August 2001, the month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he
said. The Washington-based railroad before last month set
ridership records for April, May and June.
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People who had been reluctant to travel because of terrorism
concerns, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the U.S. economy “now seem to be willing to take at least short-distance trips,”
Stessel said. “Travel is pretty much robust right now,” with 15
routes showing gains in July of more than 10 percent from the
year-ago month.
Amtrak has lost $25 billion since it was created in 1971,
including a record $1.2 billion in its year that ended in
September. The railroad seeks a federal subsidy of $1.8 billion
for the year that starts Oct. 1, twice what President George W. Bush proposed and up from $1.05 billion this year. An
administration plan announced in July would turn Amtrak service
over to private operators and let states decide on routes.
Subsidies cover about 40 percent of Amtrak’s costs. The
railroad needs funds for infrastructure in the same way the U.S.
government pays for highways and runways, Stessel said.
Bloomberg News
