By Railfan & Railroad Staff

Amtrak is advancing several key initiatives in 2024 as part of the railroad’s ambitious goal of doubling annual ridership to 66 million by Fiscal Year 2040. An expansion of service to new routes will be a major part of that effort, the railroad announced on January 31. 

“Amtrak has rebounded from the pandemic and is growing again as part of our plan to double ridership by 2040,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner in a press release. “With funding from the infrastructure bill in hand, we and our partners are transforming intercity passenger rail across the country in a big way.”

Late last year, the federal government announced billions of dollars in grants to improve service on the nation’s passenger rail network, especially along the busy Northeast Corridor. At the same time, the government also identified numerous new routes that could be added to the system.  The railroad is also looking to modernize its long-distance fleet.

“Amtrak is working on two overarching objectives in 2024 – improving passenger train service for our customers and efficiently and effectively carrying out a massive major infrastructure capital program aimed to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure, stations, fleet and technology,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris. “As both a passenger rail service provider and a major construction company, we are quickly growing and evolving to deliver on both.”