The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in every contiguous U.S. state except for Wyoming and South Dakota as well as in three Canadian provinces. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and track.
Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but is managed as a for-profit organization. The company's headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C.[2] Amtrak is headed by a Board of Directors, two of whom are the secretary of transportation and chief executive officer (CEO) of Amtrak, while the other eight members are nominated to serve a term of five years.[3]
Amtrak's network includes over 500 stations along 21,400 mi of track. It directly owns approximately 623 mi of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track; the remaining mileage is over rail lines owned by other railroad companies. While most track speeds are limited to 79 mph or less, several lines have been upgraded to support top speeds of 110 mph, and parts of the Northeast Corridor support top speeds of 160 mph.
In fiscal year 2025, Amtrak served 34.5 million passengers and had $2.7 billion in adjusted ticket revenue, with more than 22,100 employees.[4] Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from the 10 largest metropolitan areas and 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles.[5]
History
Private passenger service
In 1916, 98% of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, and the remaining 2% moved by inland waterways.[6] Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation. Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains.[7] As the 20th century progressed, patronage declined in the face of competition from buses, air travel, and the car. New streamlined diesel-powered trains, such as the Pioneer Zephyr, were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend.[8] By 1940, railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger-miles in the United States. In real terms, passenger-miles had fallen by 40% since 1916, from 42 billion to 25 billion.
Traffic surged during World War II, aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing
Operations
Routes
Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system.[105] Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, as well as the District of Columbia (with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota). Amtrak services fall into three groups: inter-city services on the Northeast Corridor, state-supported inter-city services outside the Northeast Corridor, and medium- and long-distance services (known within Amtrak as the National Network). Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes. In addition to the federally funded routes, Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other inter-city and medium-distance routes outside of the Northeast Corridor, some of which connect to it or extend beyond it. In addition to its inter-city services, Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies: the MARC Penn Line in Maryland, Shore Line East in Connecticut,[106] and Metrolink in Southern California.
Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston, and
Rolling stock
On-board services
Classes of service
Amtrak offers four classes of service: First Class, First Class Sleeper Service, Business Class, and Coach Class:[139]
- First Class: First Class service is offered on only the Acela. Seats are larger than those of Business Class and come in a variety of seating styles (single, facing singles with table, double, facing doubles with table and wheelchair accessible). First Class is located in a separate car from business class and is located at the end of the train (to reduce the number of passengers walking in the aisles). A car attendant provides passengers with hot towel service, a complimentary meal and alcoholic beverages.[140] First Class passengers have access to lounges located at most larger stations.
- First Class Sleeper Service: Private room accommodations on long-distance trains, including roomettes, bedrooms, bedroom suites, accessible bedrooms, and, on some trains, family bedrooms. Included in the price of a room are attendant service and on most routes, full hot meals. At night, attendants convert rooms into sleeping areas with fold-down beds and linens. Shower facilities with towels and bar soap are available. Complimentary juice, coffee and bottled water are included as well.
Labor issues
As of 2023, the average Amtrak employee annual salary was $121,000 per year.[159]
Most Amtrak workers are legally classified as "railroad employees" and thus make contributions to the federal Railroad Retirement system. The contribution rate is determined on an industry-wide basis, rather than with reference to the employer for whom the employees work; while most freight railroads employ a large number of contract workers to reduce the amount owed, Amtrak is prohibited by law from contracting out many positions and thus contributes disproportionately more funding to the system. Some critics, such as the National Association of Railroad Passengers, argue that Amtrak is thereby "subsidizing" freight railroad pensions by as much as US$150 million/year.[160]
In recent times, efforts at reforming passenger rail have addressed labor issues. In 1997 Congress released Amtrak from a prohibition on hiring contractors outside the corporation (and outside its unions);[161] since that time, many of Amtrak's employees have been working without a contract. The most recent contract, signed in 1999, was mainly retroactive.
Because of the fragmentation of railroad unions, Amtrak workers are represented by 14 separate trade unions, with as many as 24 simultaneous contracts between them as of 2009, a situation which has made contract negotiations more difficult.
Environmental impact
Per passenger mile, Amtrak is 30–40 percent more energy-efficient than commercial airlines and automobiles overall, though the exact figures for particular routes depend on load factor along with other variables. Amtrak's rolling stock is mostly diesel, with electric locomotives being used along the Northeast Corridor and a limited number of dual-mode locomotives along the Empire Corridor; electrified trains are considerably more efficient than diesels, produce less carbon dioxide, and can feed energy captured from regenerative braking back into the electrical grid. As of 2023, 1% of rail in the United States is electrified.[163] On select areas of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, where some locomotives are electrified, Amtrak emits up to 70-80% less greenhouse gas emissions than personal vehicle and flight travel.[164]
In 2005, Amtrak's carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per passenger were 0.411 lbs/mi (0.116 kg per km).[165] This amount is similar to that of a car with two people,[165] about twice as high as the UK rail average (where more of the system is electrified),
Public funding
Amtrak receives annual appropriations from federal and state governments to supplement operating and capital programs.
Funding history
1970s to 1990s
Amtrak commenced operations in 1971 with $40 million in direct federal aid, $100 million in federally insured loans, and a somewhat larger private contribution.[180] Officials expected that Amtrak would break even by 1974, but those expectations proved unrealistic and annual direct federal aid reached a 17-year high in 1981 of $1.25 billion.[181] During the Reagan administration, appropriations were halved and by 1986, federal support fell to a decade low of $601 million, almost none of which were capital appropriations.[182] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Congress continued the reductionist trend even while Amtrak expenses held steady or rose. Amtrak was forced to borrow to meet short-term operating needs, and by 1995 Amtrak was on the brink of a cash crisis and was unable to continue to service its debts.
Leadership
In addition to the United States Secretary of Transportation and its CEO, Amtrak's Board of Directors has eight presidentially-nominated and senate-confirmed seats. Presidentially appointed members serve nominally five-year terms but are allowed to serve until their successor is confirmed, and no more than five of the eight may belong to one political party. Of the eight presidentially appointed members, a minimum of two must and maximum of four may reside along or near the Northeast Corridor (defined as Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island), while the other four to six must reside in a state served by an Amtrak-operated long-distance or state-supported route outside of the Northeast Corridor. At least one of these eight must be an individual with a disability.[204]
The Secretary may be represented at Board meetings by their designee.[204]
Current board members
The current board members as of September 18, 2025:[205]
Incidents
The following are major accidents and incidents that involved Amtrak trains: After settling for $17 million in the 2017 Washington state train crash, to prevent further lawsuits, the board adopted a new policy requiring arbitration.[206]
See also
Topics dealing with Amtrak
- Amtrak Arrow Reservation System
- Amtrak paint schemes
- Amtrak Police Department
- Amtrak Standard Stations Program
- Beech Grove Shops
- History of rail transport in the United States
- List of Amtrak stations
- List of preserved Amtrak rolling stock
- Positive train control
- Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team (VIPR) – TSA's rail security operations
- Railway electrification system
Other railway companies
Further reading
External links
- Amtrak - Great American Stations
- Amtrak Connects US - official website outlining 15-year expansion plans
- All Aboard Amtrak! 50 Years of America's Railroad - digital exhibit from Northwestern University's Transportation Library for Amtrak's 50th anniversary
- The Museum of Railway Timetables (Amtrak timetables from 1971 to 2016)
References
- Harrison Weinberg. Amtrak Appoints Roger Harris President and Gerhard Williams Executive Vice President of Service Delivery Operations Amtrak, June 23, 2022, retrieved July 9, 2022^
- Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017 District of Columbia Amtrak Government Affairs, November 2017, retrieved June 25, 2018^
- US Code, Title 49, Section 24302: Board of Directors