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Ground Transport

Amtrak Charts Difficult Course to First Break-Even While Spending to Upgrade Operations

Sean O'Neill photo
Sean O'Neill
amtrak The Capitol Limited travels through Pennsylvania source Amtrak

Photo Credit: The Capitol Limited travels through Pennsylvania. Amtrak's top executives discussed the company’s 2019 fiscal year results with the media. Amtrak / Chase Gunnoe

Skift Take

Former Delta CEO Richard Anderson has been spearheading a revamp of the U.S. national railway through boosting safety, driving more profits from its co-branded credit card, and creating a mix of more low-cost and premium services in the U.S. northeastern corridor. Anderson's tricky balance is being ambitious while trimming longstanding losses.

When the former Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson joined Amtrak two years ago, he faced a couple of top-priority tasks. Amtrak needed to ensure safety after recent accidents. The national railway also needs to make enough money to cover its costs. On safety, Anderson accelerated several changes to how Amtrak operates. These safety programs led to double-digit drops in passenger and employee safety incidents in the year through September, the railway said on Friday in a rare press briefing on its operations and finances. The railway also trimmed its financial losses. During the fiscal year ending in September, Amtrak reduced its operating loss to $29.8 million, down 82 percent the year before. Next year, the railway may break even — meaning, it will cover its costs after accounting for an annual government subsidy — for the first time in its history. "The long-term goal will be to run t

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