Amtrak Staffing Issues Could Persist Into 2024 Even as Travelers Return
Photo Credit: Amtrak saw record ridership on the busy Northeast Corridor last year but staffing issues keep it from fully restoring pre-pandemic schedules. Amtrak
Skift Take
Despite billions of dollars in federal funds for new and expanded train service, Amtrak can't find the staff to simply recover from the pandemic.
Amtrak saw some 10 million travelers return to the rails in the U.S. last year. That was great news for the railroad that saw passenger numbers crater during the early days of the pandemic then slowly come back as people hesitantly returned to travel.
That surge in demand, which Amtrak Chief Financial Officer Tracie Winbigler described as “amazing” on Thursday, saw 22.9 million trips made on the railroad during the 2022 fiscal year that ended in September. Ridership was at about 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the period, and continuing to recover.
But the return of travelers could have been better if it was not for one key thing: Train capacity. Amtrak operated only about 80 percent of its 2019 schedule during fiscal 2022, or about five points less than the recovery in passengers. And on the Northeast Corridor, the railroad’s busiest line that connects Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., ridership was 10 percent above numbers three yea
