Amtrak is seeking 16 percent more in federal funding during Fiscal Year 2015 than it currently receives. The federally subsidized railroad is asking for $1.62 billion in federal capital and operating support.
Citing increase demand, Amtrak recently said it will add more seats on the Auto Train this summer. The railroad is adding up to 60 more coach seats on the southbound Train No. 53 and the northbound Train No. 52.
Passenger rail service is “indispensable to helping the United States meet our national goals of competitiveness, job creation and economic growth,” Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said last week.
The nation is not making the necessary investment in its infrastructure to facilitate economic development, the head of Amtrak said in response to a U.S. Senate committee hearing on the future of the federal surface transportation program.
Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) last month issued a request for proposals to build modern, state-of-the-art high-speed train sets.
Amtrak will suspend some services from the New York and south of Washington, D.C., due to the latest winter storm forecast for the Northeast, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Amtrak says it is adding more seats to the Auto Train on trips between Jan. 1 and March 31. According to Amtrak, up to 60 additional coach seats will be available for travel on variety of dates on Train 53 to Florida (Jan. 1-9; Jan. 16; Jan. 29-Feb. 1; Feb 14-15; and Feb. 28) and Train 52 from Florida (Jan. 2-4; Feb. 22; Feb. 28; March 1; March 15; and March 29-31). The Auto Train offers both coach and sleeper accommodations. “The Auto Train is the easiest and most enjoyable way to travel between the northeast and Florida while your
Throughout the course of its four-plus decade history, Amtrak has drawn the scorn of detractors who saw the federally-subsidized passenger railroad is a drain on taxpayers.