Amtrak enjoyed record-high ridership and revenue during the 2025 fiscal year. That included growth on its long-distance routes, which are attractive to vacationers.
The 2025 numbers showed bottom-line improvement and record capital expenditures, indicating that the quasi-public rail line has thus far transitioned smoothly from the Biden administration, which strongly supported passenger rail, to the Trump administration, which was expected to be less enthusiastic.
"I've been pleasantly surprised that they haven't done anything drastic about Amtrak," said Nick Little, who retired this year as director of the railway management program at Michigan State University's Broad College of Business.
For the fiscal year that ended in September, Amtrak reported 34.5 million customer trips, up 5.1% from the previous year. Operating revenue was $3.9 billion, up 9.1%. Both figures were record highs. Amtrak still had an operating loss of $598.4 million, but that was an improvement from a $705.2 million loss in 2024.
On long-distance lines, which Amtrak defines as its 14 services that cover more than 750 miles, ridership was up 4.2% year over year and ticket revenue was up 9.7%.
Especially solid gains came on the Chicago-San Francisco line, on which ridership increased 14.8%, as well as on three routes that cross the Southwest. Ridership increased 18.9% on the Los Angeles-New Orleans line, 14.3% on the Chicago-San Antonio route and 12.6% on the Chicago-Los Angeles route. Added capacity was a major reason for those gains. For example, Amtrak supplemented the Chicago-San Francisco and Chicago-Los Angeles routes with an extra coach car and an extra sleeper car beginning in the spring, according to Trains.com.
The company also made significant network changes on routes that are attractive to vacationers. In August, Amtrak re-introduced service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., ending a hiatus that began with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And last November, the company consolidated routes from Miami to Washington and from Washington to Chicago into one route, allowing for single-train service from the Windy City to South Florida.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said revenue on long-distance routes could be higher, if not for fleet-size limitations. New long-distance cars aren't expected before the end of the decade.
Still, the improved revenue performance and capacity along key routes that pass through national parks are echoed by the Amtrak Vacations brand, which is run by the tour operator Railbookers.
Amtrak Vacations is up 16% in revenue this calendar year, Railbookers spokesman Dan Reisig said, and 2026 sales are tracking up 22%.
"This is due to the continued excitement, curiosity and demand surrounding rail travel -- not just around the world through our Railbookers brand but also here in the U.S. on Amtrak," he said.
Funding fluctuations
Amtrak was a major beneficiary of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act under Biden, which included $22 billion in guaranteed funding as well as the potential for billions more. Much of that money is dedicated to track and tunnel upgrades and to station modernization.
The Trump administration has continued forward with the Amtrak infrastructure program, despite some threats to the contrary. During the 2025 fiscal year, Amtrak spent a record $5.5 billion on capital expenditures.
The president made headlines in October when he said he would terminate federal funding for the Gateway Program, a $16 billion series of projects that includes a new tunnel under the Hudson River that will double capacity on the 10 miles between Newark and New York's Penn Station, which is the most traveled rail corridor in the Northeast. But no formal action has been taken, and work on the project is ongoing.
Little predicted that the Gateway Program ultimately won't be halted. But he said Amtrak still remains vulnerable to political winds.
"Amtrak's strategy is high-risk because they rely so much on one lender with the federal government," Little said.