SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Amtrak may be gaining steam. The government-subsidized rail service is on its way this fiscal year to carry more passengers than ever before in its 53-year history. Reuters transportation reporter David Shepardson joins us. David, thanks for being with us.
DAVID SHEPARDSON: No problem, Scott.
SIMON: Ridership dropped during the pandemic. How strong is it looking now compared to, say, 2019 - it's last record?
SHEPARDSON: It looks very strong. Through the first nine months of the budget year - through the end of June - Amtrak had about 24.1 million riders. That's up 18% over the prior year and on pace to top that record set in 2019 of about 32 million passengers.
SIMON: Why are more people riding, do you think?
SHEPARDSON: I think there's a lot of reasons. You know, one, the Northeast Corridor - you know, the area between Washington and Boston, which accounts for a majority of the traffic - is obviously very congested. People are looking to get off the roads. And air travel has been hobbled in various parts of the year by delays due to a lack of air traffic controllers, and you have the issue of security and getting from airports to downtowns. And train travel has the natural advantages of arriving in the central city. And it's relatively cost competitive with air travel. So I think for a lot of travelers, it makes sense. And, you know, roughly five times as many people are traveling on the train versus air between those destinations.
SIMON: So the increase has been mostly in the Northeast Corridor. What are - the kind of Acela axis, I'll call it.
SHEPARDSON: Right, as well as the slower Northeast regional trains. But, you know, Amtrak, as part of the money they've received through the infrastructure bill, is making a big push to expand services, you know, outside of the Northeast and wants to double ridership between now and 2040. And, you know, about half of the 46 states that Amtrak serves, it really has pretty minimal service. And so it has pretty aggressive plans to expand a lot of routes into - in additional states where there's not as much service, in part because those lines have a lot of freight traffic and they're not as reliable as, say, the Northeast Corridor.
SIMON: Why is it not possible, if there are more than 24 million passengers, for one, two or three private rail companies to make a go of it?
SHEPARDSON: That's a great question. In fact, there are some companies talking about it - certainly Brightline, which is already operating in...
SIMON: That's in Florida, right? Is that...
SHEPARDSON: In Florida - right? - and just received, in December, a $3 billion cash grant from the Biden administration for this really ambitious project to get high-speed rail in place by the 2028 Olympics, between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
I think you're right. I mean, obviously, like a lot of different transportation modes, there are a lot of barriers to entry - right? - to having your own railroad and, you know, ownership of the tracks, you know, the cost of buying rail cars and the fact that it takes a long time to get these rail cars. You know, Amtrak, for example, is waiting for a number of new train sets, like new Acela cars, new Northeast regional cars, and that has delayed, in part, their expansion plan.
So, you know, starting your own railroad is not an easy feat, but there are some examples of efforts to start private rail. And again, as we see more congestion on freeways and limited abilities to expand existing highways, it might make it more attractive. And there is a lot of government money, right? In the infrastructure bill, Congress set aside $66 billion for rail. Some of that money still hasn't been obligated. So there are still some decent opportunities for private railroad to try to enter some of the more competitive markets.
SIMON: Reuters transportation reporter David Shepardson, thanks so much.
SHEPARDSON: Thanks, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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