The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 has provided funding for Amtrak to make some sorely needed improvements throughout the system.
Amtrak has received the first $4.3 billion of an expected $22 billion over the next five years—funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which I expected to help overhaul intercity passenger rail around the country. According to an article by Dan Zukowski, Amtrak intends to use the funding to modernize the system by bringing stations into accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and upgrading trains.
The new funding also comes as system ridership inches closer to pre-pandemic totals. “The passenger railroad announced Tuesday that its ridership grew 89% in fiscal year 2022, which ended Sept. 30. Total ridership of 22.9 million, however, remains below the 32.5 million passengers Amtrak carried in fiscal 2019,” reports Zukowski.
More details of Amtrak ridership and other planned intercity rail projects are included in the article below.
FULL STORY: Amtrak gets $4.3B to improve intercity passenger rail network
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