Amtrak Board Spotlights Need for More Capacity

by Sean Jeans-Gail | VP of Gov't Affairs

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At Amtrak’s annual public meeting in New Orleans, the message was clear: demand for train travel is surging and ridership is up, but the railroad will need to step up its equipment procurement effort to keep up with future demand.

While Amtrak leadership highlighted record ridership in fiscal year 2025, they also acknowledged a troubling reality—even with new Airo trainsets and NextGen Acela units entering service next year, overall capacity will remain below what it was just two years ago.

This is unacceptable for a country that is increasingly turning to passenger rail as a sustainable, reliable alternative to congested highways and unpredictable air travel.

Rail Passengers believes that the solution is clear: Congress must continue to fund equipment procurement efforts for both corridor and long-distance routes in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.

In the opening question during the Q&A, Rail Passengers’ President & CEO Jim Mathews stated as much, asking Amtrak to be clear in communicating its needs to the public and to policymakers—something that will help passengers be better advocates for new and improved service.

Taking Stock of the New Look Board

One of the early takeaways from the meeting is that the current Amtrak Board of Directors features the strongest personnel lineup in a generation.

With the Board finally at full strength—save the vacant slot that the CEO would occupy—the public was able to witness a level of focused and spirited engagement that hasn’t always been standard in the past. The current Amtrak Board features a transit CEO (Elaine Clegg), an advocate for passengers with disabilities (David Capozzi), a former chair of a state party apparatus (Robert Gleason), a mayor (Chris Koos), the former head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) (Ron Batory), the former third-ranking administrator at the USDOT (Joel Szabat), an academic (Dr. Lanhee Chen), and a real estate financier (Chairman Anthony Coscia).

The varied professional backgrounds and geographic representation produced back-and-forths that were a much-needed complement to the PowerPoint-based delivery of facts and figures by Amtrak executives.

Chairman Coscia also opened the meeting by committing to a high level of transparency in the board’s decision-making, in how the railroad financially compensates its senior executives, and in ensuring that these resources are readily available to the public.

Capacity Crisis Looms

Chief Commercial Officer Eliot Hamlisch highlighted record ridership and revenue, while making clear that the railroad is achieving this through more effective utilization of equipment rather than through the expansion of the number of available seats. When Clegg asked Chief Financial Officer Costin Corneanu how the company plans to increase service on the long-distance route, he answered Amtrak is “working to be extremely efficient in our deployment of capacity on the long-distance network to minimize the losses so we can have the high-producing other part of the business offset those losses [and] to become profitable.”

However, efficiency can only be stretched so far. Board Vice Chairman Joel Szabat highlighted that, even after new equipment arrives, Amtrak will still have less seating capacity than it did at the start of last year, calling it a source of future risk. Without new railcars, Amtrak won’t be able to serve all the Americans who would jump at the chance to take the train if there were more frequencies at affordable prices.

While a large part of future fleet expansion is in the hands of Congress, there are things that Amtrak is doing—or could be doing—to maximize available seat-miles:

• Amtrak President Roger Harris said that Amtrak’s maintenance department has been able to identify a small number of the Horizon coaches that will be able to safely return to service.
• Harris promised that all wrecked equipment “that is viable” is undergoing work to return to service.
• Amtrak did not provide any meaningful updates on the delivery schedule for the new Airos or the long-distance bilevels and single levels procurement process. A concerted effort by the FRA, Amtrak and manufacturers to accelerate these processes would pay dividends for passengers in both the near and the long term.

Amtrak introduces “Blue Sky” Customer Satisfaction Index

Expanding seating capacity is critical, but passengers don’t just want a seat — they want a journey that feels comfortable, reliable, and enjoyable. A quality onboard experience can turn first-time riders into lifelong advocates for passenger rail.

In this vein, Hamlisch announced that Amtrak would begin dividing Customer Satisfaction Index score goals into “Blue Sky” experiences (when trains aren’t subject to delays) and “Non-Blue Sky” instances (when trains experience delays due to freight train interference, weather, or maintenance issues).

“When trains are late, customers aren’t happy,” Hamlisch said. “[So] the intent is for us to see what we can take action on when the trains are on time in the most ideal operating conditions—cabin comfort, hospitality, and customer service.”

It’s important that Amtrak focus on what it can control as it attempts to improve the onboard experience. After all, acts of God happen, not to mention acts of Freight Railroad. However, it’s equally important that Amtrak not let itself off the hook for suboptimal maintenance practices.

As far as identifying the important onboard variables, Rail Passengers believes that the course of action is clear:

• Consistent dining options that reflect the expectations of today’s travelers, whether through expanded traditional dining or innovative new approaches.
• Reliable onboard technology, including Wi-Fi and real-time travel updates, to keep passengers connected.
• Invest in clean trains, including bathroom facilities and train windows (Harris made a point to tout a new washing facility in New Orleans).
• Consistent and reliable communication to passengers when delays too concur.

While the full video of the meeting hasn't yet been posted, it will be available here shortly.