Passenger Trains > Amtrak Ridership and Revenue Up in July

 Amtrak’s ridership and revenue were up in July and thus far this year the passenger carrier has shown a ridership gain of 17 percent and a 9 percent revenue increase.
The figures put Amtrak on pace to overcome declines in revenue and ridership triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The July figures are in comparison to data reported in the same month in 2023.
Two Amtrak trains that serve Ohio posted double-digit ridership gains.

The Capitol Limited (Chicago-Washington) had a 24 percent ridership growth while the Lake Shore Limited (Chicago-New York/Boston) carried the most passengers in absolute terms through July, at 332,600, nearly 16 percent better than year-earlier levels.
The other Amtrak route serving Ohio, the Chicago-New York Cardinal also had double-digit ridership growth.
Revenues of long-distance trains were up overall by more than 6 percent, topping half a billion dollars through July. That is nearly $30 million more than the same period a year ago.
State-funded corridor services collectively had a ridership increase of 18 percent, a 10 percent increase over July 2023. From the akronrrblog
 

Last Summer the Capitol was still running with just one coach and one sleeper. Now it has two coaches and two sleepers. Just wish it had a Sightseer Lounge back.

Posted from Android

cabsignaldrop Wrote:
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> Last Summer the Capitol was still running with just one coach and one sleeper. Now it has two
> coaches and two sleepers.

This is an example of why there ought to be more information disclosed than just ridership and revenue.  Thinking like an airline financial analyst, it would be nice to know:

1.  Available seat-miles (ASM) increase/decrease
2.  Load factor (% of ASM sold)
3.  Revenue yield per sold seat-mile
4.  Cost per ASM

Operating profit/loss is roughly (1 x 2 x 3) - (1 x 4).

Obviously Trains 29/30 had a big increase in ASM.  Systemwide the increase in ridership was greater than the increase in revenue, meaning revenue yield declined, either due to pricing decisions, a shift in traffic mix, or a bigger increase in Economy (coach) ASM vs. Business or First Class ASM.