为美国铁路公司骗局tinues to experience major declines in ridership and revenue, it is seeking $4.9 billion from Congress for fiscal 2021 for operating needs and to keep its large infrastructure and capital spending plans on schedule.
In a Nov. 23 press briefing, Stephen J. Gardner, Amtrak’s senior executive vice president, said, “We’ve got an aggressive fiscal ’21 capital program outlined." But Gardner added, “It relies on that additional funding that we have requested.”
Bill Flynn, Amtrak chief executive officer, said in astatementthat if the railroad doesn't get the federal funds it has asked for, it also will have to make further cuts in rail service and its workforce.
The presumed vehicle for an Amtrak funding infusion is a major coronavirus relief and economic stimulus package. Negotiations on the legislation have seemingly stalled in recent weeks.
Amtrak's fiscal 2021 infrastructure list includes spending on the planned replacement for the Portal North Bridge in Newark, N.J. Amtrak, with New Jersey Transit, hopes to start construction in calendar 2021 on the project, Gardner said.
The plan also includes investment to advance improvements in the Hudson Tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey
董事长托尼·科西亚（Tony Coscia）表示，这条铁路在2020财年的资本项目上花费了近2018luck官网亿美元。
Infrastructure work included a skylight replacement at Chicago Union Station, work to build a new track at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and improvements to theBaltimore and Potomac Tunnel in Baltimore, which opened in 1873.
The 2020 total also includes a record $109 million to improve accessibility at stations, including projects completed at Montgomery, W. Va., and Picayune, Miss.
It also completed installation of Positive Train Control, a system designed to regulate speed and avoid derailments and collisions.
The falloff in the number of trains and passengers has allowed Amtrak to accelerate projects. For example, Amtrak said that rail and concrete slab replacement in the B&P Tunnel, which normallly would have taken two to three years, was able to be completed in the summer just ended with extended service outages.
加德纳补充说：“这是投资的好时机。”他说，在基础设施上的支出可以使人们继续工作，并允许铁路通过改进的服务恢复。加德纳说：“我们希望国会能听到这一信息，并允许我们继续在铁路上进行投资。”
Officials also described Amtrak's results for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Coscia said the railroad's revenue was down 32%, to $2.3 billion, and it posted a loss of $800 million.
Coscia said that ridership 2020 ridership was only 25% of pre-pandemic levels. Coscia added that the company is projecting some improvement in the current fiscal year, but volume still will be 37% from pre-COVID figures.
The outlook for a stimulus package is murky. In May, the House, controlled by Democrats, passed a $3-trillion relief bill.
After Republicans and the Trump administration balked at that figure, Democratic leaders came down to about $2.2 trillion before the Nov. 3 elections. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin proposed $1.8 trillion, up from an earlier number.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has blasted the Democrats proposal as too high. McConnell has made a counter offer of just $500 billion.
Asked about the incoming Biden-Harris administration, Coscia said, "We've got lots of optimism for why this next administration will be a great partner for Amtrak and really for the traveling public." President-elect Joe Biden is well-known as a long-time Amtrak advocate and frequent passenger.
Coscia also said Amtrak had received "very encouraging signs" from the new administration, both during the campaign and during the transition period.
