Amtrak Seeks Additional $4.9 Billion To Stay Afloat

Roll Call reports:

The new chief of Amtrak told a House subcommittee Wednesday that his government-subsidized company will need an additional $4.9 billion from taxpayers to avoid sweeping service cuts and job losses after Oct. 1

William J. Flynn, who became president and CEO of Amtrak in April, said the company, which received $1 billion from a roughly $2 trillion coronavirus package passed in March, is burning through $250 million a month because of continued ridership decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ridership and revenue are still down more than 80 percent compared to before the pandemic. Ridership had been down as much as 97 percent. “We cannot continue to indefinitely fund a workforce too large for the number of passengers we’re serving,” he said, saying the additional money will help “stave off bankruptcy.”

Committee chairman and all-around douchebag Dan Lipinski attacked Flynn for reducing service on Amtrak’s long-distance routes.