Amtrak recently said the U.S. railroad passenger service and its state partners are in need of $1 billion in government assistance after a dramatic decline in travel demand due to the COVID19 pandemic.
According to a report from Reuters, the rail agency said travel booking for its rail service plunged 50% since the outbreak, with losses forecast at hundreds of millions of dollars.
The rail agency says it needs urgent additional funding in order to make up for the amount of ridership and revenue lost and to mitigate employee and service impact.
According to USA Today, Amtrak this week is cutting its frequency on the Northeast Corridor by 60% of its typical weekday schedules between Boston, New York and Washington D.C. as a result of tanking demand due to the outbreak.
Acela Express and Northeast Regional trains will continue to operate but at significantly lower frequencies. The railroad told employees last week that bookings had dropped 50% while cancellations had soared 300%.
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SOURCE: Reuters / USA Today
