FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karina Van Veen
202-906-3860
ATK-00-89
August 10, 2000

ALL-TIME REVENUE AND 10-YEAR RIDERSHIP RECORDS SET AS AMTRAK CONTINUES STRONG SUMMER PERFORMANCE

New annual ridership record within reach

WASHINGTON - Four weeks after unveiling its unconditional Satisfaction Guarantee for guests, Amtrak today announced an all-time record ticket revenue of $107.2 million in July and a ten-year ridership high of more than 2 million passengers during the month.

The ticket revenues topped the previous record of $102.3 million in June, 2000, and it was the second month in a row that ridership broke 2 million. With two months left in the fiscal year, Amtrak is on course to set a record for annual ticket revenue and to break its all-time annual ridership record of 22.2 million passengers.

The $107.2 million in revenue is an increase of 11.6 percent over July of last year, and only the second time ever that it has topped $100 million. The 2,053,996-passenger figure is 4.5 percent higher than July, 1999, and the highest monthly ridership for Amtrak since August, 1990.

"Amtrak is having its best summer ever, because we're putting the guest at the center of everything we do and backing it up with a one-of-a-kind guarantee," said Amtrak President and CEO George D. Warrington. "With increasing congestion on the highways and at airports, travelers are looking for transportation options and turning to Amtrak as the alternative."

The recently introduced Satisfaction Guarantee, improved service, high automobile gas prices, airline delays and higher fares, strong summer travel demand, and effective marketing by Amtrak all contributed to the new records.

Ridership and revenue were up across the country. Of note were Amtrak West's Cascades and Capitols services, which enjoyed ridership increases of 17.1 percent and 39.7 percent, respectively. Revenues for the two services were also up, 18 percent for the Cascades and 25.7 percent for the Capitols.

Among long distance trains, the Texas Eagle, which increased service from four times a week to daily earlier this year, continued its tremendous growth with a 44.1 percent increase in ridership and a 36.3 percent increase in revenue over July of last year.

The growth in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor was led by the Acela Regional service, introduced earlier this year, which has seen a 39 percent increase in ridership over the trains it replaced. In addition, the Ethan Allen service also saw increases with ridership growing 13.5 percent and revenue 33 percent, compared to last year.

To date for the fiscal year (Oct - July), ridership is nearly 18.6 million. It is on course to beat last year's total ridership of 21.5 million and may exceed Amtrak's all-time record. Ticket revenue for the railroad, year-to-date, is up 8.4 percent to over $903 million, and is on track to break last year's record of just over $1 billion.

Leading Amtrak into its record growth is the corporation's unconditional Satisfaction Guarantee, announced July 6, that promises guests a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable travel experience. In the guarantee's first month, fewer than one percent of passengers expressed dissatisfaction with Amtrak's service.

Additionally, Amtrak today stated that with two months left in its fiscal year, it estimates that the record ticket revenue and ridership gains combined with operational and debt-servicing savings from the delayed start-up of Acela Express will have slashed, by more than half, the anticipated revenue shortfall from the changes in the Acela Express service launch1.

Amtrak expects that its budget result in FY 2000 will be $60 million to $70 million less than its original budget plan, which had included a $156 million contribution from Acela Express ticket revenue. However, by taking advantage of its cash resources, Amtrak will be able to meet current fiscal year obligations without additional federal operating assistance.

Amtrak is successfully continuing along the Congressionally-mandated glidepath to end federal operating assistance in FY 2003. This glidepath reduced Amtrak's assistance from $484 million in FY 1999 to $362 million in FY 2000. The company has successfully met these targets and fully expects to continue doing so through FY 2003.

Amtrak operates a 22,000-mile intercity passenger rail system, serving more than 500 communities in 45 states. For more information about Amtrak, including schedules, fares and reservations, visit Amtrak's Web site at www.amtrak.com.

1Additionally, monies from liquidated damages associated with the manufacturer's delay in the delivery of Acela Express trainset equipment are anticipated. There has been no agreement on the amount in damages, but Amtrak estimates that it will be in the tens of millions of dollars.