Amtrak says it needs new $1.5 billion bailout

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Amtrak told Congress in a letter made public Tuesday that it needs a further $1.475 billion bailout or it will be forced to make sweeping service cuts and suspend some routes.

The company, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, in April received $1 billion in emergency funding. Amtrak said Tuesday it also plans reduce its operating costs by approximately $500 million, including by restructuring its workforce and controlling discretionary expenses.

Without the additional emergency funding, Amtrak said it would need to suspend some long-distance routes, and that others would operate on a thinned-down schedule. It would also need to greatly reduce its high-speed Acela service.

Amtrak said it now expects the massive travel demand fall-off due to the pandemic to result in a full year 50% reduction in system-wide revenue with current demand at around 5% of normal. It expects passenger demand will still fall from 32 million in 2019 to 16 million in the 2021 budget year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/amtrak-says-it-needs-new-dollar15-billion-bailout/ar-BB14Clj1?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=hplocalnews

[C_U_L8R]

1. If they're going to cut, I suggest starting with Kentucky.