Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Anthony R. Coscia, an Amtrak board member since June 2010, and current chairman of its audit and finance committee, succeeds departing board chairman Thomas C. Carper whose term on the board expires this month.

Adding a new weekday Acela Express round-trip between New York and Washington, D.C., beginning on Jan. 28. The service will also make stops in Baltimore, Wilmington, Del.; Philadelphia, and Newark, N.J., and offer reserved Business Class and First Class service options.

In early 2013, Amtrak will issue a Request for Information to formally start the process that will replace the existing 20 Acela Express train sets and add additional train sets to expand seating capacity and provide for more frequent high-speed service on the NEC.

Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate potential passenger rail improvements between Washington, D.C. and Boston.

Comparing the first six months of FY 2011 (October to March) to the same time period in FY 2010 shows ridership is up 5.9 percent, or 802,745 passengers. In addition, during that same period ridership has increased on all three of Amtrak's major business lines: Northeast Corridor up 3.9 percent, state-supported and other short distance corridors up 7.7 percent, and long-distance trains up 5.3 percent.