Amtrak less reliant on federal funds, CEO says

Federal subsidies are covering less of Amtrak's operation costs, the company's CEO Joseph Boardman told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Republicans have railed against federal funding for Amtrak in recent years, but Boardman said Tuesday that record ridership numbers in 2012 resulted in the government covering just 12 percent of the company's operations.

The company previously said its ridership covered 79 percent of its operations, leaving 21 percent to be covered by federal funding. 

Amtrak has received approximately $1 billion annually from the federal government since it was created by Congress to replace a network of independent railways in 1971.

Boardman delivered the news during a meeting of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

He told lawmakers that while the company has become more efficient, it still needs monetary support from lawmakers.

"Previous federal capital investment levels have sufficed to keep the system going, but they are not going to be adequate in the future," Boardman said in a statement released by Amtrak. 

"If we are to realize rail's potential, we will need much higher levels of federal capital funding," he said.

Congress is scheduled to consider a new version of the bill that authorizes Amtrak's funding, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA), this year. The current version of the law expires at the end of the 2013 fiscal year in September.

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