Amtrak hit record ridership last year, but the Surfliner still trails its pre-pandemic level

Trains are having a national moment nationwide — but it hasn’t happened in southern California yet.

Amtrak announced this week it set all-time records for both ridership and revenue last fiscal year, easily breaking a record set a year earlier. Ridership in California, though, still hasn’t reached its pre-pandemic level.

Overall, ridership increased 5.1% in the last year, translating to 34.5 million trips and 6.9 billion combined miles by customers. Revenue overall also increased by 10.4%, to $2.7 billion and increased network capacity by 4.3%, which is attributed to more rail lines and better service.

But those national numbers are mostly carried by riders in the northeastern United States. California’s routes are still trying to recover from the damage done by both COVID-19 and service disruptions from increasing coastal erosion.

The Pacific Surfliner carried 2,776,654 riders in 2019. Despite record-setting numbers nationwide in 2025, total ridership on the Surfliner this year was just 2,043,059.

The Surfliner’s ridership increased in 2025, but its 3% growth rate still trailed the national increase.

The company invested a record $5.5 billion — up nearly 25% year-over-year — in major projects and state-of-good-repair initiatives, Amtrak said. 

“Amtrak’s operational success is not just about moving more people — it’s about moving them better,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris in a statement.

“By prioritizing reliability and the customer experience, we’re laying the foundation for the next generation of passenger rail in America.”

Amtrak also increased network capacity by 4.3% despite the challenges of an aging fleet, and customers responded with a strong demand for quality service, driving revenue that outpaced ridership.

The rail giant will continue rolling out its modernized trains and meeting customer demand, it says, adding that its strong financial performance in 2025 keeps Amtrak’s passenger trains on track to achieve operational profitability by 2028.