Dive into the Northeast Corridor Commission’s new Quarterly Report, which summarizes FY25Q3 (April 1-June 30, 2025) NEC ridership, train operations, and performance, and capital investment.
FY25Q3 key findings include:
Ridership: Total NEC ridership in FY25Q3 remained consistent year-over-year compared to FY24Q3, with an average daily ridership of 694K on weekdays and 367K on weekends. Virginia Railway Express, MARC, and CTrail had strong ridership growth, each with year-over-year increases of over 30%.
Service: Average weekday service also remained consistent year-over-year at an average of 2,111 trains per day, while weekend service increased from 1,150 to 1,315 average daily trains, a 14.3% rise driven by Long Island Rail Road, SEPTA, and MBTA.
Capital Investment: FY25 capital spending continues to break records. Q1-Q3 combined spending at nearly $3.3 billion represents the highest level of year-to-date investment in NEC history, thanks to several major projects moving forward, including Portal North Bridge construction, the East River Tunnels rehabilitation, the Connecticut River Bridge replacement, and the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel Program.
Delays: There were 2,339 train delay minutes per 1000 trains this quarter, a 9% fall year-over-year compared to FY24Q3; however, delays per 1000 trains remained 45% higher than 2 years ago. A total of 10.8% of NEC trains were late, annulled, or terminated this quarter, the same overall value as this time last year.
Following significant electric traction delays last summer, Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT closely coordinated to replace more than 9,500 hardware components, among other investments, between New York Penn Station and Trenton, which resulted in an 86% year-over-year reduction in delay minutes in this geography.
Major Incidents: The three most disruptive service incidents of the quarter involved a trespasser strike in April (Bristol, PA), a nearby warehouse fire in May (Baltimore, MD), and strong winds, lightning, and heavy rain in June. These incidents affected travel for thousands of NEC passengers on over 200 trains.
Stay tuned each quarter for additional data, insights, and trends on NEC operations and infrastructure investment.
For more information and to see the full report, visit www.nec-commission.com/quarterly-report.
