U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak ridership jumps

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said ridership jumped sharply in the year ending Sept. 30 and has nearly returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Amtrak said ridership was up 89% over 2021 levels to 22.9 million riders -- up 10.8 million passengers over the prior year. Overall ridership hit about 85% of pre-COVID levels Amtrak said, adding that it expects ridership and revenue to improve above 90% of pre-COVID levels by September 2023.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis)