Amtrak Thanksgiving Travel Trends and Rising Demand

Amtrak anticipates stronger Thanksgiving demand in 2025 as millions of Americans plan holiday trips, and the company points to shifting national travel patterns that still shape how people choose their preferred mode of transportation.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Amtrak Demand Dynamics During the Holiday Period

As Thanksgiving approaches, travelers start locking in plans to visit family or take short breaks, and air traffic slows after the government shutdown ends. Airlines do not report dramatic cancellations, but many people quietly look for more predictable options instead. The rail operator talks about a record-breaking holiday week and really pushes early booking because prices climb as seats disappear.

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In a late-October press release from Amtrak, the company reports double-digit growth in early reservations compared with 2024 and frames that jump as a clear signal of demand. To cope, it adds extra cars on Northeast Regional services between November 25 and 30 and expands service to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. Managers believe these steps will help carry thousands more passengers through the crunch period.

Holiday travel grows across all modes, and AAA now expects about 81.8 million Americans to go at least 50 miles from home between November 25 and December 1. In 2024, travelers logged roughly 1.2 million rail trips during Thanksgiving week, so the broader increase of 1.6 million additional journeys this year looks significant. Rail still accounts for only a small slice of the overall Thanksgiving market, but its role keeps edging upward.

AAA’s breakdown shows 73.28 million travelers by car, 6.07 million by air, and 2.48 million by bus, train, or cruise — a figure that quietly bundles several modes together.

This “other” category grows 8.5 percent year over year and often reflects people who book late, sometimes days or even hours before departure. Amtrak and major bus operators expect a sharp wave of last-minute reservations as travelers try to dodge highway gridlock and airline disruptions; as one planner might put it, “we can see the cliff coming.”

Amtrak Ridership Growth and Traveler Preferences

Amtrak’s September 2025 Monthly Performance Report counts 34.5 million riders year-to-date, a 5 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Executives link that growth to comfort and predictability, and they argue that trains offer a practical alternative when airports feel crowded and highways clog up.

Eliot Hamlisch, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, stresses that this applies all year, but especially during the holiday rush.

Several factors drive this gradual shift toward rail. Many long-distance travelers simply prefer to skip security lines, rolling delays, and the general stress that comes with airport transfers.

During the most recent U.S. government shutdown, airlines suffered hours-long delays on domestic routes, and a noticeable share of passengers switched to trains for reliability; Jim Mathews of the Rail Passengers Association told The Atlantic that moments like this can permanently change habits, much as they did after 9/11.

On board, the experience differs as well. Passengers can rest, work, or just watch the landscape without worrying about traffic or turbulence, and they do all that without passing through airport-style security checks.

Because trains produce fewer emissions than cars or planes, climate-conscious travelers increasingly view rail as the more responsible choice, even if they still use other modes.

Yet cars remain dominant: AAA expects around 71 million people to drive for Thanksgiving this year, and the rail operator plans to publish official holiday ridership figures after the season — only then will we know whether its double-digit growth forecast for 2025 actually holds up.

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