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 Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in the NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs. The inauguration of the [[high-speed rail|high-speed]] ''[[Acela]]'' in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains. However, through the late 1990s and very early 21st century, Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even. By 2002, it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self-sufficiency, but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from the requirement.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alan |last=Wirzbicki |title=Senate votes to increase funding for Amtrak service |url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/10/31/senate_votes_to_increase_funding_for_amtrak_service?mode=PF |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=June 12, 2008 |archive-date=September 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923101330/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/10/31/senate_votes_to_increase_funding_for_amtrak_service?mode=PF |url-status=dead}}</ref> In early 2002, [[David L. Gunn]] replaced Warrington as seventh president. In a departure from his predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured.<ref>{{cite speech|title=Testimony of David Gunn Before Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies |first=David L. |last=Gunn |date=June 20, 2002 |location=Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies |url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Simple_Copy_Page&cid=1081442674364&c=am2Copy&ssid=172 |access-date=June 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627100644/https://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak%2Fam2Copy%2FSimple_Copy_Page&cid=1081442674364&c=am2Copy&ssid=172 |archive-date=June 27, 2012}}</ref> Highways, airports, and air traffic control ''all'' require large government expenditures to build and operate, coming from the [[Highway Trust Fund]] and [[Airport and Airway Trust Fund|Aviation Trust Fund]] paid for by user fees, highway fuel and road taxes, and, in the case of the General Fund, from general taxation.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jason |last=Szep |title=Q&A with Amtrak President Alex Kummant |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSSIB27628520080612?sp=true |work=Reuters |date=June 12, 2008 |access-date=June 14, 2008 |archive-date=January 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111164033/http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSSIB27628520080612?sp=true |url-status=live}}</ref> Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance.<ref>{{cite journal |date=Spring–Summer 2005 |title=Amtrak President David Gunn Lectures at UIUC |journal=CEE Alumni Association Newsletter, Online Edition |publisher=CEE Alumni Association |location=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |url=http://cee.uiuc.edu/alumni/newsletter/p08_krambles.aspx |access-date=June 12, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825052747/http://cee.uiuc.edu/alumni/newsletter/p08_krambles.aspx |archive-date=August 25, 2007}}</ref>
 [[File:Amtrakcropped.jpg|alt=GE Genesis diesel pulls the California Zephyr Train in front of the Rocky Mountains|thumb|Two GE Genesis diesels lead the ''California Zephyr'' in front of the Rocky Mountains]]
-A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn was fired.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amtrak's President Is Fired by Its Board |first=Matthew |last=Wald |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/national/09cnd-amtrak.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 9, 2005 |access-date=May 14, 2015}}</ref> Gunn's replacement, [[Alexander Kummant]] (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership.<ref name="surprising forecast" /> He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $1 billion for ten years.<ref name="surprising forecast" /> In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25&nbsp;million passengers a year, its highest number since its founding in 1970. ''[[Politico]]'' noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes."<ref>{{cite web |title=A Younger Biden Goes the Extra Miles for Amtrak |first=Andrew |last=Glass |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2672.html |website=[[Politico]] |date=February 7, 2007 |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-date=June 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603012144/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2672.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
+A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn was fired.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amtrak's President Is Fired by Its Board |first=Matthew |last=Wald |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/national/09cnd-amtrak.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 9, 2005 |access-date=May 14, 2015}}</ref> Gunn's replacement, [[Alexander Kummant]] (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership.<ref name="surprising forecast" /> He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $1 billion for ten years.<ref name="surprising forecast" /> In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25&nbsp;million passengers a year, its highest number since its founding in 1970. ''[[Politico]]'' noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes."<ref>{{cite web |title=A Younger Biden Goes the Extra Miles for Amtrak |first=Andrew |last=Glass |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2672.html |website=[[Politico]] |date=February 7, 2007 |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-date=June 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603012144/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2672.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
 [[Joseph H. Boardman]] replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008.<ref name="Boardman selected" />