The Amtrak Board of Directors on November 25, 2008, announced that Boardman had been appointed to a one-year term as President and CEO of the railway to replace Alexander Kummant.
Using stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Amtrak rescued from the wreck yards more than 90 railcars, rebuilt them, and put them into service.
The added capacity allowed Amtrak's passenger totals to grow by record numbers, more than one million year-over-year in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and revenues increased as well.
[citation needed] Boardman led an effort to augment and replace Amtrak's fleet of high-speed Acela Express trains with about 28 new trainsets.
[citation needed] Major new orders of equipment include 70 electric locomotives for the Regionals and the long-distance trains operating over the Northeast Corridor.
Board Chairman Anthony Coscia said, "We are extremely pleased with the progress Amtrak has made under the leadership of Joe Boardman".
[16] At Amtrak, Joe Boardman oversees an organization that carried a record 31.2 million passengers and had $3 billion in revenue while employing more than 20,000 people in fiscal year 2013.
[citation needed] Since Boardman’s appointment, Amtrak made progress cutting debt, purchasing new equipment, and improving infrastructure,[17] with cost recovery reaching a new company peak of 93% in 2014.
Boardman's successor, former Norfolk Southern Railway President & CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman, was named in August 2016 and took over on September 1, 2016.
[21][22] Railway Age magazine named Joseph H. Boardman as its 51st "Railroader of the Year" in its January 9, 2014, issue, which featured a column about him and a printed interview with him.