Amtrak Posts Strong Ridership Gains In July

[AlanB]

WASHINGTON – Amtrak today reported carrying 2,223,358 passengers in July, making it the best month for ridership in the railroad’s 32-year history.
The record-setting month comes on the heels of Amtrak’s strongest April, May and June ridership totals ever.  The railroad carried 2,098,901 passengers in April, 2,104,916 passengers in May, and 2,129,697 passengers in June.

“Slowly but surely we are making improvements, and we are beginning to see results,” said Amtrak president David L. Gunn.  “With public support to bring our infrastructure, trains and stations to a state of good repair, Amtrak will continue to build on this success.”

Fifteen Amtrak routes posted double-digit ridership gains in July versus the same month last year.  Long-distance routes with significant increases include the Texas Eagle (up 49.8 percent), the Sunset Limited (up 39.2 percent), the Silver Meteor (up 30.5 percent), the City of New Orleans (up 21 percent), the Auto Train (up 19.3 percent), and the Empire Builder (up 13.8 percent).  

Corridor trains with noteworthy increases include the Pacific Surfliners in southern California (up 32.4 percent), Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee (up 13.4 percent), and Regional trains in the Northeast (up 9.9 percent).

The highest increase came aboard the Pennsylvanian, which had its ridership surge an average of 98 percent since February 10 when Amtrak truncated the train’s route and improved its schedule.  The Pennsylvanian now operates in a faster daylight time slot between New York and Pittsburgh, rather than on its former, slower schedule between Philadelphia and Chicago.

The full press release from Amtrak can be found here.

 

[P40Power]

My god!! Amtrak seems to be doing great! I didnt think it was doing THIS well, the best July in its history! Maybe the Government will open its eyes and will see that people WANT Amtrak, especially since Gunn is getting the railroad into a state of much better repair. But Im glad to hear the excellent ridership, especially with the weak economy and terrorism concerns and all that crap

 

[NativeSon5859]

Those are some impressive numbers!!! Way to go Amtrak!

A question for anyone "in the know"....

Is the City of New Orleans considered one of Amtrak's better-performing overnight runs, or is it towards the lower end in terms of ridership? I was reading not too long ago how the train has really improved its service and effiency within the last 5 years or so.

 

[AlanB]

A question for anyone "in the know"....
Is the City of New Orleans considered one of Amtrak's better-performing overnight runs, or is it towards the lower end in terms of ridership? I was reading not too long ago how the train has really improved its service and effiency within the last 5 years or so.

I don't know about the City yet, but here's California's numbers.

As posted by Gene Poon to e-mail lists, quoting an e-mail from an Amtrak Southwest Division manager:
Summary of July ridership and ticket revenue results:

Pacific Surfliner:

* 211,913 passengers  +32.4% vs FY02 and a record for the month

* 3,504,159 ticket revenue  +24.5% vs FY02

San Joaquins:

* 74,240 passengers  +6.8% vs FY02

* $1,947,957 ticket revenue  +14.9% vs FY02

Capitol Corridor:

* 92,191 passengers  +2.4% vs FY02 and a record for the month

* $1,051,909 ticket revenue  +9.9% vs FY02

Other highlights:

* Pacific Surfliner ridership was the second highest monthly total ever for the

service while ticket revenue was the highest ever for any month.

* San Joaquin ridership was the second highest ever for July while ticket

revenue was the highest ever for any month.

* Capitol Corridor ticket revenue was the highest ever for any month.

 

[jccollins]

Hey Alan - how can I sign up for Gene Poon's e-mail list(s)? I always look for these numbers at http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com but they don't always show up. The site is still showing only June's stats, and no ticket revenues this time. Thanks.

B)

 

[jccollins]

According to my own rough calculations, California's July numbers would mean an average of 132.4 people rode each Capitol Corridor train (based on 24 trips/weekday and 18 trips/weekend), 199.6 people rode each San Joaquin train (based on 12 trips/daily) and a whopping 310.7 people rode each Pacific Surfliner train (based on 22 trips/daily... is this right?).

These are pretty impressive numbers and there is always room for improvement. A few more dollars spent on marketing in California would put the ridership numbers through the roof. It is too bad we don't have a few billboards promoting the San Joaquins along the I-5 and 99 motorways down the San Joaquin Valley. Anyone would be eager to hop on the train after driving this boring trip once!

 

[National Limited]

Wow! What a great way to begin the day!

Are there numbers available on the capacity available on each of the trains listed above? I'd be curious to know how many passengers can be accomodated on some of the trains and then what the average number of passengers rode each train in the month. Anyone have this info on the tip or their tongues?

 

[AlanB]

Hey Alan - how can I sign up for Gene Poon's e-mail list(s

JC,

Alas, I have no idea. I'm not on his list, but since his stuff gets widely posted, I just borrowed it from OTOL. When I have a minute, I'll try and ask Rail HaRRy if he knows how to get on the list.

Ps. You might want to check out this story too.

 

[AlanB]

Are there numbers available on the capacity available on each of the trains listed above? I'd be curious to know how many passengers can be accomodated on some of the trains and then what the average number of passengers rode each train in the month. Anyone have this info on the tip or their tongues?

Sadly it's certainly not on the tip of my tongue, nor the tips of my fingers.

I do see from time to time the actual number of riders by route, but I haven't noticed any lately. I'll try and see if I can dig up some old numbers at least. As for train capacity, I don't think I've ever seen those numbers, and probably for good reason. Amtrak doesn't want to give ammunition to the critics who claim that the trains run half full.

Capacity numbers probably wouldn't be that helpful anyhow, as it is possible for the train to exceed capacity anyhow. First off there have been cases where the train really was oversold and passengers were accommodated in the lounge car.

However, even without an oversold condition a train can still carry more than it's capacity. The reason is simple, one passenger gets on a sold out train in Chicago and get off in let's say Buffalo. One stop later in Rochester a passenger gets on heading to NY. He/she takes that seat vacated by passenger #1 in Buffalo. So now based on overall ridership numbers, that train is carrying one more passenger than it's capacity.

Amtrak does not count, or at least does not release these numbers, how many passengers train between each station on the run. They only count how many tickets were sold for that particular train. So therefore many trains typically exceed capacity, especially during the peak seasons.

 

[steve_relei]

Here is an article from a San Luis Obispo newspaper about increases in Amtrak patronage there on the Surfliners (San Luis Obispo to San Diego):

www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/6539877.htm