Over the last nine years, Amtrak has broken their all-time annual ridership record eight times! Last year, Amtrak set the current ridership record of 30.2 million passengers. This year, they're on pace to set the bar even higher.
Through the first eleven months that have passed in the current fiscal year (October 2011 to August 2012) ridership nationwide is up 3.4 percent. "In each month of the current fiscal year," Amtrak wrote in a press release, "[we have] posted the highest ridership total ever for that particular month (i.e., the best October ever, the best November ever, etc.) with the final month of September also expected to be a new record." On top of that, Amtrak carried more passengers in July that any other single month in its history.
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service is helping lead this surge in ridership. Through July, ridership on the corridor spine is up 4.1 percent and revenue is up 5.4 percent. Northeast branch lines are also posting ridership increases: the New Haven-Springfield line is up 0.8 percent, the Empire line is up 2.8 percent, the Adirondack line is up 3.9 percent, and the Keystone line is up 5 percent.
In other Amtrak news:
-- Late Friday night, the last train to ever cross the old Niantic River Bridge rolled over the 105 year old movable bridge, as Amtrak shifted all rail traffic to a new bascule lift bridge. This marks a major milestone in the completion of this $140 million project.
-- The Governor of Virginia announced that the extension of Amtrak's Northeast Regional Virginia service to Norfolk, VA is set to open this December. Riders will now have access to one seat rides to all stops on the Northeast Corridor, including stations in Virginia, such as Richmond and Lynchburg. This marks the resumption of a service that ended back in 1977.
Download Amtrak's press release about ridership increases.
Download Amtrak's press release about the Niantic River Bridge.
Download Amtrak's press release about the extension of Northeast Regional service to Norfolk, VA.
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