Report: For Short Trips, Passengers Flock to Rail

[marmar]

(Tom Lisi – New York, WNYC) A new study from the Brookings Institution shows that Amtrak ridership has grown by half since 1997, and the bulk of that growth has come from inter-city trips less than 400 miles long, especially outside the Northeast.

The study split up the number trips on Amtrak by metropolitan area. Boston, Tampa, and Dallas ridership tripled, all of which have other urban centers nearby. Trips longer than 400 miles grew, but barely and they operated at the greatest loss. The Northeast Corridor, which links Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, continues to be the only Amtrak line that makes a profit, generating over $200 million in 2011.

Brookings released its findings in part to garner support for reauthorizing the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, which expires in September. The PRIAA has eliminated the uncertainty of funding renewals from the federal government, and it has pushed states to invest in corridors that serve them. With the help of state funds, shorter corridors like the Carolinian and the Vermonter are now close to breaking even. “There is recognition of the importance of passenger rail as part of transportation costs,” says Robert Puentes, a senior fellow at Brookings. “[The states] are seeing the popularity and the economic connections.”

The study also tries to make the case to Congress and state governments that Amtrak deserves to be looked at as a smart investment. “There’s the convention that Amtrak is part of some big bloated bureaucracy, but Amtrak is actually reinventing itself,” says Puentes. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://transportationnation.org/2013/03/01/report-amtrak-ridership-hits-records/#sthash.W6wfjRUu.dpuf

[southernyankeebelle]

1. I love riding the rails. I wish they bring it out through the south. I would love to ride it back

to the northeast.

[hedgehog]

2. I would love to be able to board at Syracuse in the morning,

visit my kids in Buffalo, and come home that evening. Right now it can't be done! West bound trains leave NYC in the morning and eastbound trains leave Buffalo in the morning. No evening westbound from NYC or eastound from Buffalo.

[Nye Bevan]

3. Rail travel certainly has its advantages.

[MindPilot]

4. Ridership would increase in the West too

If there were any routes other than up and down the coast.

[Tikki]

5. We make at least four trips a year on AMTRAK to either Santa Barbara or San Diego..

We live a bit closer to Santa Barbara but we take the grandchildren on a great adventure
on the train, through each city on the trolley and ususally off to a major venue in each city
and lunch or dinner, accordingly, and back on the train.

We want them to experience this process for pure discovery. We, also, take them on
spur of the moment trips and well planned out weeks long vacations.

The train trips are some of their favorites because they have our total attention..us not
having to drive or navigate.

SAVE THE U.S. TRAIN SERVICE.

The Tikkis

[monmouth3]

6. My son has a beautiful, new car and doesn't want to put the miles on it. He boards the auto-train

in Sanford, Florida and gets off, I think, in the Trenton area, not sure about that. He loves their food, he sleeps wonderfully and loves the people that wait on him "hand and foot" (his words). He's an early riser and there's always someone right there with his coffee. They then have a great chat. He can't imagine traveling any other way...It's a little more costly but when you factor in the great food and his stop at a half-way decent motel, and the gas.... It's a win/win as far as he's concerned.

[FLyellowdog]

7. Partied all the way to and from the Inauguration on Amtrak...

We three had a blast....Charlotte to DC round trip. It was my first long distance trip and I loved it!

I plan to do it again for Obama's third inauguration in 2016. (I can dream, can't I?)

[FarCenter]

8. Charlotte to DC is a route that almost breaks even

Service in North Carolina from Charlotte to Raleigh is one of the more profitable stretches.

Raleigh to Richmond, not so much. There is too much Norfolk Southern single track that is not maintained for passenger train speeds.

[annabanana]

9. Trains are the last remaining civilized way to travel if you're

not really really rich.