Amtrak ridership continues to roll on
Amtrak announced it has carried 30 million passengers this year, a new record that represents a 44 percent increase since 2000. Ticket sales also increased 5 percent over last year.
More than half of Amtrak services set all-time records this year, including seven Amtrak routes that carried more than one million passengers.
“This proves that obviously there’s a demand,” said Andy Kunz, CEO of the High Speed Rail Association.
American travelers are turning to trains as an alternative to driving and the escalating hassles of air travel, says Fox News.
“The record results come amid growing discussion over high-speed trains in the US. The parties in favor of high speed rail claim the need is obvious and the benefits numerous, while those against it say rail is far too expensive and hard to justify in today’s tough economic environment,” said Fox.
High rates, pesty security and general customer dissatisfaction with airlines is apparently mounting, with air traffic failing in recent months, according to statistics from the International Air Transport Association. Air traffic in August was down almost three percent.
Amtrak’s results show that people “want and need a third form of transportation,” Kunz said.
Amtrak pointed to high gasoline prices, continued growth in high-speed rail business travel and effective marketing campaigns as reasons why it has been successful in the past few years.
“We were created by Congress to fulfill a vital national transportation need and to connect the nation in ways no other mode of transportation can,” said Amtrak Chairman Tom Carper.
Critics point out, however, that government-run Amtrak and its Acela Express still have their problems. Two of them involve meager profits and limited government funding. Amtrak also must share tracks with freight trains.
The High Speed Rail Association hopes to address some of these issues at its upcoming conference in New York City this November, where it plans to display the benefits of high speed rail to business owners and exemplify the potential profitability that can emerge from its adoption.
By David Wilkening
David
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