WASHINGTON – Amtrak 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,” Amtrak president David L. Gunn said. “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.
