Amtrak set an annual ridership record of almost 29 million passengers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and collected a record $1.74 billion in ticket revenue.
The record FY 2010 ridership followed FY 2009 passenger boardings of 27.2 million, which, at the time, was Amtrak's second-best year in the four decades since Amtrak took over intercity rail passenger operations from freight railroads.
Since FY 2000, Amtrak ridership is up nearly 37 percent.
"The strong performance is evidence that the demand for passenger rail service is rising and that more Americans are choosing Amtrak -- a greener and more convenient travel mode," said Amtrak in a press release.
"We thank every passenger for choosing Amtrak to meet their intercity travel needs," said President and CEO Joseph Boardman. "More and more people see passenger rail as a way to get to where they need to go, and when our front line employees put them first, it helps to bring passengers back for another trip."
Amtrak said ridership in fiscal year 2010 grew by 5.7 percent from 2009, or about 1.55 million passengers; and all Amtrak business lines experienced growth.
* Ridership on the Northeast Corridor was up 4.3 percent.
* Ridership on Amtrak long-distance trains was up 6.6 percent.
* Ridership on Amtraks state-supported and other short-distance routes was up 6.5 percent.
* Ticket revenue increased 9 percent, or more than $140 million.
Boardman said Amtrak's relationship with other customers such as states and commuter agencies are also crucial. "Just as we must earn the loyalty of the customers who ride our trains, we must work to build stronger ties to our state and commuter customers. Amtrak operates in an increasingly competitive environment."
He said that factors contributing to Amtraks FY 2010 success include:
* A moderately improved economic environment, allowing some recovery of business travel along the Northeast Corridor.
* The increased appeal and popularity of rail travel.
* Effective marketing campaigns.
* The introduction of Wi-Fi on the high-speed Acela Express trains.
* Sustained high gasoline prices.
* Continued difficulties with air travel and consumer dissatisfaction with air service.
On Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, Amtrak now enjoys a 65 percent share of the air-rail market between Washington and New York; and a 52 percent share of the air-rail market between New York and Boston.
Boardman said that to continue this long-term trend, Amtrak is pursuing numerous initiatives:
* Partnering with states to expand existing services and establish new routes.
* Buying 130 new single-level long-distance passenger cars to modernize its equipment fleet.
* Beginning the process to expand capacity along the Northeast Corridor to support growing demand.
* Promoting a vision for a world class next-generation high-speed rail service capable of achieving 220 mph.
Boardman said that pursuant to the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, Amtrak has completed the first of several comprehensive reviews of its long-distance trains exploring every aspect of operations from on-time performance to on-board services to identify opportunities for improvement. The initial group of reports analyzed the Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, California Zephyr, Cardinal and Capitol Limited.
Amtrak operates 300 passenger trains daily over 21,000 route miles and serving some 500 stations in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces.
