Amtrak traffic down – but last year was a record

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Ridership on Amtrak fell by more than a million passengers since last year. Now, we could turn around and blame the financial crisis, talk about a decline in travel and so on, but to be fair, 2008 was the best year in the railroad’s history for passenger traffic. Even with the decline, we’re talking about the second best year. So, let’s give a little credit where it’s due.

For the 12 months ending on September 30, 2009, 27.2 million passengers responded to the “all aboard!” cry, compared to 28.7 million for the previous 12 months (which happened to include that period where gasp prices surged). Ridership is up 5.1 percent from the 12 months ending on September 30, 2007, which is the only fair benchmark. From 2002 to 2007, passengers on Amtrak grew steadily (the number of them, that is), with a jump occurring in 2008.

Ticket revenue was $1.6 billion for the 12-month period ending in September. That’s down 7.8 percent from last year but up 5.3 percent from the 12-month period ending two years ago.

While the economy is cited for some of the decline in Amtrak travel, some of the shorter-distance routes – and even some of the longer rides – have seen increases. Travelers have been evaluating their alternatives, and many have give Amtrak a shot.

Weekend drive: A trip on the Reading and Northern

by Jamie Rhein on

These are the weekends of fall foliage train trips. Several states have them, and some more than one option. This Penn Rail video is a journey of the Reading and Northern. The sounds, sites and excitement of train travel are captured perfectly.

Along with showing up close footage of the train, even from the perspective of the track, the video highlights the towns through which the train passes. If you don’t have time to get to a fall foliage train, here’s one that’s coming to you. Here’s a link to other fall foliage trains in Pennsylvania.

Amtrak to become gun-friendly?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Thanks to a Senate vote on Wednesday, Amtrak is a step closer to becoming the nation’s gun-friendly travel alternative. The proposal was approved by a vote of 68 to 30 and would allow passengers to take firearms with them on trains – as long as they declare that they are doing so. The firearms also have to be unloaded and locked in a container.

Of course, Amtrak is, so to speak, being held at gunpoint on this bill. If it does not change its gun policy, the railroad would lose its $1.6 billion government subsidy, thanks to some wheeling and dealing by Mississippi’s Senator Roger Wicker.

The current policy, which prohibits travel with weapons, was implemented following the terror attacks on Madrid‘s passenger trains in 2004. Wicker cites the importance of second amendment rights in pushing for the change in policy.

Opponents of the bill say that it would be too costly to allow firearms on trains, particularly since Amtrak doesn’t have the security measures and equipment in place to manage the change. Putting it into place would be too expensive.

A House version of the bill, which passed, doesn’t include the gun measures, and the two proposals have yet to be reconciled.

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Amtrak Trails & Rails routes offer live commentary from park rangers

by Katie Hammel on

Train travel can be a real snooze-fest. I know I can only watch so many mountains/fields/trees/plains go by before the novelty starts to wear off and I’m headed to the bar car. Sure, the scenery is beautiful, but when you have no idea what you are looking at, it gets old quickly. Unless you are traveling on one of Amtrak’s Trails &Rails routes.

The program isn’t new – actually it’s been around for nearly a decade – but we’ve never heard of it. And it sounds pretty darn cool. On certain routes (of which there are currently 12), volunteers and rangers from the National Park Service board the train and provide a running commentary on the view. They’ll give you the scoop on important historical happenings, interesting anecdotes on the region, and let you know just what you are seeing flash by your window. They also give you advance notice on any upcoming photo ops along the way.

There’s no extra cost for routes that participate in the program. Just book your tickets as usual and check the route details to find out where and when the tour guides begin their presentations. Routes that offer the service run through states like New York, Mississippi, Illinois, California, Texas, Montana, and Washington, so no matter what corner of the country your train travels take you to, you can ride along with your own informative and entertaining tour guide.

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All aboard: Obama wants a national high-speed train network

by Jeffrey White on

President Obama is pushing for a new national network of high-speed trains as an answer to growing traffic congestion nationwide.

That sounds like good news for train fans out there — if it ever happens. I’ve been looking into trains from New York to Chicago recently and am surprised that the Lake Shore Limited still takes more than 18 hours to reach Union Station in C-Town.

Anyway, Obama’s plan singles out 10 “high-speed corridors,” according to CNN, including California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the Southeast, the Gulf Coast, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and New England.

Obama is also calling for improvements to one of the nation’s most-traveled rail corridors, the Boston-Washington line.

How will he pay for all this? Through both the recently passed $787 billion stimulus and a separate $5 billion investment over five years.

Obama envisions some trains traveling at top speeds of 150 mph.