Amtrak on Monday
reported annual ridership grew nearly 6 percent to more than 28.7 million
passengers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, a new annual record for the
rail operator.
Amtrak also reported
record ticket revenue of $1.74 billion, which grew 9 percent from fiscal year
2009. Among the trends driving ridership growth, Amtrak cited "sustained
high gasoline prices" and "consumer dissatisfaction with air
service."
Nowhere is the
shift from air to rail more evident, Amtrak said, than the Northeast Corridor,
where "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."