» 2006 New York State Ridership And Revenues Up

November 1, 2006

Ridership Surge Continues…

Ridership and revenues on trains serving New York State were up significantly at the end of Amtrak’s 2006 Fiscal Year on September 30, 2006.

Trains running west of Albany posted impressive gains, with overall ridership up 9.3% over 2005 and revenues up 13.6%. Hudson Valley trains experienced a modest 1.1% ridership decrease from the prior year, but still recorded a 6.3% revenue increase.

Other New York State routes up included the state-sponsored Adirondack to Montreal, with ridership up 8.4% and revenues up 12.2% over FY 2005. The Ethan Allen Express to Rutland, VT, enjoyed a 14.4% ridership increase with revenues up an impressive 19.5%. The New York to Chicago Lake Shore Limited had a 3.4% ridership increase, with revenue jumping 8.9%.

Even with gas prices moderating, New York State ridership has remained strong. For October 2006, all routes posted ridership and revenue increases over the prior October. The Adirondack had a substantial 19.9% ridership increase, the Ethan Allan Express followed with a 15.0% increase, Hudson Valley trains gained 8.6%, West of Albany services moved ahead 3.8% and the Lake Shore Limited was up 1.0%. Revenue gains were topped by the Ethan Allen’s 17.9% gain, followed by Hudson Valley up 15.7%, the Adirondack up 13.3%, West of Albany up 6.6% and the Lake Shore up 9.8%

Ridership increases have marked solid gains for the vulnerable West of Albany trains for each of the past 15 months, with at 5% or greater improvements in 11 of the months.