» New York State Ridership and Revenues Up For FY 2006

Higher Gas Prices, More Flexible Rail Fares and Increased Reliability Help Boost Ridership Across Upstate New York

As reported in Amtrak’s March 2006 Monthly Performance Report (PDF), ridership on Empire Corridor trains operating west of Albany is up 6.8% for the first six months of Amtrak’s FY06 budget year as compared to the same period in 2005. Overall ticket revenues for west of Albany trains is up 11.9% year-to-date. Three daily Empire Corridor trains serve cities across upstate New York, in addition to the New York to Chicago Lake Shore Limited.

Other increases ridership increases were noted on the New York - Rutland Ethan Allen Express, up 8.5% year-to-date; on the New York - Montreal Adirondack up 2.1% and on the New York – Chicago Lake Shore Limited up 18.1%. Overall ticket revenues were up 14.1% on the Ethan Allan; up 9.9% on the Adirondack and up 19.5% on the Lake Shore Limited.

Hudson Valley trains operating solely between New York and Albany showed a slight ridership decrease of 3.7% year-to-date, while revenue for these trains was up 4.5%.

Overall YTD ticket revenue for all New York State service trains is up $1,790,222 year-to-date, with the Lake Shore Limited showing an increase of $1,546,689

Year-to-date on time performance for Empire Corridor stands at 74.6%, an improvement of 4.0% over the prior year. March’s on time performance reached 78.5%, 4.6% over March 2005’s level.