» West of Albany Ridership Remains Strong...

June 16, 2009

Riderhsip on the Empire Corridor trains (including the Maple Leaf) that run west of Albany across Upstate NY remains very strong, with April 2009 passengers up 13.6% over April 2008.

Year-to-date for Amtrak’s FY09 budget year (October 2008 through April 2009), west of Albany ridership is up 4.6% over the prior year’s same period.

These gains are inspite of the overall very poor economic conditions and the significantly lower price of gasoline compared to last year. Vastly improved On-Time Performance for these trains is helping to draw riders to the rails.

Other New York State ridership stats are:

•The Ethan Allen Express, running between New York and Rutland, VT, was up 7.8% in April and 3.5% for the YTD period.

•The Adirondack, running between New York and Montreal, was up 8.0% in April, but has experienced an 6.0% drop for the YTD period.

•The Lake Shore Limited, running between New York/Boston and Chicago was up 1.6% in April and down a slight 0.1% for the YTD period.

•Trains running in the Hudson Valley between Albany and New York City, were down 4.6% in April and are down 9.4% overall for the seven month FY09 period. As these trains primarily attract weekday business travelers and government workers, they have been particularly hard-hit but the general business turndown in recent months.