CHICAGO — The ridership boost Amtrak’s high-speed Acela Express train got after the terrorist attacks appears to be holding.
According to records from Amtrak and airlines, the train appears to be competing neck-and-neck with the US Airways and Delta Air Lines shuttles, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Acela ridership stood at 96,037, or 218 passengers per train, in August, the month before the attacks. It rose to 201,176, or 340 per train, in October, according to Amtrak. The numbers dipped in the fall as the airlines came back, but they passed 200,000 again in February and last stood at 219,917, or about 300 per train.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics filings show Delta and US Airways reported 215,366 passenger boardings on the shuttle routes in December.