(The following story by Danielle Sanzone appeared on The Record website on October 28, 2009.)
RENSSELAER, N.Y. — The Amtrak passenger figures at the Albany-Rensselaer station were consistent with the national trend and decreased in 2009 but the station is still ranked as the 10th busiest in the country, officials said on Tuesday.
There were 362,555 passengers who boarded and another 361,358 who got off the trains at the area station, said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole.
While these are still strong numbers, he said, the total number of passengers is still 106,827 fewer than in 2008.
As in 2008 and 2007, the area train station was ranked as the 10th busiest in the country this year out of the 500 destinations Amtrak serves, officials said.
The overall ridership in New England was down, however, due to the recession and there was a national dip in numbers from last year, said Cole adding that 2009 had the second highest passenger numbers since Amtrak was established by Congress in 1971. Last year, with more than 28.7 million passengers, held the record and 2008 was the sixth consecutive year that passenger numbers increased for Amtrak.
“In a difficult year for the economy – particularly the travel industry – Amtrak ridership has remained strong albeit with some regional variation,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph H. Boardman. “In particular, reduced business travel along the Northeast Corridor prevented us from reaching the ridership we achieved last year.”
Nationwide, there were 27.2 million passengers in 2009, up 5.1 percent from two years ago, and the company made $1.6 billion in tickets.