(The following story by Mike Elswick appeared on the Longview News-Journal website on November 1, 2009.)
LONGVIEW, Texas — Robin Burns said a recent jaunt to Dallas on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle offered her a pleasant surprise.
“I was really shocked at the affordability,” said Burns, a Longview resident who was taking a trip to watch one of her grandson’s soccer games. She said her one-way ticket was $17.
Burns was traveling with her mother, Mary E. Lee of Hot Springs, Ark. Lee said she enjoys taking the train and has traveled between the nearest stop to her home in Malvern, Ark., to Longview several times.
“The only problem I have is in getting on the train — that first step is a big one,” Lee said.
Frankie Morris of Shreveport was among those boarding the train in Longview recently after taking Amtrak’s shuttle bus from Shreveport to Longview to make the rail connection.
“I just like to take the train when I travel,” Morris said. She was boarding in Longview with her sister, a first-time Amtrak passenger, to visit family.
Longview is the nearest Amtrak station for people living in the Shreveport area.
Airport shuttle connection
Griff Hubbard said the shuttle bus service used by Morris and others has been provided by Amtrak since 1996 with connections between Longview and both Shreveport and Houston. In the Shreveport area, a recent change in boarding location was made to the Shreveport Regional Airport.
“That means our passengers now have access to all the amenities of the airport, including restaurants, restrooms and rental car services,” Hubbard said. “With the Amtrak connection, the airport there is truly an intermodal transportation hub.”
The bus service to the Shreveport airport, which is for Amtrak passengers only, began in September, he said.
“That’s a big boost for passenger convenience,” Hubbard said.
Improved on-time performance
Ridership and revenue numbers for Amtrak’s Texas Eagle route are on the upswing, while late arrival times have been reduced drastically, Hubbard said.
He attributed the improvement in on-time performance to a recent agreement with Union Pacific whose rails the passenger service utilizes. That agreement allows Amtrak improved priority on the rails it shares with Union Pacific’s freight trains.
Hubbard, a member of the local revenue management team for the Texas Eagle route, said more people are taking the train both nationally and locally. The Texas Eagle route stops in Longview, Marshall and Mineola on its way north and south between Chicago and San Antonio.
“The Texas Eagle finished fiscal year 2009 (ending Sept. 30) up 3.6 percent in ridership and 1.1 percent in revenue,” Hubbard said. “Out of 15 long distance trains there were only three others up for the year.”
Out of about 520 Amtrak stations nationwide, the Longview station ranks No. 200 in revenue and ridership, he said.
“For some years now, Longview has been a $1 million-plus station for Amtrak in revenues,” Hubbard said. For September, the most recent month for which figures were available, the number of passengers on the Texas Eagle were up 4.5 percent from a year ago while revenues along the route were up 4 percent.