(Bloomberg News circulated the following article by Mario Parker on October 26.)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak, the U.S. passenger railroad, said ticket revenue rose 11 percent in fiscal 2006 as it gained 300,000 riders for the year.
Ticket revenue rose to $1.37 billion from $1.23 billion between October 2005 and September 2006, Amtrak said in a statement. Amtrak carried 24.3 million passengers for the year.
The railroad’s Acela Express, a high-speed express train that runs from Boston to Washington, contributed the most to ticket revenue, Amtrak said. Acela ticket sales rose 12 percent to $725.4 million in the Northeast region.
Acela Express is trying to recover from service outages that plagued the line last year. On-time performance improved more than 8 percent to 84.6 percent for the year, Amtrak said.
Last month, Amtrak President Alex Kummant told Congress that the railroad would need more funding if it’s going to run on time. The Senate has backed a plan to increase annual subsidies by 20 percent to $1.4 billion.
The railroad requires more than $1 billion a year from the government to operate.
“We’ve already submitted our request and we’re just waiting for the determination,” Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said in a telephone interview.
The increase in revenue in the Northeast may be due to more traffic and higher gas prices, she said.
Amtrak will be expanding service in the region on Oct. 30, Romero said.
“We’re expanding our service in Pennsylvania,” she said.
The line will increase to 14 trips daily from 11, with 10 of the trips going to New York, she said. Amtrak is also expanding service in Illinois, Romero said.