(The following story by Kurt Erickson appeared on The Southern Illinoisan website on November 1.)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The nation’s passenger rail service is reporting robust gains again this year, with ridership on some Illinois Amtrak routes jumping by more than 40 percent over 2006.
Figures released by Amtrak Wednesday show that the number of riders on the route between Chicago and St. Louis rose 42 percent in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, while the number of riders on the Chicago-Carbondale corridor jumped 46 percent.
Officials attributed the boost to a number of factors, including high gas prices, road congestion and a $24 million subsidy from state taxpayers to add additional trains on those routes.
“These ridership gains indicate that when you make passenger train service more available and convenient, the public will flock to it,” said Milt Sees, director of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
In Southern Illinois, the success of additional trains has Amtrak looking to add more. About a year ago, Amtrak added one northbound train to Chicago from Carbondale and another returning south back to Carbondale.
“Even with the added service on these routes we are still reaching sellout conditions,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. “We’ll work with the state to see what can be done to either add capacity (of passengers) or frequency (of trains).”
Increases could be good news for places like Rockford, the Quad Cities and Peoria, where officials want Amtrak service.
A route to connect Rockford, Freeport and Dubuque, Iowa, with Chicago has been chosen, but Amtrak and the state are awaiting funding to help get it started.
Studies to bring Amtrak service to the Quad Cities and Peoria are under way and could be completed in December. IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey said the key to adding new routes within the state is the availability of money.
But, Claffey said, “I think the numbers show there is an interest and demand for service in Illinois.”
Magliari said the boost in ridership “certainly helps the cause” for cities working to get passenger rail service.
In all, Amtrak reported that nearly 3.6 million people used its stations in Illinois, including all trains at Chicago’s Union Station.
Along with gains on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor and the Chicago-Carbondale route, Amtrak said the Chicago-Galesburg-Quincy route gained 33 percent.
Statistics show that over the past three years, the growth has been significant, driven in part by a state-backed increase in the number of trains running on the routes.
On the Chicago-Carbondale corridor, which serves three universities, ridership has grown nearly 102 percent since September 2004. More than 27,300 riders used the station in Mattoon last year.
On the route between Chicago and St. Louis, the number of riders has risen by 92 percent since 2004. The station in Normal saw 151,376 riders last year.
Other stations and the number of riders last year include: Dwight, 7,387; Homewood, 27,389; Joliet, 34,749; Lincoln, 19,497; and Pontiac, 11,219.
“These results clearly demonstrate the significant pent-up demand for passenger rail service in Illinois and the Midwest,” said state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook.
The state this year is paying a total of $28 million to subsidize additional trains serving downstate.
Nationally, ridership in Fiscal Year 2007 increased to 25.8 million, marking the fifth straight year of gains and setting a record for the most passengers using Amtrak trains since Amtrak started operations in 1971.