(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Mike Colias on August 24.)
CHICAGO — Each of the four state-funded Amtrak routes to and from Chicago served a record number of riders during Illinois’ most recent fiscal year, transportation officials announced Wednesday.
Amtrak’s Chicago-St. Louis, Chicago-Carbondale, Chicago-Quincy and Chicago-Milwaukee routes each posted sharp ridership growth for fiscal year 2005, which ended June 30.
Amtrak and Illinois Department of Transportation officials credited the record numbers to stronger marketing, improved service and higher gas prices, which likely prompted many would-be drivers to take the train.
Officials seized on the record numbers to bolster their case for federal Amtrak funding, which President Bush has proposed to eliminate in his fiscal 2006 budget.
“This is clear evidence that passenger rail is a portion of our transportation system we can’t do without,” IDOT Secretary Timothy Martin said in a statement Wednesday.
Ridership on the routes serving Milwaukee, Carbondale and St. Louis each grew 11 percent over fiscal 2004, to 494,075, 121,311 and 120,852 riders, respectively. The Chicago-Quincy line was up nearly 8 percent to 113,086 passengers.
The figures only include Amtrak service paid for by the state. IDOT pays $12 million a year in salaries, fuel costs and other expenses for Amtrak to operate those routes.
Amtrak also operates national train service along the same lines. For example, along with the daily train between Carbondale and Chicago, Amtrak also runs daily service from Chicago to New Orleans on the same route.
Ridership on the state-funded Amtrak routes peaked in 2000 before sagging for three years. It rebounded in fiscal 2004 before reaching new highs in 2005.
Congress is considering a funding plan for Amtrak that would trim operating subsidies by a total of $3.3 billion over six years. However, Amtrak would receive $4.9 billion over six years for capital improvements, while states would get another $1.4 billion to spend on intercity passenger rail service.