(The following story by Bernard Harris appeared on the Lancaster New Era website on November 14.)
LANCASTER, Pa. — As the price of gas continues to climb, more people are taking the train.
Amtrak ridership from the Lancaster station rose 14 percent in the fiscal year that ended last month.
More than 420,500 people boarded trains at the station, at North Queen and McGovern streets.
The increase reflects a trend that is not only local but statewide as well.
Ten percent more passengers boarded trains at Lancaster in 2006 than the year before. And ridership has increased a staggering 62 percent from 2002, when just 260,586 people boarded trains here.
Last month, Amtrak reported that ridership on the Keystone Line, which operates between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and then on to New York, increased 20 percent.
The increase in passengers follows improvements Amtrak has made in the speed of its trains and in the frequency of service to Lancaster.
Amtrak has spent $145 million upgrading the corridor in recent years. The national passenger rail corporation replaced old wooden rail ties with concrete ties and welded its rails together.
The changes allowed Amtrak trains to reach higher speeds. With the all-electric service introduced last year, trains travel as much as 110 miles per hour.
The result was reduced travel times on the Keystone Line. Typical travel time between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and Harrisburg and New York City was cut between 15 and 45 minutes, Amtrak reported.
“Riders can now travel from Harrisburg to Philadelphia in 1 hour 35 minutes to an hour and 50 minutes, a time you are hard-pressed to duplicate traveling by car,” said state Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler in a prepared statement.
“With the rising trend in fuel prices and these improved operating times, we expect that ridership will continue to grow,” Biehler said.
The number of trains serving Lancaster was increased from 11 to 14 on weekdays. Eleven of those trains travel through to New York.
But despite improvements in service, ticket prices have not increased.
The one-way fare from Lancaster to Harrisburg is $6, and $14 from Lancaster to Philadelphia.
The Keystone service is subsidized by the state.
Transportation planners are hoping that within two years, train travelers will seen enhancements in the station facilities too.
Long-planned changes to Lancaster’s 78-year-old station are expected to begin by summer. Plans call for the addition of shops and restaurants, an expanded parking area, a separate waiting area for bus and rail passengers, upgrades to the heating and air conditioning systems and realignment of the station driveway to meet North Duke Street.
The price tag for those changes is expected to be about $12 million. Work is expected to be complete in 2010.
Along with an increase in ridership, Amtrak also saw an increase in revenue generated from the Lancaster station.
In the fiscal year that ended Oct. 1, Amtrak received $7.62 million in revenue from Lancaster. That was an increase of $1.23 million, or 19.3 percent over the previous fiscal year.
Overall, the ticket revenue on the Keystone line increased nearly 30 percent, to $20,582,838, Amtrak reported.