(The Associated Press circulated the following article on July 24.)
RALEIGH, N.C. — Amtrak’s Piedmont passenger train between Charlotte and Raleigh saw the second-highest amount of growth in ridership for the fiscal year ending June 30th.
Spokeswoman Tracy Connell says the Piedmont experienced a 22 percent gain in ridership.
The Piedmont leaves Raleigh for Charlotte in the morning and returns to Raleigh in the late afternoon.
Ahead of the Piedmont is Amtrak’s Downeaster, which provides four daily trips between Portland, Maine and Boston. The Downeaster finished its fiscal year with a 31 percent jump, and that occurred prior to problems with Boston’s Big Dig. Officials say the problems with that project have driven more people to park their cars and take the train to Boston.
Systemwide, Amtrak has had seen three years of record growth, but Connell says the overall increase in ridership has been in the single digits.