(The following appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on May 22.)
CHICAGO — Amtrak ridership on the three fastest-growing routes serving Illinois increased by an average of more than half in fiscal 2007, state lawmakers were told.
Ridership on the Chicago-to-St. Louis route increased by 55 percent, said Alex Kummant, Amtrak’s president and CEO.
Passenger levels increased 67 percent on the Chicago to Carbondale route, and ridership between Chicago and Quincy grew 41 percent, Kummant said.
The growth followed the addition of more trains, which was made possible through increased state funding.
But Amtrak’s on-time performance continued to lag, in part because of freight-train congestion.
On the Chicago-to-St. Louis corridor, trains arrived late about half of the time, Amtrak reported.