U.S. Passenger Rail Ridership
This interactive feature presents data on all Amtrak routes in the United States which are drawn from the report "A New Alignment: American Passenger Rail in an Era of Fiscal Constraint." Locate and analyze each route on the map using the interactive table below. Hover or click on metro areas to bring up detailed passenger and station counts for each region.
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By the numbers
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Total passengers (boardings and alightings)
1997: 30,542
2012: 53,196
Percent change: +74.2%
Share of all Amtrak passengers, 2012
0.1%
Number of Amtrak stations
7
Route detail Filter routes and metro areas Short routes (< 400 miles) Long routes (> 400 miles) 10 busiest metro areas All other metro areas | Route name | Dist. (mi.) | Ridership (1997) | Ridership (2012) | Change
(%) | Cost
(mil.$) | Balance
(mil.$) |
| New Haven-Springfield | 62 | 0 | 384,834 | NA | 24.4 | -12.9 | | Hiawatha Service | 86 | 361,000 | 838,355 | +132.2% | 25.9 | -2.2 | | Downeaster | 111 | 0 | 541,757 | NA | 13.5 | -1.0 | | Capitol Corridor Service | 113 | 490,000 | 1,746,397 | +256.4% | 69.6 | -14.1 | | Empire Service (NYP-ALB) | 141 | 1,057,000 | 1,062,715 | +0.5% | 71.9 | -31.0 | | Piedmont | 173 | 43,000 | 162,657 | +278.3% | 7.1 | -1.9 | | Washington-Lynchburg | 173 | 0 | 184,907 | NA | 6.9 | 3.3 | | Pere Marquette | 176 | 65,172 | 109,321 | +67.7% | 6.8 | -0.8 | | Pacific Surfliner | 183 | 1,635,000 | 2,640,342 | +61.5% | 115.4 | -30.1 | | Washington-Newport News | 187 | 0 | 623,864 | NA | 31.3 | -0.5 | | Keystone Service | 195 | 442,000 | 1,420,392 | +221.4% | 47.0 | -8.2 | | Hoosier State | 196 | 0 | 36,669 | NA | 4.9 | -4.0 | | Heartland Flyer | 206 | 0 | 87,873 | NA | 8.7 | -2.7 | | Ethan Allen | 241 | 29,000 | 54,376 | +87.5% | 6.6 | -2.5 | | Chicago-Quincy (IL Zephyr/Carl Sandburg ) | 258 | 82,000 | 232,592 | +183.6% | 16.8 | -2.4 | | Cascades | 262 | 335,000 | 845,099 | +152.3% | 66.1 | -15.6 | | Kansas City-St. Louis | 283 | 156,000 | 195,885 | +25.6% | 14.1 | -0.3 | | Chicago-St. Louis | 284 | 256,000 | 597,519 | +133.4% | 32.4 | -4.1 | | San Joaquin Service | 303 | 688,000 | 1,144,616 | +66.4% | 77.9 | -6.8 | | Wolverine Service | 304 | 418,491 | 484,138 | +15.7% | 37.2 | -17.0 | | Acela Express | 308 | 0 | 3,395,354 | NA | 331.6 | 178.8 | | Chicago-Carbondale (Illini/Saluki ) | 309 | 89,000 | 325,255 | +265.5% | 20.6 | -4.4 | | Blue Water | 319 | 123,504 | 189,193 | +53.2% | 14.0 | -2.3 | | Northeast Regional | 330 | 7,041,000 | 8,014,175 | +13.8% | 477.3 | 28.0 | | Albany-Niagara Falls-Toronto | 347 | 0 | 407,729 | NA | 30.9 | -5.9 | | Adirondack | 381 | 99,000 | 131,869 | +33.2% | 13.3 | 1.3 | | Pennsylvanian | 444 | 160,000 | 212,006 | +32.5% | 16.8 | -7.4 | | Vermonter | 611 | 85,000 | 82,086 | -3.4% | 9.3 | -1.9 | | Carolinian | 704 | 231,000 | 306,419 | +32.6% | 21.9 | -1.1 | | Capitol Limited | 780 | 179,000 | 226,884 | +26.8% | 47.0 | -24.5 | | Palmetto | 829 | 188,000 | 198,260 | +5.5% | 34.0 | -16.5 | | Auto Train | 855 | 241,000 | 264,096 | +9.6% | 101.5 | -31.5 | | City of New Orleans | 934 | 174,000 | 253,170 | +45.5% | 41.6 | -22.8 | | Lake Shore Limited | 989 | 355,000 | 403,700 | +13.7% | 70.4 | -37.5 | | Cardinal | 1,147 | 80,000 | 116,373 | +45.5% | 26.4 | -18.6 | | Texas Eagle | 1,305 | 95,000 | 337,973 | +255.8% | 56.7 | -30.1 | | Coast Starlight | 1,377 | 497,000 | 454,443 | -8.6% | 98.1 | -53.8 | | Crescent | 1,377 | 247,000 | 304,266 | +23.2% | 77.1 | -44.8 | | Silver Meteor | 1,389 | 255,000 | 375,164 | +47.1% | 85.6 | -44.0 | | Silver Star | 1,521 | 270,000 | 425,794 | +57.7% | 86.9 | -50.7 | | Sunset Limited | 1,995 | 124,000 | 101,217 | -18.4% | 51.7 | -39.1 | | Empire Builder | 2,230 | 347,000 | 543,072 | +56.5% | 112.3 | -54.6 | | Southwest Chief | 2,265 | 257,000 | 355,316 | +38.3% | 114.5 | -66.5 | | California Zephyr | 2,438 | 292,000 | 376,459 | +28.9% | 112.5 | -62.6 |
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Notes:
Route cost includes fully allocated overhead, excluding depreciation and interest. A route's "balance" reflects the difference between its cost and the combination of revenue it generates and state funding it receives. Cost and balance values are for the year 2011, the most recent year of available fiscal data.
After Hurricane Katrina, service was discontinued on the route between New Orleans and Jacksonville; data for this route are not reflected in the figures presented within this interactive feature.
Route distance reflects the average distance traveled by all weekday trains on the route.
Interactive by Alec Friedhoff
brookings.edu |
