May 2011 up oveer may 2010. 2nd highest month ever only exceeded by July 2010. Probably would have been highest month ever except for the midwest cancellation. Expect June 2011 to be best ever month if not too many cancellations? Lynchburg still greatest increases
EDIT;
Blue Water and Lynchburg are best one train ridership for short haul over 15,000 for both. Wonder what woould be carried on these rooute if real service could be implemented?
Those routes are the trend of where Amtrak should be going. Are there any plans to add more trains to provide real service?
I did my part!!! WSS WV to Fullerton Ca in April and back in May. I loved it all…even when police got on in Indiana!!! Shows the need for Amtrak…think if it served more people???
The Lynchburg service success shouldn’t have been much of a surprise - the Richmond and Newport News NE Corridor trains have long been popular and neither Lynchburg nor Charlottesville has good connections to the Northeast - if for no other reason than it is faster than driving - and with high gas prices, not really much more expensive to take the train than driiving on those routes, its a no brainer.
Virginia has got the message - passenger rail is definitely coming back to Norfolk and Roanoke - its only a question of how soon - there is even talk of having passenger rail to Bristol and an east-west train which will allow you to take a train from Richmond to Roanoke.
The single positive thing in this country that has shown growth for 19 months and we are going to shut it down,USA USA USA!!!
Oil prices fell into the 90’s at the end of the week, lowest since Feb. WIll have to see if Amtrak has been good enough to hold on to at least a third if not half of who’s been riding. Even if they don’t, some in energy are saying that the change from petroleum based energy sources is going to dissappear over the next few decades therefore urge us to plan for the future by providing passenger rail services (SERVICES NOT RUNNING TRAINS!). Status quo politico’s on both sides of the aisle have to turn their backs on lobbyists and start working for their constituants (not their voters but the people in the districts they represent).
When all is said and done, I would hope the House, composed of a bunch of newcomers who may well serve only one term, could not shut down Amtrak on its own.