Amtrak has revealed its highest passenger numbers since it started operating in 1971.
More than 25m travelers took train journeys between 1 October 2006 and 30 September 2007, the fifth straight year numbers have increased.
Amtrak now competes comfortably with airlines on its Washington DC-New York-Boston route. Its Acela Express completes Washington to New York in 2h45min, compared with the slower service, which takes around 3h30min.
”Acela is our fastest train and very popular with business travelers,” said an Amtrak spokeswoman.
”Washington to New York is our busiest route - it”s gone up 20% to 3.1m passengers ” due in part because it is so convenient. The station is right in the centre of Washington, and the train takes you right to middle of New York City.
”We don”t have the long lines that airports have, business travelers don”t have to arrive two hours early, and trains have conference tables and electrical outlets at every seat, so you can use laptops ” and of course you can talk on your cell phone.”
In a 2006 Gallup poll, American travelers said security, arrival times and queues were the major inconveniences of air travel.
President and CEO of Amtrak, Alex Kummant, said: ”Highway and airway congestion, volatile fuel prices, increasing environmental awareness and a need for transportation links between growing communities are some of the factors that make intercity passenger rail extremely relevant in today”s world.”
The popularity of the Acela Express service prompted an additional weekday run ” up to 16 a day - from July. The first train from Washington leaves 05:00, and the first southbound service leaves Boston at 05:15 and New York at 06:00. The last train from New York to Washington leaves 20:15.