Amtrak Ridership On A Fast Track

TAMPA - Rising gasoline prices are encouraging travelers to turn to long-distance trains in Tampa and throughout the United States, say Amtrak officials, citing record growth in recent months.

Consider the numbers:

•Amtrak ridership in Tampa rose 23.3 percent to 74,984 in fiscal 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared with the previous year. It's grown 39 percent over two years.

•Ridership on the Silver Star, the only train that serves Tampa on its daily New York-Miami route, was up 10 percent between October and December.

•Nationally, Amtrak's ridership in fiscal 2007 posted its fifth consecutive record year, carrying 25.8 million passengers. If the federally operated railroad were an airline, that figure would make it the eighth-largest airline in ridership.

"The price of gasoline has an awful lot to do with it," said David Johnson, assistant director of the Washington-based National Association of Railroad Passengers. "Plus people are getting tired of air travel's inherent shenanigans, and are beginning to understand the environmental benefits of taking a train."

Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said the railroad expects growth to continue into the summer vacation period as travelers seek alternatives to driving and flying.

"Mind you, we don't take surveys of travelers about their perceptions of the price of gas, but anecdotally we hear about gas prices and security lines at airports," Romero said.

The prospects of higher gas prices could change both travelers' and elected officials' perceptions about the need for more financial support to add more trains, NARP's Johnson said.

"We think $4 a gallon gas will be a difficult pill to swallow mentally," he said. "At that point, it might encourage people to think about more intrastate service in Florida."

Johnson said it would not be necessary for Amtrak to introduce high-speed trains in Florida at first, but more frequency could enhance demand, which has been Amtrak's experience with additional trains in California and Illinois, Johnson said.

A delegation of Amtrak officials visited Tampa this month to pitch additional intrastate trains, and although local officials welcomed the concept, the issue of funding remains unresolved. Fourteen states contract with Amtrak to provide supplemental service, but Florida is not one of them.

Amtrak generated $2.15 billion in revenue in fiscal 2007 compared with $2.63 billion in expenses. Passenger rail supporters point out that no country in the world operates a passenger rail system without public support for capital costs and/or operating expenses.

Not all trains post losses. Amtrak's Northeast corridor trains between Washington and Boston posted a $288.2 million profit last year, but long-distance routes, such as the Florida service, operate at losses written into the federal budget.

Rail advocates in Congress point out that Amtrak serves many locales without airline service and is a more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly operation than air and ground transportation.

They cite that airline greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile are 2.25 to 3.25 times greater than Amtrak's, while Amtrak uses 21 percent less energy per passenger-mile than cars and 15 percent less than airlines, NARP stated.

In addition to catching the Silver Star in Tampa, passengers from Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Bradenton, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Lakeland can take an Amtrak bus to Orlando to meet the northbound and southbound Silver Meteor. That daily New York-Miami train bypasses Tampa and serves different North and South Carolina destinations than the Silver Star.

Amtrak also operates the Auto Train between Sanford and Washington suburb Lorton, Va., but that train carries only those passengers who book a vehicle at an extra charge.

Until Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, Amtrak operated Florida service from Orlando through Pensacola and the Panhandle to New Orleans and Los Angeles three times a week on the Sunset Limited. Amtrak, however, suspended service east of New Orleans after the hurricane ravaged the tracks and restoration of that service remains in limbo pending funding issues.

In other news regarding Amtrak's local scheduling:

•New Amtrak schedules reflecting daylight saving time will be issued April 4.

•CSX is performing work on its tracks that Amtrak uses, which will affect Tampa schedules through May 8, so passengers are advised to contact Amtrak for changes.

•The Silver Star will bypass Tampa and Lakeland from April 28 through May 1 and May 5 through May 8, and Train 92 will bypass Lakeland and Tampa. Passengers will be provided alternate transportation.