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Ridership On Amtrak's Silver Star Increases By 11%

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2008

TAMPA - Amtrak ridership continues to increase nationwide and on the Silver Star through Tampa as travelers seek alternatives to paying costly gasoline prices.

Amtrak reported a record 28.7 million passengers nationwide in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, about 11 percent more than the previous year.

Ridership on the Silver Star, the daily northbound and southbound train between New York and Miami that serves Tampa, was at 367,139 passengers for all destinations, 11.5 percent higher than a year ago.

About 75,000 passengers used Amtrak at Tampa in 2007. More recent figures are not available.

Sample one-way coach fares for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving are $35 from Tampa to Miami and $113 from Tampa to New York, including taxes.

Amtrak also has fared uncharacteristically well in Congress and at the White House as more travelers take the trains.

Congress approved a five-year, $13 billion authorization for Amtrak on Oct. 1, which longtime Amtrak critic President Bush signed into law Oct. 16. The measure could nearly double Amtrak's direct annual subsidy, but will require annual appropriation votes by Congress.

Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was co-sponsor of the Amtrak funding bill, while his opponent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., opposed it.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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