A Record Year For Amtrak
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Another impressive year for amtrak. Ridership is surging and plans are on track to meet the increasing demand. The train service had a record-breaking year with 31.3 million passengers, that's 400,000 more than what they saw last year.
A record revenue in ticket sales of $2.14 billion dollars, fueled by the growing ridership.
"We think there are a couple of reasons for that. One is we travel to more than 500 destinations and offer free wi-fi to more than 90 percent of our customers, which is 28 million customers," said Chelsea Kopta, Amtrak spokesperson.
This year saw 31.3 million passengers -- more than half were along the northeast corridor.
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"You don't even have to think about it. It's the easiest way to travel," said one Amtrak traveler.
A major transportation hub for Charm City, Baltimore Penn Station is Amtrak's 8th busiest station in the country.
More than $20 million has been invested in improvements over the past five years, with resources dedicated to maintaining the station for future generations.
"Without the trains, it would make it harder to get to the places you need to be," said one Penn Station train commuter.
Amtrak is looking ahead to stay on track for another successful year.
"It shows that we are doing something right and we are going to continue down that path to provide our customers with what they need to go where they need to go," said Kopta.
Amtrak is already busy developing a vision for the next generation high-speed rail service that has the potential to reduce trip time and offer more trains and improve station conditions.
This is the sixth straight year Amtrak has had more than 30 million passengers.
A new fleet of express trains are expected to be unveiled in 2020.
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