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Ridership up on Illinois Amtrak trains from Carbondale

BY KRISTEN CATES, THE SOUTHERN

Tuesday, February 20, 2007 6:56 AM CST

CARBONDALE - The trains from Chicago to Carbondale, the Saluki and the Illini, saw a 68 percent increase in travelers from November 2006 to January 2007 compared to November 2005 to January 2006, Amtrak officials say.

State officials are crediting an increase in passengers on Amtrak routes in Illinois with increased funding that the state provided last year.

The announcement came from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office Sunday that travel by train surged by as much as 69 percent on some routes.

In a press release, Blagojevich's office credits the General Assembly and the Illinois Department of Transportation for doubling Amtrakc funding to $24.2 million in 2007 in order to pay for additional service.

"These numbers demonstrate the demand for Amtrak in Illinois and tell us that we did the right thing when we doubled state support for passenger rail," Blagojevich stated in the press release.

The governor's office is touting this accomplishment in light of a proposed $400 million budget cut at the federal level for Amtrak.

Amtrak spokesperson Mark Magliari said the increase in passengers is because of departures that were added to the schedule.

"It's increased frequency," Magliari said.

Under the new service that started Oct. 30, a morning departure was added in Chicago, St. Louis and Carbondale, while new afternoon departures from Quincy, Chicago and St. Louis were also added.

In November, December and January more than 55,716 passengers traveled the rails between Carbondale and Chicago, compared to 33,112 during the same time frame the year before.

"We went from two round trips a day to three round trips a day, one being a morning departure," Magliari said. "That is much more customer friendly."

kristen.cates@thesouthern.com

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