Ann Arbor Amtrak ridership is up 10%

[GP30M4216]

I wonder where to get the updated information for each station around Michigan for FY2006?

Ann Arbor Amtrak ridership is up 10%
from the Ann Arbor Business Review
Thursday, December 21, 2006

BY NATHAN BOMEY
nbomey@mbizreview.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amtrak's ridership to and from its Ann Arbor station increased nearly 10 percent this year, according to new figures provided to Business Review last week.

The increase in ridership reflected a statewide trend as Michigan was a catalyst in Amtrak's widely reported revenue growth.

Ann Arbor ridership increased about 9.95 percent from 127,705 in the 2005 fiscal year to 140,413 in the 2006 fiscal year, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. This year's increase follows a 17.7 percent increase in 2005.

Amtrak considers ridership equal to the number of people who travel to or from a station. Its fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

"The ridership on the trains through Ann Arbor has been going very well," Magliari said.

Ticket revenue on the Wolverine Service - Amtrak's route from Detroit to Ann Arbor to Chicago - increased 22.1 percent from about $11.75 million to about $14.35 million.

All three Amtrak routes in Michigan - including the Pere Marquette line from Grand Rapids to Chicago and the Blue Water line from Port Huron/East Lansing to Chicago - experienced ticket growth.

Magliari said Ann Arbor's growth was reflective of a broader trend of travelers shying away from long road trips due to fluctuating gas prices and concerns about air travel.

Therese Cody, an analyst for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said the dramatic increase in gas prices this summer likely had a positive impact on Amtrak's growth.

"I think that's a big reason," she said. "There's a threshold that I think gas prices have exceeded."

Ridership in Ann Arbor may have also benefited from massive road construction near Chicago on Interstate 94, Magliari said.

Cody concurred, saying back-ups on the Dan Ryan Expressway may have caused travelers to abandon the road for the rail.

"There is a lot of travel to Chicago," she said. "That may impact it somewhat." MDOT reports ridership figures somewhat differently than Amtrak.

MDOT reported that the number of riders in Ann Arbor increased 10.4 percent in 2006. MDOT's figures differ slightly because Amtrak uses a formula that accounts for the number of riders in Michigan whose destination is unknown.

MDOT only measures the number of people who departed or stopped at each station.

This year marked the highest level of ridership ever in Michigan for Amtrak.

Some 664,284 people used the three Michigan lines, according to Amtrak, generating revenues of $20.3 million and prompting the Michigan Department of Transportation to cut $900,000 in funding for the Pere Marquette and Blue Water lines.

The state does not subsidize the Wolverine service through Ann Arbor, however. In 2006, Amtrak's passenger ticket revenue increased 11 percent to $1.37 billion while ridership increased 1 percent to 24.3 million.

Magliari declined to comment on whether the continued increase in ticket sales in Ann Arbor would lend support to a long-proposed commuter rail route from Ann Arbor to Detroit.

Cody said news about the potential commuter route might have had a positive impact on sales this year, a trend that could influence discussions about the route.

But she emphasized that a prospective commuter route would have to be a financially sound decision.

"Everything always comes down to money and a [plan] like that costs a lot of money," she said. But increased talk about the route due to a surge in ticket sales "doesn't hurt" its chances, she added.


http://www.mlive.com/mbusinessreview/st ... 221_3.html

[TrainWatcher]

This maybe true. But, it still is a little nightmare for NS. NS really hates having to "dodge" the Wolverines. They block up a lot NS traffic east of Depot Town (Ypsilanti). Not to mention why can Michigan Services not get better Amtrak Service? We really need better locomotives than the NPCU's (cabbage) and those P42's. Also, not to mention cost... $67 to Chicago. Who wants to pay that when they can drive for cheaper????

[J T]

$67 to Chicago. Who wants to pay that when they can drive for cheaper????

Well, I wouldn't say it's cheaper enough to make THAT big of a difference. From the eastern side of the state, you can EASILY pay $30-50+ in gas alone to drive there and back. Then you've got parking, tolls, traffic jams, etc. For a few bucks more than what it might actually cost to drive, it's almost worth it to sit back and let someone else do the driving. The only downside is the time it takes to get there. It's certainly MUCH quicker by car.

For the daily visit, it might not seem as worth it to take the train. But for the overnight stay, it could be considering the cost of parking in Chicago overnight.

[trainjunkie47]

I hate to sound ignorant, but why would NS have traffic issues between Ypsilanti and Detroit when the entire stretch is double tracked? NS runs what, about 16 trains a day through there?

[TrainWatcher]

Junkie. If you have never been out in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area, the track is all single due to the Huron River. It is double tracked East of US-12 bridge into Ypsilanti and its single with passing sidings all along til' Kalamazoo.

[leo28150]

It's single track from CP Wayne Jct. to CP Mort (Greenfield Village), from CP Ypsi to CP Lake with it being considered a siding between there and CP Chelsea, from CP E. Jackson to CP Hill (west side of JXN), CP Albion to CP 99 is considered a siding, to CP Levitt with it being double to CP Barron. Somebody will have to help me with the date when Conrail single-tracked this line, but it sure wasn't because of a river running next to it, more likely account of the lack of trains on this line

As for ALL those NS freights, just how many do you think run between Ypsi and Townline? Since I've been qualifying on this section, I have yet to see where there could possibly be any kind of congestion, other than Wayne Jct. yard not being big enough to handle some of the trains that NS runs--which usually sit at Mort until they can be handled at Wayne.

[GP30M4216]

Railfan James - I just checked the Amtrak website for a single way Amtrak ticket at regular fare (no discounts) from Dearborn to Chicago, for a random date (February 21, 2007). I don't know what day of the week it is, but for 351, 353, and 355 the price is $27 for each one. That IS a bargain and cheaper than driving. It;s always cheaper to travel Amtrak the farther in advance you buy your tickets. And if you get them online, it's cheaper than going to a ticket window.

I understand why NS thinks the Amtraks can be a pain, but overall I think the Dearborn Dispatcher does a good job of keeping things flowing smoothly. They could just re-doubletrack the segment from Wayne diamond to CP-Mort - the singletracking of this segment is something I still don't quite understand. This is where the majority of the congestion would be, between Wayne and Detroit, except for places like Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Jackson, where it is already doubletrack. NS really does not run all that many trains on the Michigan Line - this is not an exhaustive list but these are the ones I can think of:

38J via Kalamazoo to Wayne
39J via Kalamazoo from Jackson
pair of triple crowns via Townline to/from Willow Run
pair of autoracks to/from Wayne via Townline
BJ01 - Jackson Local
B-16 Albion Local
Wayne local (B-44?)
B-57 Battle Creek local from Kalamazoo

I think there is room for improvement of service on the Michigan Line, but our current service is not BAD. Go back and research the service provided in Penn Central days. NPCUs and Genesis get the job done. I'm more concerned about the equipment shortage of not enough coaches to meet demand. I'm still surprised they don't put a fourth coach on the 350/355 consist, especailly one the weekends. That train is always full, especially on Sundays to Chicago.

The trip can be quicker by car, but with all the congestion around Chicago and the road work on the Dan Ryan, it might be pretty close. JT makes some good points. Besides, if you're on the train, you can patronize the cafe car and not have to stop for more McDonalds on the way!

The single tracking of this line took place in the early 90s at I remember it, as least that's when they did the part through Dearborn. In addition to what Leo listed, it is doubletrack through Battle Creek all the way to NS CP-Custer on the west side of BC, and then picks up again with the doubletrack from CP-Comstock (milepost 140) through Kalamazoo to CP-147, in Amtrak territory. It was singletracked to reduce maintenance costs on a line that did not have enough traffic to justify a heavy rail doubletrack main. It's too bad, however, because the lack of the doubletrack contributes to many of the delays of Amtraks on the Michigan Line.

[mkellerm]

I wonder where to get the updated information for each station around Michigan for FY2006?

The Michigan DOT has a great website with rail statistics going back to 1994; you can slice up the data in a lot of different ways. The url is http://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/railstats/

I'm more concerned about the equipment shortage of not enough coaches to meet demand. I'm still surprised they don't put a fourth coach on the 350/355 consist, especailly one the weekends. That train is always full, especially on Sundays to Chicago.

What are the standard consists on the other Michigan trains these days? I thought I saw 352 go through Chelsea tonight with five coaches and a cafe, but that might just be due to the holiday weekend (or my inability to count).

[GP30M4216]

Wolverine Corridor:
352/351 consist - 4 coaches + 1 cafe/business class normally, may have an additional coach Thurs-Mon
354/353 consist - 4 coaches + 1 cafe/business class normally, may have an additional coach Thurs-Mon
350/355 consist - 3 coaches + 1 cafe/business class. Rarely will they run with more coaches. Up until a year or two ago, they only had 2 coaches and the cafe (no business class either), even on weekends! 355 coming back west on a Sunday night would be almost full by Ann Arbor, and AA boardings would sometimes still be walkinh through the train with the conductors at Chelsea looking for a seat.

Blue Water - 364/365 - 3 coaches + 1 cafe/business class, rarely will they run with extra cars.

Pere Marquette 370/371 - 3 coaches, limited or no food service and no food car. During the winter, they will run with Superliners as the Horizons like to freeze up in the extreme cold. They can run with the Superliners because this train is not push pull, as the other four are.

Of course, holidays such as this time of year and Thanksgiving especially see lots of extra cars. I think both the 351/352 and 353/354 consists this Thanksgiving operated with 7 coaches and a cafe/business class car. Blue Water had 5 coaches + cafe/business and the PM had extra cars as well. Apparently, today's 350/355 had an extra coach for a total of 4, but that's just something I heard.

Thanks for the link to that MDOT information. I was not aware such information was available.

PS, Welcome aboard mkellerm!!

[leo28150]

Sorry Nate, you heard wrong

We had the usual 3 coach/ cafe car consist; what has been unusual for this train has been that there has been an engine on each end of the train instead of a NPCU and engine for the past couple of days, no idea why either.

[SD80MAC]

What suprises me is that the Pere Marquette doesn't have a 4 car consist as standard. Both times I've taken that train it was PACKED! I know during Spring break they add a baggage car and an extra coach or two. I also don't get why they just don't keep the Superliner's all year. It would free up the Horizons for the Wolverines, Bluewater, and other Amtraks that operate with Horizons. They seem to have more trouble coming up with Horizons than Superliners.

Railfan James, what else is there besides P42s and NCPU's? On the 370/371 we get the 8-32PHW's once in a while, and while they look sweet, they run like crap! The F59PHI's are out west and rarely venture farther east than Chicago. P42's are pretty much it, unless Amtrak gets some MP40s........

[TrainWatcher]

Yeah, I guess so... $27... thats a real bargain.