RICHMOND — Lynchburg’s honeymoon with Amtrak continued in November, producing enough riders on the new train that started in October to generate a profit in its second month of operation.
Virginia had planned to provide a $242,000 monthly subsidy to keep the train running. It won’t need any of that money for November.
The month’s results for the new train between Lynchburg and Washington were stronger than October’s ridership, according to Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
Danville also provided a remarkable upward spike in the DRPT report: a quadruple increase in passengers boarding Amtrak’s previously operating Crescent train.
Lynchburg is served by both the Crescent train and the new one, called the Northeast Regional, which leaves at 7:38 a.m. — later in the morning than the Crescent. The Northeast train returns from Washington earlier, at 8:36 p.m.
More than 2,000 people boarded the Crescent in Danville during November, the DRPT said. During the same month of 2008, just 452 people boarded in Danville.
Two factors probably contributed to Danville’s increase, said Meredith Richards, head of the Charlottesville rail advocacy group cvillerail.org.
Richards said ridership on the Crescent dropped in October after the new Lynchburg route was established, making more seats available on the Crescent for Danville passengers.
In addition, Amtrak extended the reduced fares it was offering for the Lynchburg train to people boarding the Crescent in Danville.
“Danville’s increase is a positive, although indirect, result of the new train,” Richards said.
The new Amtrak route had 9,915 riders in November. That was more than double the target of 4,200 riders, according to a report by Kevin Page, DRPT’s rail transportation chief. The train’s revenue for the month totaled just over $534,000. When the new service began, its monthly operating cost was projected at about $455,000.
October’s ridership was 97 percent above the Amtrak goal; November’s results topped the goal by 136 percent.
The train also recorded an 83.6 percent on-time performance in November, 20 percent better than Amtrak’s statewide average, Page’s report said.
Washington is the most popular destination for Northeast train riders, DRPT said, although they could ride it to Philadelphia and points north.
New York is a popular destination for riders who board the train in Charlottesville, according to the DRPT report.
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