Lynchburg Amtrak train exceeds goal in first six months

11:59 p.m.

By Lynchburg News & Advance

LYNCHBURG - The new Northeast Regional passenger train serving Lynchburg has met the ridership goals for its first year — and did it in only six months.

Amtrak’s goal, when it started Lynchburg’s second daily train in October, was to carry 51,000 passengers the first year. By the end of March, it already had topped that goal by 4,000 riders, according to Amtrak and the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

“The Northeast Regional has just livened things up around here immensely,” said Garland Harper, an Amtrak station agent.

“I didn’t know you could put over 200 people on a train in Lynchburg at one time,” said Harper, who’s been handling Amtrak duties in the city for 31 years.

Most of the people boarding in Lynchburg are headed north, Harper said.

Many of the passengers are retirement-age people visiting relatives in states where they used to live. Others are college students going home, he said.

The Northeast Regional serves Charlottesville and Northern Virginia, and also carries passengers to New York and Boston. It leaves Lynchburg at 7:38 a.m. on weekdays and returns at 8:36 pm.

“I’m curious to see what the summer will bring,” Harper said. “It’s usually the heaviest travel season.”

Ridership in March was almost 12,000 passengers on the Northeast Regional in Virginia, a number possibly enhanced by an 80 percent on-time performance in Lynchburg.

“Coming to work is a lot of fun now,” Harper said, comparing it to days when just one agent could take care of all Amtrak business during an overnight shift at the Kemper Street Station.

The route has generated $2.8 million in revenue, topping the goal of almost $2.6 million for the year, Amtrak officials said.

In Charlottesville alone, 8,700 people got on or off Amtrak trains in March. That was a 68 percent increase in riders compared to March of last year.

Lynchburg’s other daily train, the Crescent, continued doing well overall on its New York-to-New Orleans route, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero.

Although riders in Lynchburg have decreased for the Crescent’s 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. arrivals, ridership along its full distance is up 1 percent, Romero said.

Overall, Amtrak met its schedule just 52 percent of the time in March at Virginia stations, which include the Norfolk, Williamsburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg and Danville areas in addition to Northern Virginia. Still, ridership statewide increased by 28 percent, to almost 102,000 riders for the month.

------

4:53 p.m.

LYNCHBURG - Riding the rails from Lynchburg to Washington D.C. and beyond beats expectations so far.

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) says the latest ridership data for March shows the Lynchburg train exceeded the annual ridership goal of 51,000, with 55,025 passengers during the first six months of operation.

The train also beat on the money front, bringing in more than $2.8 million. The original goal was just under $2.6 million.

The DRPT says the number of riders increased from 8,585 in october of 2009, to 11,365 in March. The March total was also the highest monthly total of the first six months. The train has averaged 9,171 riders per month according to a DRPT news release.

"Today’s surplus in operating funds for the Lynchburg train will help fund operating shortfalls over the next three years of demonstration service,” said Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) Director Thelma Drake, in the release. “It’s important to remember that passenger rail ridership fluctuates, and we still have a long way to go before the end of the three-year period,” Drake added.

“The Lynchburg service is a great example of how Amtrak can work successfully with a state partner to meet a need for intrastate rail service,” said Jay McArthur, principal officer in Amtrak’s Policy & Development Department, in the release. “Our goal is to provide central Virginia with a transportation alternative, and we’re encouraged by the enthusiasm Virginians have shown during the first six months of operation,” McArthur added.

“The success of the new Amtrak route to Lynchburg proves that good things happen when you connect people to great destinations via rail,” said Alisa Bailey, president and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation in the release. “You step off the train right into the heart of central Virginia with a wealth of experiences that you and your family can discover and enjoy together,” Bailey added.