WASHINGTON (AP) -- Citing a slight dip in the number of its passengers the last year, Amtrak plans to cut coach fares as much as 25 percent on many of its routes nationwide in an effort to boost revenue.

"With this rollback in fares, we hope to not only stimulate interest in rail travel, but also to provide a draw for the travel industry as a whole," Barbara J. Richardson, Amtrak's vice president of marketing and sales, said Monday.

Ridership was down last year -- 23.4 million passengers traveled aboard Amtrak trains in fiscal year 2002 compared to 23.5 million the year before, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Van Veen.

"Everyone in the travel industry has experienced a decline," Van Veen said. "That's due to the economy, people losing jobs, which makes leisure travel something they aren't doing."

The Senate has voted to give Amtrak $1.2 billion for the current budget year, but the House Appropriations Committee approved only $762 million. With no resolution imminent, the railroad's board of directors approved a $3.4 billion budget that assumes the $1.2 billion in federal support.

Amtrak also launched its winter promotion on Monday, allowing companions to travel for free and a 25 percent discount for those traveling alone. The promotion may be combined with the new fare rollback.

The deals are available for sale January 7 through February 15 for travel January 10 through August 28.

The fare reduction is available for coach travel on most of Amtrak's long distance routes but does not apply to travel between cities in the Northeast corridor.

For example, the fare for those traveling between Seattle and St. Paul usually is $134. The new rollback fare is $101. The solo traveler fare is $75.75, and the free companion fare is $50.50 per person based on two passengers traveling together.

The fare from Washington to Chicago is normally $87, but with the special deal, the fare is $66; for the solo traveler it's $49.50 or $33 per person for the companion fare based on two passengers traveling together.

Long-distance trains are the top target of some lawmakers because they are among the system's biggest money-losers.

Amtrak President David Gunn has said that cutting the long-distance routes would save less money, less quickly than people imagine.