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Here's a list I found from Amtrak for its most populous stations last year:
Amtrak's Busiest Stations in 2005
(*Boarding and alightings) Station Passengers* 1. New York... 8.5 million 2. Philadelphia... 3.7 million 3. Washington... 3.7 million 4. Chicago ... 2.5 million 5. Los Angeles... 1.4 million 6. Newark, N.J... . 1.2 million 7. Baltimore... 980,000 8. Boston... 971,000 9. Sacramento, Calif... . 933,000 10. Trenton... 901,000 11. San Diego... 839,000 12. Wilmington... 779,000 13. Princeton Jct, N.J... . 765,000 14. Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y... . 734,000 15. New Haven, Conn... . 654,000 16. Seattle... 605,000 17. BWI Airport... 579,000 18. Irvine, Calif... . 565,000 19. Emeryville, Calif... 500,000 20. Providence, R.I... . 490,000
sojourner Member # 3134
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Interesting. I had heard Albany-Rensselaer was much higher up on the list.
Tanner929 Member # 3720
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Noticed that 12 od the top 29 stations are along the NE corridor where Amtrak has to compete with commuter lines which are often less expensive and yes more reliable and larger schedule. CT has looked into connecting its commuter lines with Providence RI and Springfield MA. Currently Amtrak acts as a "bridge" to these areas. In the NE Amtrak is used as an Express from one Metropolitian area to another i.e Boston to NYC or Philly to DC etc. Theoritically one could travel from New London CT to Newark Delaware via a commuter train if you include a short NY Subway trip (two trains Time Sq shuttle and the 1,2 or 3 train, but that would not want to be carring any luggage.
delvyrails Member # 4205
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This list came out of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As such, it represents the typical mindset, especially among the "opinion leaders", in my part of the country.
They couldn't imagine that any significant number of passengers would want to travel long distances, say Philadelphia to Galesburg or Galesburg to Philadelphia. They think of Amtrak as a glorified commuter railroad. So they think headcount.
What real matters to any transportation entity is not just how many board, but where and how far they ride. The important parameters, then, would be passenger miles from each station and total revenue from each station. These more relevant figures unfortunately are not divulged.
Wrong statistics are leading to wrong conclusions.
sojourner Member # 3134
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Revenue from stations can be misleading too, as long distance coach fares are rather low relative to shorter distance travel. And of course, WHEN a person books changes the fares--last minute bookings usually cost more, and there is generally more of that in the shorter distances.
Also, some routes are more heavily subsidized by states, with lower fares, than similar routes in other areas.
DeeCT Member # 3241
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At least 5 of these stations are transfer points. I wonder how this figures into the total count. If I go from Springfield, MA to Williams Junction, AZ. I board in SPG and alight in ALB. Then board in ALB and alight in CHI. Then board in CHI and alight in WMJ. That then would be counting 3 boardings and 3 alightings for 1 trip. I suspect this makes for an artificial boost in the head count.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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I have learned ion the past that is how the passenger count is made, Ms. Dee.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Philadelphia 30th Street is still the station with the MOST AMTRAK trains handled daily (PHL has several Keystone trains which do NOT go all the way to NYP, and also handles all NEC trains)
George Harris Member # 2077
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State support for the state supported trains is counted as income to Amtrak, making some of the short distance services look like they take in a lot more from fares than they actually do.
train lady Member # 3920
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Rich, maybe I am missing something but DC must have the same number of NEC trains plus the 2 to Chi and the various ones from the south so why does Philly have more? Also the west coast seems to have a large number of daily trains.
MDRR Member # 2992
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Trainlady, you are forgetting that the Keystone service that Rich mentions operate either PHL-HBG or NYP-PHL-HBG only. Also the frequency of this service is 6-8 trains daily in each direction.
MontanaJim Member # 2323
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yeah but add Marc, Virginia Railway trains and the DC metro (subway) to the train list, and I believe DC's union station (one block away from my office) is the busiest in the nation.
SubwayNut Member # 3948
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In terms of passenger volume (and commuter rail lines) the buissest rail station in the nation has got to be Penn Station. Its got almost all NEC trains (except the Keystone trains that terminate in Philly), plus the 13 Empire State trains (including Maple Leaf ect.). And we have both NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad both of which have full time (LIRR even has a few 3AM trips), 7 days a week service. (Most lines run hourly or better throughout the day).
There two subway stops at the station too.
Washington D.C. does have MARC and VRE, but both of those services are limited to the peak hours bascically only.
Sorry, I think New York has got to win.
MontanaJim Member # 2323
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In terms of passenger volume (and commuter rail lines) the buissest rail station in the nation has got to be Penn Station. Its got almost all NEC trains (except the Keystone trains that terminate in Philly), plus the 13 Empire State trains (including Maple Leaf ect.). And we have both NJ Transit and the Long Island Railroad both of which have full time (LIRR even has a few 3AM trips), 7 days a week service. (Most lines run hourly or better throughout the day).
There two subway stops at the station too.
Washington D.C. does have MARC and VRE, but both of those services are limited to the peak hours bascically only.
Sorry, I think New York has got to win.
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Yeah, you are right. Forgot about Penn. However, Penn Station is a sham of a train station. Too bad Amtrak doesnt operate out of Grand Central. Penn sucks, plain and simple.
notelvis Member # 3071
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quote:Originally posted by sojourner:
Also, some routes are more heavily subsidized by states, with lower fares, than similar routes in other areas.
IE: North Carolina's Piedmont and Carolinian between points south of Rocky Mount. Fares on these trains are very reasonable compared to trips of similar distances elsewher in the system.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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I was counting only the AMTRAK trains at Philadelphia. I've put together tables showing all AMTRAK service at each station in the system, and Philadelphia has the longest listing!
jp1822 Member # 2596
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The above list is of stations is only counting AMTRAK trains - or at least that is the way that I am interpreting it.
As for Philly - yes, you've got the Keystones, but you also have a heavy market for commuter traffic, or monthly pass riders who are commuting between Philly and New York, as well as Philly and Washington DC. Philly is uniquely placed on the corridor (south end at least).
One should see a big drop in ridership at Princeton Junction, now that the Clockers are no longer running. Only trains stopping here these days are the Keystones and Pennsylvanian. This was once a huge meca for Amtrak during rush hour, even to the extent that early Acela Express trains tried this as a stop. Amtrak Clockers were flooded with passengers at Princeton Junction - as it was a better ride than NJT! Should be interesting to see what 2006 numbers bring.
zephyr Member # 1651
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What about the bottom 20?
Anyone know what stations have the lowest passenger volumes?
Tanner929 Member # 3720
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New York's Pennsylvania Station does have the distinction of being America's bussiest Train Station. Amtrak is the smallest percentage of riders. The LIRR and NJ Transit are the commuter lines, won't include the subways. It was the Railroads blindness toward the glamour of the LD's and their demise was the reason for tearing down the origional station.
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