DORGAN ANNOUNCES AMTRAK RIDERSHIP JUMPS 9.5 PERCENT IN NORTH DAKOTA, NOW TOTALS MORE THAN 131,000 PER YEAR
Thursday, October 16, 2008
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- More than 131,000 North Dakotans rode Amtrak’s Empire Builder rail line last year, a sharp jump in ridership that shows the importance of the service to residents of the nation’s rural areas, U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said Thursday.
North Dakotans logged a total of 131,006 trips on the Empire Builder in the 2008 fiscal year, a 9.5 percent increase over the previous year. Ridership increased at each of the state’s seven Amtrak stations. Dorgan said the numbers are new evidence of how important this train service is to our state.
“There are some in the Administration and Congress who would be content to shut down all of Amtrak’s long-distance lines and let the trains run up and down the eastern seaboard. But that makes no sense,” Dorgan said. “North Dakotans depend on the Empire Builder, and I’m going to keep fighting to strengthen Amtrak service.”
Earlier this month, Dorgan helped push legislation through the Senate that will give a boost to long-distance Amtrak routes like the Empire Builder. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Dorgan has also fought the Bush Administration’s repeated attempts to slash funding and shut down long-distance passenger rail service.
The rising numbers in North Dakota mirror a nationwide trend – nationally, Amtrak set an all-time record with a total of 28.7 million riders.
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