Amtrak-Rider Increase LANSING, MICH. (AP) (wgvu) - The high cost of gas is pushing many
travelers between Michigan and Chicago to passenger trains.
The Detroit News reports that the numbers of riders on several
Amtrak train routes had risen between October and July.
Amtrak officials tell the newspaper that the number of people
riding Pontiac-Detroit-Ann Arbor-Jackson-Chicago lines was up 5.9
percent over that period. The Port Huron-East Lansing-Chicago line
has seen a 6.5 percent jump in riders, while the Grand Rapids-St.
Joseph-Chicago Pere Marquette line was up 7.2 percent.
The increases would have been greater if tickets, especially for
weekend trips, were not selling out.
A Michigan Department of Transportation official says the price
of gas is the strongest single reason for the increases.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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