Below are fiscal year 2013 ridership data from AMTRAK for the 20 leading states. As can be seen, passenger rail is no longer just a Northeast Corridor phenomenon. All three states along the Pacific Coast placed in the Top 20; as did four states centered around the Chicago hub – Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Missouri; and several southern states – North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas.
Kudos to AMTRAK for these exciting and growing numbers. Hopefully, other states that are lagging can expand their participation and services to mimic the success shown on this list.
- California = 12,218,615
- New York = 11,641,043
- Illinois = 5,178,600
- Pennsylvania = 6,296,688
- District of Columbia = 5,033,392
- Massachusetts = 3,115,816
- Maryland = 2,004,985
- Connecticut = 1,757,210
- New Jersey = 1,649,552
- Virginia = 1,607,271
- Washington = 1,281,729
- Florida = 1,120,959
- North Carolina = 978,859
- Oregon = 937,197
- Wisconsin = 927,782
- Michigan = 908,878
- Rhode Island = 851,856
- Missouri = 774,009
- Delaware = 751,284
- Texas = 445,054
Above is a cool map depicting AMTRAK ridership patterns across the United States. And below are the leading city for ridership for each state served by AMTRAK in fiscal year 2013. The total passenger data varies greatly between these cities.
- Alabama – Birmingham: 48,759
- Arizona – Flagstaff: 40,390
- Arkansas – Little Rock: 22,251
- California – Los Angeles: 1,643,706
- Colorado – Denver: 108,124
- Connecticut – New Haven: 745,530
- Delaware – Wilmington: 738,313
- Florida – Sanford: 265,274
- Georgia – Atlanta: 99,005
- Idaho – Sandpoint: 9,196
- Illinois – Chicago: 3,522,388
- Indiana – Indianapolis: 36,162
- Iowa – Osceola: 14,799
- Kansas – Newton: 14,564
- Kentucky – Fulton: 4,588
- Louisiana – New Orleans: 212,426
- Maine – Portland: 190,353
- Maryland – Baltimore: 1,065.576
- Massachusetts – Boston: 1,434,148
- Michigan – Ann Arbor: 158,717
- Minnesota – St. Paul: 116,991
- Mississippi – Jackson: 48,327
- Missouri – St. Louis: 378,146
- Montana: Whitefish: 66,840
- Nebraska – Omaha: 24,410
- Nevada – Reno: 78,827
- New Hampshire – Exeter: 101,543
- New Jersey – Newark: 656,822
- New Mexico – Albuquerque: 78,126
- New York – New York City: 9,556,424
- North Carolina – Charlotte: 201,481
- North Dakota – Williston: 51,076
- Ohio – Toledo: 68,463
- Oklahoma – Oklahoma City: 54,952
- Oregon – Portland: 652,455
- Pennsylvania – Philadelphia: 4,125,503
- Rhode Island – Providence: 660,267
- South Carolina – Charleston: 82,147
- Tennessee – Memphis: 76,171
- Texas – Fort Worth: 129,389
- Utah – Salt Lake City: 43,903
- Vermont – Essex Junction: 20,579
- Virginia – Richmond: 372,592
- Washington – Seattle: 640,054
- West Virginia – Huntington: 11,180
- Wisconsin – Milwaukee: 617,153
SOURCE: AMTRAK