As gas prices continue to soar, trains get crowded

The East Lansing Amtrak station has seen more than a 15 percent increase in riders this summer, according to the station’s lead ticket clerk.

The station, 1240 Harrison Road, also brought in about $45,000 more this July than it did last year, the clerk, Mark Buckley, said. He said the increase is due to high gas and airplane ticket prices.

“I’ve had a big spike this summer, and Amtrak is really constrained because the train is sold out,” Buckley said. “There is a lack of equipment to sustain the demand of riders we’re having. I’m at a ceiling.”

He said that college students are a big part of the success of Amtrak in Michigan, as the college towns of Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor and East Lansing have three of the state’s most successful stations.

“College students are the future,” Buckley said. “In four years you’re going to be out of here, and if you learn to use the train in college you are going to use the train for life.”

The East Lansing station is a part of Amtrak’s Blue Water route, which leads to Chicago, its most popular destination, and other Michigan cities such as Flint and Port Huron. Destinations range in price, with Chicago being the most expensive at $44-112 round-trip. Durand is the least expensive, at $8-19 round-trip. The price of the trip for each city varies depending on the distance and how far in advance departure tickets are purchased.

Buckley said there was about a 5 percent increase in ticket prices on July 15, which would equal about $2-3 per ticket. The ticket prices were increased to pay for rising diesel fuel costs and labor settlements, he said.

Sarah Crockett, a studio art senior, said she has used the train to visit friends in Chicago and would recommend it to other college students.

“It was cheaper than driving, and that way you don’t have to worry about paying for parking and gas,” Crockett said.

Therese Cody, an analyst with the Michigan Department of Transportation, said that the state helps fund some of the operating costs of Amtrak’s routes because it provides a traveling option to the public.

The state will have given about $4.3 million to the Blue Water route by September.

Cody said more funding for Amtrak will help meet increasing rider demand.

“It’s a matter of whether Amtrak will get funding to allow them to (refurbish) more equipment, to purchase more equipment, and whether the state will have more money to assist them with that,” Cody said.

Published on Thursday, August 7, 2008