What percent of people travel by train in the US?

Long-distance train or commuter rail carried 11.8 per- cent of transit commuters, and 3.1 percent traveled by light rail, streetcar, or trolley. The least- used mode of public transit in 2019 was ferryboat, used by 1.0 percent of transit commuters, or around 77,000 people.



People Also Ask

The number of passengers who travel aboard Amtrak's railcars typically amount to over 30 million passengers per year. The number of passengers traveling aboard Amtrak's long-distance railcars usually exceeds four million passengers. Amtrak's railcar fleet comprises over 1,300 passenger cars.

MORE DETAILS

Travelling by train in the USA is an excellent way to see vast swathes of this vast country, especially if you're on a budget. While the USA's national rail operator Amtrak won't get you everywhere, it's pretty darn extensive, with thirty routes throughout travelling to over 500 destinations across 46 states.

MORE DETAILS

Most of Amtrak's 31 million passengers travel fewer than 400 miles (650 kilometers) one-way. Those travelers, according to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, probably wouldn't go by plane. Our primary [regional] competition is people driving their personal vehicles, writes Magliari via email.

MORE DETAILS

We have lots of passenger trains in the USA, the vast majority are commuter trains on the East Coast, and some around other major cities. If you mean long distance, cross country passenger trains then the answer is simple, the distance is too great, and there are far better options for travel than taking the train.

MORE DETAILS

There are many reasons for this. There is limited service between cities (Amtrak says it runs 300 trains with about 87,000 passengers per day), freight is often prioritized over passenger service in the U.S., and trains and facilities are often outdated.

MORE DETAILS

Airlines carry more travelers — United States carriers transported 777.9 million passengers on domestic flights in 2018 — but Amtrak is particularly strong in the Northeast Corridor between hubs such as New York City and Washington, D.C. Amtrak recently announced the launch of Acela Nonstop service between the two ...

MORE DETAILS

“Generally speaking, traveling by plane is faster and more convenient, but can be more expensive and stressful. On the other hand, traveling by train is usually cheaper and more comfortable, but can take much longer.”

MORE DETAILS

It is very true that when moving on flat ground in a straight line, trains on steel wheels and rails are the most efficient form of transportation. Rolling on steel rails reduces rolling resistance and traveling at slow speeds (compared to jet aircraft) reduced the force of air resistance.

MORE DETAILS

I'm a plus-size traveler who prefers to take trains instead of planes whenever possible. Boarding trains is much more seamless, with no airport pat-downs or super-narrow aisles. Amtrak seats also tend to be larger than most plane seats, meaning I don't have to purchase two.

MORE DETAILS

While not nearly as expensive, taking an Amtrak train across the US is also largely the domain of rail enthusiasts as it takes multiple days and costs significantly more than flying. In countries like Japan, South Korea and much of Europe, the opposite is true as the train is simply a way to travel larger distances.

MORE DETAILS

The numbers for high-speed rail can vary anywhere from 20 to 80 million per mile. The big reason why America is behind on high-speed rail is primarily money. We don't commit the dollars needed to build these systems, it's really as simple as that.

MORE DETAILS

How many people ride trains in the US per day? In fiscal year 2022, Amtrak served 22.9 million passengers and had $2.1 billion in revenue, with more than 17,100 employees as of fiscal year 2021. Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily.

MORE DETAILS

Texas tops the list with 208 million tons of rail freight received each year. The Lone Star State is crisscrossed by a large network of railroads, making it easy for goods to move in and out of the state.

MORE DETAILS

Plane travel is safest, reports Ian Savage, of the Dept. of Economics & Transportation Center at Norwestern University, in the Huff Post Live video clip above. Trains are three times more dangerous than flying but safer than traveling by car (which is 40 times more risky than flying), according to Savage.

MORE DETAILS

HOW SAFE ARE TRAINS? Trains are statistically much safer than driving. In 2020, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics recorded 40,867 total deaths from travel, including in planes, in cars on highways and on trains.

MORE DETAILS

Many of the lines don't make any money or are operated at a loss. To accommodate the money-losing routes, Amtrak uses profits from its popular lines, such as the Northeast Corridor. Since this is one of the most popular routes, Amtrak can charge higher prices and send those profits to other, less profitable lines.

MORE DETAILS

Why are flights often cheaper than train tickets? “There's an unfair taxing system which makes trains more expensive,” said Herwig Schuster, a transport campaigner at Greenpeace who authored the ticket prices report. “There are a lot of polluting subsidies on the airline side.”

MORE DETAILS

The “golden age” of rail travel in America was the period between 1900 and the late 1940's. During those years, most travel was done by train and some of it in luxury. After 1946, the airlines became a serious challenge to rail travel.

MORE DETAILS

There are many reasons for this. There is limited service between cities (Amtrak says it runs 300 trains with about 87,000 passengers per day), freight is often prioritized over passenger service in the U.S., and trains and facilities are often outdated.

MORE DETAILS