AP: Amtrak Expects to Break Ridership Records This Year

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Amtrak expects record ridership          Amtrak officials say they'll believe they'll set ridership records in 2010.
Ridership was up 4.3 percent during the first half of fiscal 2010  with a record 13.6 million passengers. That's about 100,000 more than  the 13.5 million it had during the first half of fiscal 2008, when a  record 28.7 million passengers rode Amtrak trains between October and  March.
Joseph Boardman, president and chief executive of  the rail carrier, said an improving economy and high fuel prices were  both factors in ridership growth. Among Amtrak's growing segments are  its high-speed Acela Express service that runs along the Northeast  corridor. Long-distance routes between Chicago and New Orleans, and New  Orleans and Los Angeles also saw growth.
-- Associated Press