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Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study

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across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all returning on Sundays. Among Monday, Tuesday, and<br />

Wednesday, <strong>the</strong>re appears to be very little difference between ridership on <strong>the</strong> two train runs.<br />

Table 3-4 reports <strong>the</strong> total ridership activity at Heartland Flyer stations for FFY 2007,<br />

2008, and 2009. Ridership activity at a given station consists <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> count <strong>of</strong> passengers<br />

boarding trains at <strong>the</strong> station plus <strong>the</strong> count <strong>of</strong> passengers alighting trains at <strong>the</strong> station. In<br />

FFY 2009, <strong>the</strong> busiest station for <strong>the</strong> Heartland Flyer was Fort Worth, with more than<br />

61,000 passengers boarding or alighting at <strong>the</strong> station. This is not surprising as Fort Worth is <strong>the</strong><br />

largest city served by <strong>the</strong> Heartland Flyer and also <strong>the</strong> point <strong>of</strong> connection to o<strong>the</strong>r services in<br />

<strong>the</strong> Amtrak nationwide passenger rail network. The busiest station in Oklahoma is Oklahoma<br />

City, with more than 48,400 passengers served in FFY 2009. Consistent with nationwide<br />

ridership trends, FFY 2009 ridership activity at Heartland Flyer stations were lower than FFY<br />

2008 except for in Ardmore, which increased 5.7 percent during FFY 2009.<br />

Table 3-4: Heartland Flyer Station Boardings and Alightings, FFY 2007-2009<br />

Station<br />

Ridership Percent Change<br />

FFY 2009 FFY 2008 FFY 2007 vs. FFY 2008 vs. FFY 2007<br />

Oklahoma City 48,434 55,015 43,293 -12.0 +11.9<br />

Norman 12,573 13,414 11,033 -6.3 +14.0<br />

Purcell 2,073 2,086 2,801 -0.6 -26.0<br />

Pauls Valley 5,393 5,942 6,357 -9.2 -15.2<br />

Ardmore 9,094 8,607 9,642 5.7 -5.7<br />

Gainesville 8,108 9,249 9,589 -12.3 -15.4<br />

Fort Worth 1 61,181 67,190 53,588 -8.9 +14.2<br />

1 Only activity attributed to <strong>the</strong> Heartland Flyer; total activity in Fort Worth also includes Texas Eagle<br />

Sources: Amtrak Government Affairs, Oklahoma and Texas State Fact Sheets<br />

Activity at Purcell, Pauls Valley, and Gainesville was lower in FFY 2008 as well as<br />

FFY 2007, suggesting a general downward trend <strong>of</strong> demand at those stations. Compared to<br />

FFY 2007, station activity at Oklahoma City, Norman, and Fort Worth increased in FFY 2009.<br />

Note that <strong>the</strong> station activity in Fort Worth reflects only Heartland Flyer passenger activity at <strong>the</strong><br />

station; station activity in Fort Worth can also be attributed to <strong>the</strong> Texas Eagle. Figures indicate<br />

that Heartland Flyer activity represents about 60 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total activity in Fort Worth.<br />

Among <strong>the</strong> 73,564 Heartland Flyer passengers in FFY 2009, Table 3-5 reports <strong>the</strong> five<br />

highest station-pairs by ridership. Collectively, <strong>the</strong> five city pairs reported in Table 3-5 represent<br />

more than 80 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> total demand. The city pair with <strong>the</strong> highest ridership, not<br />

66

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