Empire Builder - Ridership and Revenue

Ridership and Revenue

In fiscal year 2007, the Empire Builder carried over a half million passengers, maintaining its status as the most popular long-distance train in Amtrak's national system. In fiscal 2008, ridership grew by 9.8% to 554,266, although that year was marked by especially high fuel prices, and the number of passengers declined by 7% to 515,444 in 2009. It generated over $54 million in revenue that year, trailing only the Acela Express, Northeast Regional, and Auto Train. In 2007 and 2008, it ranked third. About 65% of the cost of operating the train is covered by fare revenue, a rate among Amtrak's long-distance trains second only to the specialized East Coast Auto Train.

During fiscal year 2011, the Empire Builder carried nearly 470,000 passengers, a 12.1% decrease from FY2010. The Empire Builder remains the most popular long-distance train in the Amtrak system. The train had a total revenue of $53,773,711 in FY2011, a decrease of 8.1% from FY2010.