Amtrak ridership down 10 percent during 2009

Amtrak ridership took a hit last year, with about 10 percent fewer passengers riding the Empire Builder through Montana in 2009.

The total number of passengers was 148,019 last year. That compares with 164,551 in 2008, according to the state Department of Transportation’s Rail, Transit and Planning Division.

Ridership had been steadily climbing over the last few years, going from 142,783 passengers in 2005 to 164,551 passengers last year. A decade ago, Amtrak ridership was 163,402 passengers in 1999.

Whitefish, the state’s busiest train stop, had the biggest drop in ridership last year, down 7,301 passengers from 2008’s 70,646 passengers.

All stops along the Montana route lost ridership.

In Havre, another of the state’s busiest stops, ridership went from 17,674 passengers in 2008 to 16,859 last year. Shelby ridership dropped from 18,494 to 16,351.

Browning is the least busy stop in Montana, with just 1,989 passengers using that station last year.