31.2M rode on Amtrak fiscal year 2012

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Amtrak said it carried a record 31.2 million passengers and set a record for U.S. ticket sales in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Ridership rose 3.5 percent in 2012 from the previous fiscal year, with revenue from ticket sales up 6.8 percent to a record $2.02 billion.

The number of passengers riding Amtrak has set records in nine of the past 10 years, the company said.

"Ridership will continue to grow because of key investments made by Amtrak and our federal and state partners to improve on-time performance, reliability, capacity and train speeds," said Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman.

Specifically, ridership rose 4.8 percent to 11.4 million in the busy Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak posted record numbers of passengers in 25 of 44 company service areas while achieving a system-wide on-time performance record of 83 percent, the highest level in 12 years, the company said.