BWI Rail Station recent traffic????

Does anyone have any recent numbers for riders to and from BWI Rail Station for Amtrak?

dinky wrote:Does anyone have any recent numbers for riders to and from BWI Rail Station for Amtrak?

http://reservations.amtrak.com/pdf/fact ... LAND03.pdf

541,438 in FY03.

RMadisonWI wrote:

dinky wrote:Does anyone have any recent numbers for riders to and from BWI Rail Station for Amtrak?

http://reservations.amtrak.com/pdf/fact ... LAND03.pdf

541,438 in FY03.

Thank you very much! I would not have guessed that it was that close to Baltimore.

Is there a page with a directory listing for ...../pdf/factsheets/... ???

I just entered /index.html and got a page not found. Curious as to what other goodies they have available besides passenger figures.

I used the BWI station last Saturday (3 July '04). I took the 2:20 Regional (Train 194, due in to DC at 1:25 was over an hour laste) and arrived comfortably in about 20 minutes. Great ride! BWI has a small bus that transports passengers to the terminal in about 10 minutes. I'm not surprised that 500K+ people used it!

I wonder how many people use the intermodal function to the airport for flights (in or out) and how many use it for an easier location that WAS for BAL. I use it for times I go to Baltimore...have a cab take me to rental car pickup. Closest car rental to BAL Penn Stn is a handful of blocks and not in ideal territory. I guess you could always use the Enterprise pick you up deal....but many times I travel at night. I have used it a few times for flights when BWI provided better flight economics compared to airports closer to my locale....specifically Newark and Philly.

Actually, the BWI Amtrak station is a pretty good intermodal facility. The parking is decent, there is the shuttle to the main terminal where you can, if you choose to, use the BWI light rail "diversion" to get into Baltimore. It probably isn't as good as an access into DC, mostly because there are two closer stops ( New Carrollton and Union Station), though for air travellers in and out of DC, it can be the best of the three airports because it is less congested than National, and closer than Dulles, and the rail station provides a good way to get to BWI from DC.

It has been my general observation that the Amtrak passengers using BWI are doing so primarily to connect to or from flights at the airport, while the 'locals' who are commuting into Baltimore or Washington are riding MARC trains instead.

Of course, there is some cross-over. For example, many Baltimoreans and Washingtonians use MARC to travel to or from the airport (for connecting flights) instead of using Amtrak because MARC offers frequent, lower-cost departures.

That observation is probably correct, however I would note that for passengers in the western and southern Baltimore Suburbs ( Howard, Anne Arundel, Northern Prince Georges Counties and probably western Baltimore County), and maybe in the southern portion of Baltimore City itself, the BWI station is simply the most convenient Amtrak Station whether or not one is flying anywhere. I have used this station to take Amtrak to Phila. or New York as it is significantly easier ( from Columbia, MD) than trying to wrestle with Penn Station in Baltimore. As long as a reasonable number of Amtrak trains stop there, BWI is a very good alternative to Penn Station.

Southwest which has a business strategy of avoiding busy airports sure benefits from having Amtrak at this station. If an airline were to start service at a new airport to serve New York City via a simple rail connection while avoiding busy airports, what would the best choice be?

blockss wrote:Southwest which has a business strategy of avoiding busy airports sure benefits from having Amtrak at this station. If an airline were to start service at a new airport to serve New York City via a simple rail connection while avoiding busy airports, what would the best choice be?

I think that most of the Rail-Train connections between the NEC and Airports have already been explored ...check this link

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... f8a34e331a