Amtrak Cascades: 2019 Performance Data Report Table of Contents: Performance Dashboard – 2019 Overview – 2019 Amtrak Cascades Corridor • 10-Year Ridership with Historical References – 2010-2019 • 10-Year Ridership by Funding Partners – 2010-2019 • 10-Year Passenger Miles by Segment – 2010-2019 • 5-Year Monthly Ridership Comparison – 2015-2019 • 5-Year Monthly Ticket Revenue Comparison – 2015-2019 • Annual Ridership by Segment – 2019 • Annual Pets and Bicycles on board – 2016-2019 • Annual Station On-Offs – 2019 • Annual Ticket Revenue by City Pair – 2019 • Annual Ticket Revenue by Station – 2019
Washington-Supported Amtrak Cascades Service • 10-Year On-Time Performance – 2010-2019 • Total Operating Cost, Revenue & Farebox Recovery Rate – 2010-2019
WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division February 2020 Contact: [email protected] or 360-705-7900 Performance Dashboard – 2019 In 2019, Amtrak Cascades transported 829,000 riders with $33,243,000 in ticket revenue.
5-Year Monthly Ridership Comparison – 2015-2019 5-Year Monthly Ticket Revenue Comparison – 2015-2019 $4,000,000 100,000 2019: $33,243,000 Annual Revenue 2019: 829,000 Annual Ridership 2018: $31,266,000 Annual Revenue 2018: 802,000 Annual Ridership 2017: $29,608,000 Annual Revenue 90,000 $3,500,000 2017: 811,000 Annual Ridership 2016: $30,216,000 Annual Revenue 2016: 817,000 Annual Ridership 2015: $28,511,000 Annual Revenue 2015: 745,000 Annual Ridership 80,000 $3,000,000
70,000 $2,500,000
60,000 $2,000,000
50,000 $1,500,000
40,000 $1,000,000 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 10-Year On-Time Performance – 2010-2019 Total Operating Cost, Revenue & Farebox Recovery Rate – 2010-2019 Washington-supported trains only Washington-supported trains only
100% Total Operating Costs Goal = 88% Revenues 90% $60,000,000 Farebox Recovery 80.0% Goal = 80%
80% 77% 70.0% 74% 63.0% 72% 73% $50,000,000 72.0% 70% 70% 60.1% 67% 66.4% 57.5% 58.0% 70% 56.8% 60.0% 61.5% 59.8% 60% 58% $40,000,000 57.7% 50.0% 50% 50% 47% $30,000,000 40.0% 40% 30.0% 30% $20,000,000
20.0% 20% $10,000,000 10% 10.0% $35,927,000 $37,129,000 $39,455,000 $43,651,000 $51,356,000 $52,732,000 $53,150,000 $49,913,000 $57,302,000 $58,914,000 $25,868,000 $24,663,000 $24,284,000 $25,120,000 $29,777,000 $29,943,000 $31,952,000 $31,430,000 $33,057,000 $35,242,000 0% $- 0.0% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division Calendar Year 2 Overview – 2019
The Amtrak Cascades intercity passenger rail system is a In December 2017, an Amtrak Cascades train derailed during service funded by Washington State Department of its inaugural trip on a new route between Tacoma and Olympia. Transportation (WSDOT) and the Oregon Department of This led to an 18% drop in ridership during January 2018. Transportation (ODOT). As sponsors and good stewards of Support for the service quickly recovered in the following state funds, WSDOT is committed to monitoring and reporting months and continued to increase throughout 2019, with on Amtrak Cascades’ performance. annual ridership reaching a five-year high of 829,000 passengers. Moreover, ticket revenue reached a record high in This 2019 Annual Performance Data Report provides historical 2019, totaling more than $33.2 million. perspective trends in ridership, ticket revenue, passenger miles, on-time performance, and operating costs. It is designed On-time performance continues to challenge Amtrak Cascades to offer a quick reference for citizens, policymakers, and service, although the 4th quarter of 2019 showed a noticeable stakeholders interested in understanding how the state increase in reliability, at 71%. However, on-time performance is sponsored passenger rail program performs. still below the goal of 88% that was contractually negotiated with track-owner, BNSF, and operator, Amtrak. Amtrak and When assessing historical trends, note that on October 1, 2013, BNSF are actively working to improve on-time performance the federal government shifted responsibility for funding Amtrak through operational improvements including enhanced train Cascades services completely to the states, in accordance with dispatching procedures and more efficient loading and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. unloading of passengers at stations along the route. WSDOT and ODOT contract with Amtrak to operate the Amtrak Cascades service and it is now funded completely by ticket WSDOT plans to add two more daily round trips between revenue and state funds. As a result, the state of Washington Seattle and Portland in 2020 to meet the growing demand and incurred higher costs starting in FFY 2014. customer expectations of shorter travel times and increased reliability between the two cities. Between 2010 and 2017, WSDOT delivered critical federally funded infrastructure projects to enhance the Amtrak Cascades program. In the short-term, interruptions caused by these construction projects contributed to a drop in ridership in 2014 and 2015.
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 3 10-Year Ridership with Historical References – 2010-2019
Year Ridership Highlights Ridership increased over 3% and revenue increased 6% compared to 2018. On-time performance improved 2019 829,000* significantly over the course of 2019, rising from 45% in the first quarter to 71% in the last quarter. 2018 802,000 New Charger locomotives successfully complete first year of operations in the Pacific Northwest. All remaining federally-funded capital projects completed. 2017 811,000 WSDOT's Stay Back From The Tracks safety campaign launched. Point Defiance Bypass derailment in December. Ridership increased by approximately 10% over the previous year. 2016 817,000 Five of WSDOT's ARRA program construction projects completed, for a total of 14 of 20 projects completed. Pets on Trains program began in March. New Tukwila Station dedicated in February. 2015 745,000 20 years of Amtrak Cascades service commemorated at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia. 2014 781,000 ODOT added two trainsets to the Amtrak Cascades service: Mt. Bachelor and Mt. Jefferson. 2013 807,000 WSDOT and ODOT assumed all operations costs not covered by ticket revenues; federal assistance eliminated. 2012 836,000 Second phase of major upgrades to Seattle’s King Street Station began. WiFi service added to trains. 2011 848,000 Agreement reached with Canada to continue second train to Vancouver, British Columbia. Amtrak Cascades ahcieved highest ridership level to date. 2010 838,000 WSDOT awarded $800 million in federal funds for capital improvement projects.
2019 ridership data is preliminary and subject to change. Amtrak revised its ridership reporting methodology in October 2019, which resulted in minor data discrepancies. Ridership numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 4 10-Year Ridership by Funding Partners – 2010-2019
900,000 829,000 800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Oregon Amtrak Washington
Note: On October 1, 2013, the federal government shifted responsibility for funding Amtrak Cascades services completely to the states, in accordance with the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. WSDOT and ODOT contract with Amtrak to operate the Amtrak Cascades service and it is now funded completely by ticket revenue and state funds.
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 5 10-Year Passenger Miles* by Segment – 2010-2019
140,000,000 128.8 million
120,000,000
100,000,000
80,000,000
60,000,000
40,000,000
20,000,000
- 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Vancouver, B.C.-Seattle Segment Seattle-Portland Segment Portland-Eugene Segment
*Passenger miles are the person miles traveled by Amtrak Cascades passengers between their origins and destinations along the corridor.
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 6 5-Year Monthly Ridership Comparison – 2015-2019
100,000 2019: 829,000 Annual Ridership
2018: 802,000 Annual Ridership
90,000 2017: 811,000 Annual Ridership
2016: 817,000 Annual Ridership
2015: 745,000 Annual Ridership 80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 7 5-Year Monthly Ticket Revenue Comparison – 2015-2019
$4,000,000 2019: $33,243,000 Annual Revenue 2018: $31,266,000 Annual Revenue
$3,500,000 2017: $29,608,000 Annual Revenue 2016: $30,216,000 Annual Revenue 2015: $28,511,000 Annual Revenue
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 8 Annual Ridership by Segment – 2019
Total ridership for 2019 = 829,000
Insight into travel patterns can be gained by looking at where riders travel. The three segments of the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor are defined as between Eugene and Portland, between Portland and Seattle, and between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. Individual trains can operate within a segment or across segments. When a rider boards the train in one segment and gets off the train in another (for example, boards in Bellingham and gets off in Olympia), that rider is said to “cross segments” as depicted along the top of the graphic below. Ridership values do not include transfers. Understanding where riders travel is a useful way to see how the entire corridor operates as a unified system.
Riders that cross 61,000 40,000 segments
Vancouver, B.C. Seattle Portland Eugene
Riders within segments 194,000 461,000 63,000
These figures do not include nearly 10,000 passengers who changed their travel plans or were not able to be tracked by Amtrak.
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 9 Annual Pets and Bicycles on board – 2016-2019
Pets (Initiated March 7, 2016) Bicycles
2,000 10,000 1,885 1,800 9,000 8,658 7,982 1,600 8,000 1,505 7,298 7,013 1,400 7,000 1,246 1,200 6,000
1,000 5,000 813 800 4,000
600 3,000
400 2,000
200 1,000
0 0 2016 2017 2018 2019 2016 2017 2018 2019
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 10 Annual Station On-Offs* – 2019
*On-Offs are a measurement of how many passengers got on and off the train at each station. **Unidentified passengers either deferred their trip to another day or their tickets were not scanned by Amtrak. ***RailPlus are riders using regional transit passes called Orca Cards to travel on Amtrak Cascades trains between Seattle, Edmonds, and Everett. February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 11 Annual Ticket Revenue by City Pair – 2019 Revenue per City Pair and Percentage of Total Revenue
Vancouver, B.C./Portland $1,005,000 3%
Portland/Tacoma Portland/Tukwila $1,549,000 5% $794,000 2%
Seattle/Vancouver, WA $1,731,000 5%
All Other City Pairs $11,065,000 33%
Seattle/Vancouver, B.C. $6,635,000 20%
Seattle/Portland $10,465,000 32% Top six city pairs = $22,178,000 67% All city pairs = $33,243,000 Note: revenue numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 12 Annual Ticket* Revenue by Station – 2019
*A passenger ticket provides passage between two stations – the origin station and the destination station. Ticket revenue for each ticket is split equally between the origin and the destination stations. **Unidentified passengers either deferred their trip to another day or their tickets were not scanned by Amtrak. ***RailPlus are riders using regional transit passes called Orca Cards to travel on Amtrak Cascades trains between Seattle, Edmonds, and Everett. February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 13 10-Year On-Time Performance – 2010-2019 Washington-supported trains only 100% Goal = 88% 90% Goal = 80%
80% 77% 74% 72% 73% 70% 70% 70% 67%
60% 58%
50% 50% 47% 40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Per the Service Outcome Agreement between Amtrak, BNSF, and WSDOT that took affect in January 2018, the on-time performance goal was raised from 80% to 88%. Between 2010 and 2016, annual on-time performance was relatively stable and ranged between 67% and 77%. It dropped to 47% in 2017, and gradually bounced back to 58% percent in 2019. Note: error was corrected for OTP number in 3/2020. February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 14 Total Operating Cost, Revenue and Farebox Recovery Rate – 2010-2019, Washington-supported trains only
Total Operating Costs Revenues $60,000,000 Farebox Recovery 80.0%
63.0% 70.0% $50,000,000 72.0% 60.1% 66.4% 57.5% 58.0% 56.8% 60.0% 61.5% 59.8% $40,000,000 57.7% 50.0%
$30,000,000 40.0%
30.0% $20,000,000
20.0%
$10,000,000 10.0% $35,927,000 $37,129,000 $39,455,000 $43,651,000 $51,356,000 $52,732,000 $53,150,000 $49,913,000 $57,302,000 $58,914,000 $25,868,000 $24,663,000 $24,284,000 $25,120,000 $29,777,000 $29,943,000 $31,952,000 $31,430,000 $33,057,000 $35,242,000 $- 0.0% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Calendar Year
February 2020 WSDOT Rail, Freight, and Ports Division 15