Hoosier State Rail Line Ticket Sales Up 14%

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ticket sales have increased by 14 percent in the year since the Hoosier State passenger train from Indianapolis to Chicago changed ownership and management a year ago.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Wednesday is the first anniversary of the line's three-year partnership among Amtrak, Iowa Pacific Holdings, the Indiana Department of Transportation and cities along the route.

With the agreement, Iowa Pacific provides and maintains the train cars, Amtrak operates them, and the cities and the transportation department chip in on annual funding.

Iowa Pacific President Ed Ellis says the increase in ticket sales revenue comes despite a 12 percent decline in the number of passengers because of earlier uncertainty about the service's viability.

The recent rise in ticket sales includes a more than 65 percent increase in June from the prior year and 63 percent in July.