Alstom Amps up Amtrak: French engineering firm is building high-speed trains for US market.(United States)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Europe, March, 2002 by Beyerle, Shaazka

America is the land of big roads and wide-open spaces, where cars and planes reign supreme. Or do they? As fears of terrorist attacks linger, train travel has become more desirable in the US, particularly in heavily populated regions. "For routes under 400 miles, it is faster and simpler to take the train. That was the case before September 11 and after," said Karma Van Veen, an Amtrak spokesperson.

According to Van Veen, ridership on the Northeast corridor (Boston-New York-Washington) jumped 40 percent in October and November last year. The overall increase throughout the system was 15 percent. On September 10, slightly more than 4,500 people traveled on the Acela Express line. Two weeks later, bookings rose to 7,100.

In fact, passenger rail has been...

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