Amtrak to offer discounts to bring passengers back

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Amtrak will begin offering passengers discounted rates through April in an attempt to lure riders back to its Missouri line.

Company spokesman Marc Magliari said a 50 percent discount on a second adult fare for each ticket purchased is intended to boost ridership after the biggest percentage decline in ridership of any short-distance route in the country.

The drop in passengers is blamed on track construction between Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis, which resulted in the use of tour buses for a part of the trip.

"There's a substantial number of people out there that once they're told it's going to be on a bus instead of a train, they're just like, 'Well, I'll just take some other mode of transportation,"' said Rod Massman of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Amtrak ridership was up 1.1 percent nationwide in the year ending Sept. 30, resulting in a record ticket revenue of $1.4 billion. But ridership between Kansas City and St. Louis dropped 12.8 percent.

Luring riders back to the train is an important issue for transportation officials, who plan to lobby in 2008 for a new route between Springfield and St. Louis.

"Obviously when you're proposing a new service, it's important how your present service is doing," Massman said.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com