Ridership on Amtrak's Missouri River Runner passenger trains between Kansas City and St. Louis has increased for the sixth straight year.
MoDOT says nearly 197,000 passengers rode the train in the fiscal year that ended June 30. That's an increase of roughly 5,000 riders from the previous year.
The increase means more revenue from tickets, which reduces the financial support required from the state. Ticket revenue was $5.4 million in the latest fiscal year, compared with $5 million the previous year.
Missouri transportation officials say better reliability likely accounts for the increased ridership. Trains were on-time 90 percent of the time.
