Amtrak passengers from the metropolitan planning area (MPA) are served through the Illinois Terminal station. Opened in 1999, the Illinois Terminal is a major transportation hub for the Champaign-Urbana area. On-time performance is one of the barriers to increased Amtrak ridership in the region despite a new, centrally located terminal. According to Amtrak’s 2018 Host Railroad Report Card, the Illini/Saluki and the City of New Orleans passenger routes arrive on-time 37 and 51 percent of the time, respectively. Amtrak attributes these frequent delays to the lack of Amtrak railroad track ownership and discretion of the host freight companies. More detailed information about on-time performance is located in Amtrak’s monthly host railroad reports.
In 2018, 153,470 passengers boarded or alighted an Amtrak train at Illinois Terminal, a decrease of 11.2 percent from 172,877 in 2015. Therefore, this performance measure receives a negative rating. The table below shows the change in Amtrak ridership since 2000.
Annual Amtrak Ridership in Illinois Terminal
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers | 76,236 | 68,625 | 62,186 | 73,306 | 78,115 | 82,591 | 92,750 | 136,326 | 151,359 | 138,044 | 142,406 | 171,419 | 172,246 | 189,940 | 179,009 | 172,877 | 162,050 | 158,951 | 153,470 |
Note: In FY14, Amtrak began counting actual lifted ridership for multi-ride tickets (due to eTicketing) rather than the estimated multi-ride ridership used previously. This change may have a small negative impact on the reported ridership for some stations beginning in October 2013 (FY14).
Amtrak Ridership PM Summary |
|
|---|---|
| Goal | The Champaign-Urbana area will address issues of equity as well as segregation in its diverse communities in the area of transportation. |
| Objective | Increase Amtrak ridership from Illinois Terminal by 5% by 2020. |
| Performance Measure | Percent change in Amtrak ridership |
| 2016 Rating | 
In 2016, 162,050 passengers used Amtrak from Illinois Terminal, a decrease of 6.3% from 2015. Negative Rating. |
| 2017 Rating |
In 2017, 158,951 passengers used Amtrak from Illinois Terminal, a decrease of 8.0% from 2015. Negative Rating. |
| 2018 Rating |
In 2018, 153,470 passengers used Amtrak from Illinois Terminal, a decrease of 11.2% from 2015. Negative Rating. |