News 14 Carolina's Jennifer Moxley has more on why more North Carolinians are chooosing to ride the train.
SALISBURY, N.C. -- As the price of fuel skyrockets, more people are traveling to North Carolina's major cities by train. Ridership on Amtrak is up as much as 40 percent on some routes compared to last year.
The state pays some of the expenses for trains that run from Raleigh to Charlotte and hit nine other cities along the way.
The train brought Heather White and her daughter from Cary to Salisbury.
“It was a lot more cost efficient this time around since we were only coming one way, also with gas prices,” White said.
For some, the train provides a faster and cheaper alternative to automobile travel.
One reason ridership is up, it costs $19 for the two to ride the train, and this time it was faster than driving.
“It makes it a lot easier, the little girl can get up and move around and, you know, walk around and everything and I could just stretch out and don't have to worry about traffic,” said White.
Salisbury hasn't seen a dramatic increase in ridership but along the routes of the Piedmont and the Carolinian, ridership is up across the board. So much so that Friday's train added an extra passenger car.
The Piedmont, which travels from Raleigh to Charlotte, had a 28 percent increase, and on the Carolinian, which travels from Charlotte to Raleigh and further north, ridership is up 41 percent.
May 10 is National Train Day. To celebrate, local train stations will have extended hours and information on hand so you can learn more about the North Carolina Train System.