America’s loneliest Amtrak stations in FY 2023

Listed below are the 15 loneliest Amtrak stations across the country based on their number of passengers for fiscal year 2023. Nearly all of the places listed are in rural areas. The largest city on the list is New Iberia, Louisiana with just over 27,000 residents in 2023. Indiana and West Virginia both have three stations on the list while Montana and Louisiana have two each.

Most striking about this data, is that nearly half (47 percent) of the loneliest stations are along one Amtrak corridor — the Cardinal, which is a scenic arcing rail route which runs between Chicago-Indy-Cincinnati-Charlottesville-Washington DC-New York City! Why this is beyond the line traveling through many rural areas in the Appalachian Mountains and it being rather circuitous compared to more direct Chicago to New York rail routes is unclear.

Somewhat surprising are the numbers from Dyer, Indiana as well as Browning and Essex, Montana. Dyer is a suburb of Chicago, while Browning and Essex are located close to Glacier National Park. From the data, it appears most visitors to Glacier utilize the East and West Park Stations instead of nearby towns.

One town whose numbers are currently low, but likely had much highest tallies in the past is Rensselaer, Indiana. The town is home to the reopened St. Josephs College and once home of the Chicago Bears Training Camp. St. Joseph College closed down between 2017 and 2021 and is still rebuilding its academic programs. Meanwhile the Chicago Bears held their training camp at St. Joseph’s College from 1944 to 1974.

As the popularity of rail travel increases, hopefully additional passengers will choose to ride Amtrak to/from these lonelier stations. Regardless, for some of these towns, the train is the only intercity passenger service they have. For example, none of the three towns in West Virginia have current bus service from Trailways or Greyhound, nor do Browning and Essex in Montana. The same is true for Connersville, Schriever, Wishram, and Arcadia. That accounts for 60 percent of the list. As a result, the Amtrak provides a vital link for residents and businesses of these communities.

Peace!

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1. Montgomery, West Virginia = 266 passengers

2. Alderson, West Virginia = 399 passengers

3. Thurmond, West Virginia = 466 passengers

4. Rensselaer, Indiana = 509 passengers

5. Connersville, Indiana = 528 passengers

6. Lordsburg, New Mexico = 688 passengers

7. South Shore, Kentucky = 870 passengers

8. Schriever, Louisiana = 912 passengers

9. Browning, Montana = 935 passengers

10. Dyer, Indiana = 989 passengers

11. Essex, Montana = 1,009 passengers

12. Wishram, Washington = 1,072 passengers

13. New Iberia, Louisiana = 1,078 passengers

14. Lamar, Colorado = 1,138 passengers

15. Arcadia, Missouri = 1,228 passengers

SOURCES:

• https://www.amtrak.com/state-fact-sheets
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Iberia,_Louisiana
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph%27s_College_(Indiana)
• https://www.amtrak.com/train-routes
• https://trailways.com/bus-station/
• https://www.greyhound.com/bus-stops