RALEIGH, N.C. – Amtrak officials said ridership is up 20 percent from this time last year. In North Carolina today, train stations celebrated National Train Day, offering information on scheduling and trip planning. And officials said they had a busier day than expected.

 

"My mother and I have never been on a train before," said Cindy Saunders.

 

For Cindy Saunders and her mom, National Train day was the perfect time to take a trip; half price tickets opened their eyes to a whole new method of travel.

 

"We're going to Florida next month and we're going to catch a plane in Charlotte and we already decided we're going to take the train to Charlotte," she said.

 

Gene Kirkland with North Carolina Train Hosts Association said the Saunders are not alone. He said more and more people are taking the train.

 

"You no longer have to fight the crowds at the airport. You no longer have to go through all the security checks. The gas prices are so high right now. We've been seeing ridership slowly climb over the years anyway,"

 

Gas prices alone are a reason many are boarding trains instead of getting behind the wheel, but passengers said there's more to it.

 

"It was relaxing, somebody else had to worry about the trip, and we won't have to pay the gas prices. And I think they're only going to get worse so we didn't want to do that," said Robert Johnson from Raleigh. He said he often takes the train while his co-workers fly to business meetings.

 

Kirkland said college kids take the train home, seniors take it to avoid driving on the highways and more and more business professionals are using it to commute.

 

"I have met one man who boards the train here in Raleigh and goes to Durham for work and comes back in the evening by rail," said Kirkland, "he just can't afford to drive anymore."

 

And he expects more stories like that.

 

"We're putting on cars that have power at the seats now so during the weekdays they plug their computers into the seats and go right to work, we see a lot of that," he said.

 

Kirkland says there's talk of adding more trains as demand increases.