Train travel in America is making a comeback.

• Why it matters: Ridership fell hard during the pandemic. But it's coming back even stronger — as people choose trains for the views, the fares and the sustainability.

📈 By the numbers: Amtrak is heading toward an annual ridership record, The Wall Street Journal reports.

• The railroad company's ridership increased on all but two of its routes this fiscal year, compared with 2023.
• Other train companies, such as Florida's Brightline, are also seeing more traffic.

👀 Zoom in: Train tickets are typically cheaper than airline tickets, especially when purchased in advance.

• A train ride from L.A. to San Diego produced less than half the emissions, per passenger, of flying or driving, the N.Y. Times reports, citing a Transportation Department study.
• A trip from Boston to New York — an electrified route — generates one-fifth of the per-passenger emissions of flying or driving.

🚞 Amtrak's most popular routes include the high-traffic Acela and Northeast Regional, connecting Boston, New York, Philly, D.C. and beyond, as well as scenic rides through California and the Pacific Northwest.

• The Cascades route from Seattle to Vancouver has seen a 48% jump in ridership so far this fiscal year, The Journal notes.
• Pacific Surfliner service, covering the Southern California coast, jumped 34%.

✈️ Reality check: Train travel is still a small share of transportation compared with air travel.

• The Journal reports that over 2 million people pass through U.S. airports on a typical summer day. That's equivalent to the total number of riders going through Boston's South Station in a whole year.

What to watch: The 2021 infrastructure bill allotted $66 billion for rail funding. The bulk of that money will be used to expand service and add routes.

An Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train passes through San Clemente, Calif., in May.