Amtrak says it carried a record 31.2 million passengers nationwide last year, and its biggest ridership boost was recorded on the Raleigh-to-Charlotte Piedmont run.

The state-subsidized Piedmont counted 162,657 riders and collected $3.1 million for their tickets in fiscal year 2012, which ended Sept. 30. That's an increase of 16.2 percent in riders from the previous year – the most growth on any Amtrak line – and a 23.2 percent increase in ticket revenues.  Traffic on the Carolinian, from New York to Charlotte, fell slightly to 306,419 riders.

The Piedmont and Carolinian make seven stops between Raleigh and Charlotte.  Piedmont passenger counts have increased since the schedule was doubled in 2010, with the introduction of a second daily round-trip run. The schedule was curtailed for two months in 2011 to allow for track improvements.