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By Giselle Goodman August 15, 2008 09:34 AM

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Amtrak released figures yesterday that show an increase in ridership through July, including a boost in riders on the Downeaster train, which runs from Portland to Boston.

Overall, Amtrak reports that ridership was up 14 percent in July -- 2,750,278 riders, which marks the most passengers carried in any single month in Amtrak's 37-year history.

The Downeaster carried 48,438 of those passengers in July, which shows a 33.6 percent increase over the previous July.

"Increasing fuel prices, highway congestion, airline issues and environmental awareness continue to make intercity passenger rail extremely relevant and popular," Alex Kummant, president and CEO of Amtrak, said in a prepared statement. "Our record-setting ridership and ticket revenue in the month of July alone indicate we will end the year with approximately three million new passenger trip in FY09."