The Northeast saw a boost in train ridership during the World Cup, from Amtrak rides to and from Boston to the Commuter Rail to Foxborough.
The big picture: State and federal officials consider the ridership increase a win, but it remains to be seen whether these public transit systems actually profited from the international tournament.
State of rail: Amtrak saw a roughly 9% increase in ridership last month compared to June 2025, says Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesperson.
- The agency attributed much of that traffic to international soccer fans hopping from city to city during the FIFA tournament.
- Determining ridership increases for the Commuter Rail trains to Foxborough is trickier because the special train service only runs around major events at Gillette.
- The MBTA and Keolis Commuter Services did say that the World Cup trains set a new record.
What they’re saying: The World Cup traffic was a one-off, but Amtrak is banking on converting first-time domestic passengers into regulars after the tournament.
- “What we’re hoping is that the people who’ve not ridden us before … who’ve had a chance to ride us to these matches will come back and say that was a better way than I-95,” Magliari tells Axios.
Stunning stat: The Commuter Rail sold 10 times as many round-trip tickets for the World Cup matches as it did for the 2023 Army-Navy game, which held the last ridership record at 11,000…