YOU MEAN THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSTITUTES WORKS? Amtrak ridership in Illinois tracks upward.

A record 955,529 passengers rode Amtrak trains that were financially supported by Illinois in fiscal 2006, an increase that officials attributed partly to soaring gasoline prices.

Amtrak posted an 11 percent increase in riders overall during the fiscal year on routes serving Chicago that are partially funded by the state, officials said Friday. It marked the second straight year of record ridership gains on the Amtrak routes.

It helps to provide additional services.

The Hiawatha trains operating between Chicago's Union Station and Milwaukee led the way with a 13 percent ridership increase. More than 569,000 passengers rode the line between July 2005 and June 2006, according to Amtrak. Hiawatha operations are supported by the Illinois and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation.

North Shore residents are sometimes able to get from their well-off suburban homes to the security screening at Mitchell Field, including parking and waiting for the train, in the time it takes them to drive to Mannheim Road near O'Hare. I'm going to have to look at Airport-Glenview ticket sales once data become available.

(I'm also a little behind on my train reporting, but there are some new tales to come.)