BUSINESS BRIEFING

The Columbian
01-01-1998
Northwest
Amtrak ridership up on I-5 corridor
Annual Amtrak ridership in the Pacific Northwest hit a record high of 488,000 passenger trips for 1997, a 15 percent increase from 1996.
The ridership figure has more than doubled since 1993, the year Amtrak began a partnership with Pacific Northwest states, said Bob Krebs, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman.
The daily train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., called the Mount Baker International, ranked first nationally in customer satisfaction, Krebs said.
The daily Portland-Seattle train, called the Mount Adams run, ranked third, and the daily Eugene-Seattle train, the Cascadia run, ranked sixth.
Oregon transportation officials estimate that Amtrak saved more than 43 million miles of driving, mostly along Interstate 5, and avoided the release of more than a 1,000 tons of pollution into the air.
The Pacific Northwest Amtrak corridor extends 466 miles from Eugene to Vancouver, B.C.
Microsoft buys Hotmail
Microsoft Corp. said today that it has acquired Hotmail, a Sunnyvale, Calif., company that provides a free, Web-based e-mail service.
Hotmail will become part of The Microsoft Network online service that is available free to Internet users. Terms of the purchase were not announced.
“Hotmail has been a Web-mail pioneer,” said Laura Jennings, vice president of The Microsoft Network. “It has built a strong following by offering a free, high-quality e-mail service that lets its members access a permanent e-mail address from any PC with an Internet connection.”
Boeing gives OK on new jumbo jet
Boeing’s board of directors has given its commercial airplane group the go-ahead to offer a new version of the 747-400 jumbo jet that could fly farther than conventional models.
The heavier new model is sought by Qantas of Australia because it would allow the airline to stretch several of its main routes. The model is known as the 747-400IGW (increased gross weight).

from The Columbian and wire services


Copyright 1997 The Columbian Publishing Co.