Amtrak today announced that it is cutting coach fares as much as 25% on many of its routes nationwide in an effort to boost revenue. "With this rollback in fares, we hope to not only stimulate interest in rail travel, but also to provide a draw for the travel industry as a whole," said Barbara J. Richardson, Amtrak's vice president of marketing and sales. According to Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Van Veen, 23.4 million passengers traveled on Amtrak in 2002 compared to 23.5 million the year before. The fare rollback is available for coach travel on most of Amtrak's long distance routes but does not apply to travel between cities in the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak has also launched its Winter promotion, which allows companions to travel for free and a 25% discount for those traveling alone. The deals are available for sale Jan. 7 through Feb. 15, 2003 for travel Jan. 10 through Aug. 28, 2003. Under the new fare rollbacks, the fare for those traveling between Seattle and St. Paul, for example, usually $134 is now $101. The new fares are available online at www.amtrak.com