FREEPORT – Amtrak Downeaster service to Freeport is exceeding expectations through the first nine months of service.

In total, 11,979 passengers have used the extended line from Portland to Brunswick, according reconciled final counts from the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.

“They are exceeding expectations,” said Freeport Train Center Manager Ed Bonney. “The initial numbers were roughly 50 passengers a day for Freeport and Brunswick, but we are above that.”

The numbers reveal the busiest months were from April to July, with a record 2,007 people riding the train in May. Ridership levels were also strong last November and December, a fact Bonney attributes partly to the novelty of rail service, but also the convenience.

Additionally, the train center staff tracked 5,602 Freeport and train-related inquiries over the same period.

Who is riding the train?

“It’s really a mix,” said Bonney. “The other day we had a large group leaving Freeport to see the Ringling Brothers circus in Boston. We also have a number of people who use the train to commute to Boston. Obviously there are shoppers, too. It’s a good use of the service.”

According to the Associated Press, on Oct. 14, Amtrak said that ridership increased 3.5 percent on the Downeaster, which travels from Boston to Maine and includes stops in New Hampshire. Ticket revenue grew also 6 percent during the year, despite a series of weekend disruptions caused by construction and the Boston Marathon bombings during school vacation week.

The Vermonter service from St. Albans to Washington, D.C., also saw an increase in ridership and sales, with ridership going up 2.5 percent and sales going up just under 6 percent.

The Amtrak Downeaster began making two daily stops in Freeport last November, and was expected to bring additional tourism dollars to the region, according to Freeport tourism officials.

While the jury is still out on the full impact of passenger rail service in the retail mecca that is Freeport’s downtown, Janet Dutson, executive director of FreeportUSA, a group that markets Freeport as a tourist destination, has previously said she is encouraged.

In July, the Freeport Town Council voted 6-1 to enact railroad quiet zones for the town’s eight railroad crossings after complaints from residents and business owners about train whistle noise.

Nationwide, Amtrak carried a record 31.6 million passengers in fiscal year 2013.