Over the past three decades, Amtrak has operated without any profits and has been heavily dependent on federal subsidies for capital improvement and operational deficits. Despite recent efforts of Congress to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient, there is zero possibility for Amtrak to be a profit-making national rail service provider under the current organizational structure. In February 2005, President Bush sent to Congress his proposed budget for FY 2006. It provides no funding for Amtrak and it includes the plan to force Amtrak
into a bankruptcy. Recently, Amtrak’s management and Board developed a blueprint for a dramatic departure from business as usual and have already begun its implementation.
As a tax payer would you like your money been sent to a non-profitable railway construction?
Any opinions are welcome!
Passenger train operation is rarely profitable. The idea of Amtrak making a profit has been a fallacy from day one!
The current administratin views Amtrak has a waste. Yet, people in growing numbers are using Amtrak, including the long distance trains. A great example occurred recently where Amtrak could have really helped. Thousands of air travelers with cross country destinations were stranded in airports in Northern American cities. The news showed scores of people sleeping in airport terminals. Interestingly enough, while there were some delays, Amtrak trains continued to run thru the snow!
Do we want to invest in a balanced transportation network or not? Millions of dollars are being spent on the “Highway to Nowhere”. The 30 Billion that Secretary Mineta is whining about that has been spent on Amtrak since 1971 is a pitiful sum compared to the billions spent in a two year period between the FAA and the Highway administration.
…The “old” issue of Amtrak making a “profit” has been hashed back and forth to a pulp…The post above relates to some of the issues but we simply have to decide do we want this service or not…But at the same time we should be looking into some of the other subsidies as well…not just single out Amtrak. Moving people from one place to another seems to be difficult to earn a profit doing so…But what do you want us to do…go back to the stone age and everyone walk or use a canoe or horse…Someone has to pay to keep…and or make systems modern.
The major problem is that the federal government hasn’t written clear goals for Amtrak from the beginning. I believe the current buzzword for that is “Mission Statement.” It continues to be a political football, using the misinformed notion that ANY public transportation system is or can be profitable. With the continued lack of true leadership, we can only look forward to more of the same. The oft quoted figure that has been spent on Amtrak by the government since the start tries to make it sound like they are the only transportation system that gets tax subsidies. Highways aren’t completely supported by fuel taxes, air traffic control and airports aren’t completely supported by airline user fees, just to name two examples.
I challange ANYONE to demonstrate a national transit system ANYWHERE in the world that operates at a profit…
It doesnt exist, but it makes a good excuse for killing Amtrak.
I see the axe (or knive in the back) falling after the Nov elections. I suspect that the NEC and Amtrack California will survive, but long distance cross country travel will die. Then we will be one of the very few industrialised nations in the world without a national passenger rail system, Need an example of another industrialized country that eliminated its national passenger service?..just look south to Mexico.
Is it Amtrak will go back to privatilized?(I am not sure). Does anyone think that British way of handling the Railway system can be useful for Amtrak? I mean rail own by government, and locomotive and other carts own by private service providers?
Amtrak should and needs to be keep to keep our nation moving in the event of an Energy Crisis or a national emergency.
Euthanasia is long overdue.
Old Timer
O.K,
After “euthanizing” Amtrak…then what?
We let the states and local entities decide how much if any rail passenger service they need, and let them fund it.
Look - nobody makes money hauling people without providing a premium service for which they can extract the last nickel someone is willing to pay for it - a taxi company, for instance, which handles its passenger door to door - or without large gobs of government money. All the foreign passenger services that folks point to as being so wonderful get those gobs. In the US, we’ve decided that the gobs will go to the Interstate Highway System. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but that’s the way it is.
Let Amtrak go, and live without it.
Old Timer
Or keep it, and live with it! Two or three days’ worth of funding for the Iraq war would leave Amtrak funding sitting pretty for several years…or, say, 10% of the annual subsidy we give to airlines.
Congress has designed Amtrak to be a financial failure since the day they formed Amtrak.
There is no rail passenger operation in the WORLD that is financially self sufficient and profit making.
The Bush Administration, in the form of how they filled the Amtrak Board, fired the best effort to make Amtrak fiscally responsible when the fired David Gunn.
Does Amtrak have a future? Not if the Bush Administation can kill it in the next two years…and they are trying the best to pull that off.
With all of the foregoing…with the exception of the NEC, Amtrak is a warmed over version of a 1940’s product that speed wise is not competitive in the 21st Century. East of the Mississippi there is a desparate need for additonal transportation capacity. The airports and Air Traffic Control system have rebounded from the 9/11 effect and are operating beyond their designed capacity and have very little room left for expansion. The Interstate System, while not at it’s theoretical maximum capacity, has become a traffic clogged monmuntal pain in the a… to drive.
On trips of less than 1000 miles High Speed Passenger Rail is the only option left to economically increase overall transportation capacity between the Major Metropolitan area. Amtrak, as it is concieved today is not the vehicle to provide High Speed Passenger Rail. The bigger question, however, is does the government of the country have the vision to see the future needs of the country and off current observations this administration is having problems seeing forward to 1950…
Ah, the old argument . . .
“All this money wasted on X and not one nickel for batteries for my poor old Aunt Sophronie’s last vibrator . . .”
Old Timer
You can’t answer the “kill it or keep it” question until you define what it is that Amtrak’s supposed to do.
Amtrak has no mission statement that defines their job, so it’s not possible for anyone to measure success or failure except against our preconceived notions of why Amtrak exists.
…If it is ignored…as it is now by our leaders…it soon will be so antiquated that the opposition to dropping it will be at a minumum and they will finally have not much trouble getting rid of it…and without much political loss…Maybe that is their main plan now. “Batteries for…” What a comparison to Amtrak…!
One man’s pork is another’s “other white meat”…
Though I am not a huge supporter of AMtrak, I honestly think this country needs a national rail transport system. To force people to rely on airlines, which themselves have had trouble, would be insane, and not everyone can jump in their car and drive long distances. If they do eliminate Amtrak, they better have a plan for some form of nationwide rail service. Not that this administration cares…
Is there any new trains for Amtrak being built anywhere or are they sending
them elsewhere??? Dave Br
Last new equipment for Amtrak was the autoracks for the Auto Train built by a US frt car builder. Before that, it was the Acela train sets, an Americanized version of the French TGV and Bombardier tilting coaches, assembled in Vermont.
The rest of Amtrak’s equipment is 1970s vintage Amfleet and Horizon coaches and 1980s vintage Superliners and Viewliners - all very study stuff
Well, I think we need Amtrak in USA Both LD and Short D Trains, Where is 2 or 3 Cent Gas taxes that Congress back 1997 or 1998 was going to give Amtrak Funding every Year that would be good thing . That way Amtrak doesn’t have go to the Hill every year for Funding. Amtrak Northeast Corridor is Amtrak Black Holes Needs 30 Billion Dollars to get it into A Shape and Amtrak needs 1200 new Cars too.[2c]