Amtrak has not been able to report route cost data for at least the last six to nine months. It is transitioning to a new accounting system that will allow it to allocate depreciation and other non-cash expenses by routes or product segments.
Reporting ridership and revenue trends without reporting cost and bottom line numbers is presenting only half of the story. That revenues and ridership have been increasing is good news, but Amtrak needs to tell the whole story.
If the CFO and Chief Accountant of a private business had to tell the board that they had suspended a workable albeit incomplete product line accounting system without a replacement, they would probably be looking for a new job or working in the mailroom.