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The number of riders on the Sunset Limited, as well as the corresponding revenues, did indeed increase in the fiscal year ended September 2007.  The increases appear to be dramatic because the base was low.  The figures for riders and revenues are interesting.  Although I did not mention them, I did not ignore them.  But the key number is how much does it cost to provide the service and how well is the cost covered by the revenues, which is the best indicator of the social and economic benefit of the service. The number of riders on the Sunset increased significantly in 2007, but given the poor performance in 2006, it is hardly surprising.  It carried 63,336 riders in 2007, compared to 96,896 on the Cardinal and, interestingly, 68,246 on the Heartland Flyer.  It had the lowest number of riders of any of the long distance trains.The bottom line number for the Sunset, which is a key business indicator, improved in 2007.  Nevertheless, at the end of the year this train racked up the most red ink per passenger mile of any of the long distance trains.  It lost 48.5 cents per passenger mile before interest and depreciation compared to 57.2 cents per passenger mile in fiscal year 2006.  By comparison, the Cardinal, which is the next worst performing long distance train, lost 35.9 cents per passenger mile.As I pointed out, it is hard to see how the Sunset provides an important service to the communities it serves.  Fourteen of the 19 stops between Los Angles and New Orleans have commercial air service, i.e. trunk carrier or commuter air.  Four of the others are within a two hour drive of a city that has air carrier service.  Only Lordsburg is more than two hours from a commercial airport; it is about 2.5 hours from Tucson.  Moreover, all but one community - Sanderson, Texas - are served by an intercity bus company with two to four services a day. The avoidable cost or subsidy for a passenger traveling on the Sunset from one end point to another, at $.535 per mile, which includes an estimate for interest and depreciation, is $1,067.33.  The 14 day economy airfare from Los Angles to New Orleans on Southwest Airlines, for example, is $221.  Or if a person acts quickly, as of today, he or she can get a $99 Internet special fare.  If Amtrak were permitted to operate like a business, it would have dropped the Sunset, as well as most if not all of the other long distance trains, years ago.  Unfortunately, it is a political creature that must bow to the pressures of the politicians and a tiny percentage of the population who argue that America cannot live without long distance trains.
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