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[quote user="Dakguy201"] How does one find any data regarding the Sunset's utilization?  If that is low, wouldn't it make more sense to put it out of its misery and add the equipment to LD routes that essentially run close to sold out, especially in sleeper?  Can you afford to do that and risk losing political support from those locations that are being dropped from service?Or is the opposite true -- the lack  of daily service and the poor on time performance is the essential problem, and if you were to fix those problems, plus perhaps a real connection at Phoenix, the need for the massive subsidy would be either be gone or reduced to a much more modest level?It seems to me that continuing with the current situation is the worst of the possible choices. Samantha's numeric data is usually very on target, and as it is we should just be buying each passenger an airline ticket for the trip.[/quote]Information regarding load percentages for Amtrak's trains can be found in the Monthly Operating Report.  They are posted on Amtrak's website.  The numbers usually require some restating and analysis.In FY 2007, the Sunset had an average load of 52.16 per cent per passenger mile.  A little more than half of the seats, on average, were occupied per mile over the 1,995 mile run from end point to end point.  It is possible that the train was sold out (100 per cent) for one or more segments (station to station), or it could have been sold out from end point to end point, but that is unlikely.  Moreover, it is probably 'sold out' rarely, i.e. around a few holidays and perhaps a few days during the peak vacation season.Some folks have opined that Amtrak needs to expand its capacities because its trains frequently are sold out.  However, ‘sold out' can be deceiving.  For example, the Sunset could be sold out leaving New Orleans or Los Angles.  But a significant number of the passengers may be off the train by the time it gets to Houston (9:13 p.m.) or Maricopa (10:07 p.m.).  By looking at the load percentages per passenger mile, it is clear that the Sunset is sold out for only a small number of its route segments.  In December 2006 I took the Empire Builder from Milwaukee to Portland, Oregon.  The train appeared to be sold out departing Milwaukee.  But most of the people had detrained by the time we got to Minneapolis/St. Paul.  West of the twin cities the load was very light.  And it remained relatively light all the way to Portland.  If the train is sold out, even on a consistent basis, why does Amtrak not add more cars?  Management must consider several variables.  How many additional people would ride the train if addition equipment was added?  And for how far would they go?  Is the excess demand a one off or is it frequent?  Does the excess demand show a clear and consistent pattern?  How much incremental revenue would be generated?  What is the incremental cost of adding capacity, i.e. operating, maintenance, and depreciation (capital)?  If only one or two more folks booked space on the train once in a while, adding another car would not be a good business decision.  The incremental revenue would not cover the incremental cost.  If Amtrak were run like a business, the long distance trains would be dropped.  As you point out, it would be cheaper to buy each passenger on the Sunset, with a few exceptions, an airline ticket as opposed to subsidizing their ride on the Sunset.  For example, if they flew from LAX to NO on Air Trans, they could get a business class seat for $547, which is less than half the Sunset subsidy.  A real business would spring for the airline tickets because it is a better decision.  But Amtrak is a political animal that bows to regional as well as national politics.  It will continue running the Sunset, as well as the other long distance trains, baring a cataclysmic event, and they will continue to rack up nearly 50 per cent of Amtrak's losses while generating less than 23 per cent of its revenues and carrying less than 15 per cent of its passengers.  That's politics!
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