Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
Passenger
»
2008: A Boom Year for U.S. Passenger Railroads

Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="HarveyK400"] <UL> <LI>Underpricing long distance service explains in part the 2-3x cost/revenue ratio and the drain on Amtrak service Sam rails at. </LI></UL> [/quote] To rail is to mock, probably from Old French reillier to growl, mutter; from Vulgar Latin *ragulare to bray; from Late Latin ragere to neigh.  My criticisms of long distance trains have been supported with verifiable financial data taken from Amtrak's public reports as well as other legitimate sources.  They are not railings. If Amtrak had been permitted to discontinue its long distance trains in FY 2008, it would have had an operating profit of $251.5 million.  Assuming 80 per cent of the interest and depreciation is chargeable to the NEC as well as State Supported and Other Short Distance Corridor Trains; it would have had a net operating loss of approximately $224 million before adjustments for reductions in infrastructure management, unallocated system charges, ancillary business revenues, and eliminations.  This compares to a system loss of more than $1 billion, excluding adjustments for the aforementioned items.  I just happen to believe that Amtrak, as well as all passenger rail systems that receive federal, state, or local subsidies, should be required to cover their variable operating costs. Amtrak has had more than 37 years to show that it can make long distance trains viable.  It has failed, and it or anyone else will continue to fail because they are not workable in light of discount airlines and efficient automobiles.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag