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Amtrak's fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th.  The Year to Date (YTD) numbers for March are significant because they give management six months of data that can be used to project the likely results for the year.  Equally important, the forecasts provide management with the picture necessary to adjust operations, where feasible, to manage better Amtrak for the remainder of the fiscal year.  Management is predicting FY09 total revenues will be down 3.35 per cent compared to  FY08.  The decline is driven by a decrease in ridership as a result of the slower economy and lower gas prices.  Interestingly, although ridership on the NEC is down 9.5 per cent and the state supported and other short distance corridors is off by 1 per cent, ridership on the long distance trains is up by 5.8 per cent.  Ticket revenue is down 9 per cent for the NEC, and 1.4 per cent for the state supported corridors, but it is up 7.6 per cent for the long distance trains. Total expenses are projected to be 3.1 per cent higher in FY09 than FY08, due primarily to adjustments to depreciation, which is a non-cash item, and other expenses. The FY09 net loss is expected to be 19.3 per cent higher than the FY08 loss.  Like most capital intensive companies with restrictive labor contracts, Amtrak is not able to shed costs quickly in an economic downturn, thereby realizing a greater loss than would otherwise be the case.  For the first six months of FY09 the NEC trains lost 1.2 cents per passenger mile compared to an operating profit of 6.6 cents in FY08.  The Acela earned 12.6 cents per passenger mile before interest and depreciation, down from 20.0 cents for the same period during FY08.  But the regional and special trains, with losses of 8.9 cents and 15.7 cents, wiped out the positive numbers for the Acela. The state supported trains lost 14.4 cents per passenger mile in FY09 compared to 13.4 cents in FY08.  The biggest dollar losses were racked up by the Keystone Service, Empire Service, and Pacific Surfliner, whilst the Springfield to New Haven, Keystone Service, Empire Service, Wolverines, and Hoosier State lost more than 20 cents per passenger mile.  Only the San Joaquin's, Washington-Newport News, Kansas City/St. Louis, and Non NEC Special Trains made a positive contribution after direct costs. The loss per passenger mile for the long distance trains decreased from 26.2 cents per passenger mile in FY08 to 25.7 cents in FY09, but the dollar loss increased from $294.8 million in FY08 to $303.5 million in FY09.  The long distance trains, which carried approximately 15 per cent of Amtrak's passengers during the first six months of FY09, accounted for approximately 71 per cent of Amtrak's operating loss before interest, depreciation, and miscellaneous charges.
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