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A New Plan for the Wisconsin Trains
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<p>Amtrak's operating expenses (Total Cost of Operations) in FY09 were $3,507.3 million. It carried 27,167,014 passengers whilst recording 5,897,441,000 passenger miles and 11,909,350,000 seat miles. The operating cost was 59.47 cents per passenger mile and 29.45 cents per seat mile. Revenues covered approximately two thirds of the operating costs, leaving a revenue/cost gap of 19.6 cents per passenger mile and 9.7 cents per seat mile to be covered by federal and state subsidies. The subsidies are somewhat larger after accounting for interest and special charges. Total Cost of Operations is somewhat different than variable operating costs in that they include depreciation of capitalized items.</p> <p>These figures are for the system as a whole. The figures for select segments of the system are much better, especially before taking into consideration depreciation and interest. The problem comes in determing how much depreciation is charge to each route. Amtrak reports total depreciation as a cost of operations, which is correct, but it has not developed a workable methodology to assign depreciation and interest to each route. It says that it is working on it. As a result, the route results understate the cost to operate them.</p> <p>Most of the commercial airports in the United States were built by a municipal authority. And most were funded with tax free debt, which resulted in lower interest charges than would have been the case if they had been required to raise funds in the fully taxable capital markets. However, the interest spreads are not nearly as great as many people assume, depending on when the financing was arranged and the credit rating of the issuer. In addition, some of the airports have received federal support, either through the FAA Airport Improvement Program or the transfer of government owned facilities. </p> <p>The cost of the nation's airports is paid for by the users, i.e. commercial airlines, general aviation, military users, etc. These airports issued revenue bonds to cover their construction costs. They have to earn sufficient revenues to meet the mortgage covenants or default on them. The revenues consist of payments from the airlines, general aviation users, parking fees, vendor rentals, etc. It is not just the airlines that support the airports. </p> <p>Except for the nation's largest airports, e.g. DFW and Houston Intercontinental in Texas, the majority of flight operations are logged by general aviation and, in some instances, military operations, usually in the form of National Guard operations. At Dallas Love Field, for example, the airlines log approximately 35 per cent of operations. The remainder is recorded by general aviation. This per cent of operations is pretty close to those found at the state's other commercial airports.</p> <p>The airlines pay for their share of airport facilities with landing fees, hangar fees, gate fees, etc. They capture these costs through their fares or ticket taxes. These costs, for the most part, are shown in their Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Statement of Retained Earnings. They are period statements that show the results of operations. The Balance Sheet (Position Statement), which is a point in time glimpse of the financial status of the organization, shows the firms assets, liabilities, and shareholder's equity. Most financial analysts believe that the Cash Flow Statement is the most import financial statement for determining how well an organization is performing.</p> <p> </p>
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