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Long distance routes: Which to continue, which to cut?

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[quote user="John WR"] Autotrain loses 14.9¢ per passenger mile.  Losses on all other trains are in the single digits, many in the low single digits except for the Lakeshore Limited which breaks even.  In can conceive of a case being made to cut Autotrain.    But I still regard Amtrak as a transportation system.  In any system some parts perform better than others but each contributes to the system as a whole.   My little toe is less important to my body than my right hand but I am not inclined to cut off my little toe.  I would look to strengthen the system rather than weaken it.    On the other hand, I can see arguing that we should abandon all long distance routes.   I hope that does not happen but I think that is more logical than piecemeal cuts.    As an aside, I notice the Crescent loses the second highest amount of money, 9.1¢ per passenger mile.  I think that strengthens Don's argument that the Crescent should run as two daily trains each of which ends in Atlanta.  [/quote] In FY12 the Lake Shore Limited lost $33.1 million or 16.2 cents per passenger mile before depreciation, interest and miscellaneous charges.  These charges probably added another $3 million to the net loss.  In FY11 the Lake Shore Limited lost $37.5 million or 18.5 cents per passenger mile before depreciation, interest and miscellaneous charges. The Auto Train lost 15.4 cents per passenger mile in FY12, up from 14.1 cents per passenger mile in FY11. The best performing long distance train in FY12, i.e. with the lowest financial loss per passenger mile, was the Palmetto at 13.3 cents.  The worst performer was the Sunset Limited at 49.9 cents per passenger mile.  Overall the long distance trains lost $600.9 million in FY12, up slightly from $597.7 million in FY11.  These numbers are before depreciation, interest, and miscellaneous charges.
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