FY09 was a tough year for the economy. And it was an equally tough year for Amtrak, as shown by the preliminary key financial and performance data for the fiscal year. The numbers could change slightly after Amtrak's annual audit, but significant changes are unlikely.
Consolidated revenues in FY09 decreased 4.1%. Passenger related revenues decreased 7.3%, but commuter revenues increased 13.7%. Other revenues increased 7.1%, but state capital payments decreased .05%. The revenues decrease was attributed primarily to the economic recession and lower gasoline prices.
Consolidated expenses increased 2.9%. A 26.3% decrease in fuel, power, and utilities, as well as a 22% decrease in casualty and other claims expenses, were offset by increases in the other expense categories. The biggest increases were in train operations - 11.5%; facilities, communication, and office related - 10.8%; and depreciation - 12.8%.
The net loss ($1,264,355,000) from continuing operations before other income and expenses increased 20.7%. It was 11.6% greater than the corresponding FY08 loss.
Ticket revenues decreased 7.8%. The NEC decreased 11.5%, whilst the State Supported and Other Short Distance Corridor trains (SS&SD) and Long Distance trains (LD) shrank by 6.1% and .8%. In the NEC, Acela ticket revenues declined 12.5% compared to 10.4% for the regional trains, indicating that the recession had a greater impact on premium paying passengers than regular passengers.
The number of passengers - 27.2 million - decreased 5.4% from FY08. Passenger miles decreased 6.9%, but seat miles increased .85%. The average load factor decreased 2.7%. The system was less efficient in FY09 than FY08, although not greatly so.
The NEC carried 36.4% of Amtrak's passengers in FY09 compared to 37.9% in FY08. The SS&SD trains carried 47.8% vs. 47.5%, whilst the LD trains hoisted 15.4% vs. 14.5%.
Only the Acela trains covered their operating costs in FY09. They contributed $67.4 million towards depreciation, interest, and other charges. The NEC, which had an operating profit of $129.9 million in FY08, failed to cover its total operating costs by roughly $200,000. The operating loss for the SS&SD trains increased $11.6 million, but the loss for the long distance trains decreased by $14 million. The operating loss for the SS&SD trains was $217.3 million, whilst the loss for the long distance trains was $558.8 million.
The LD trains brought in 24.2% of the revenues but drove 38.7% of the costs before interest and depreciation. They accounted for 72% of Amtrak's operating loss compared to 209% in FY08. The FY09 LD numbers showed a significant improvement over FY08 because of the comparatively weaker financial performances by the NEC and SS&SD trains.
On a passenger per mile basis, the NEC trains broke even after rounding; the 11.8 cents earned by the Acela trains was offset by a 6.3 cents loss for the regional trains and 37.5 cent loss for special trains. In FY08 the NEC trains earned 7.3 cents per passenger mile. The SS&SD trains lost 13 cents compared to 11.6 cents in FY08, and the LD trains lost 21.5 cents compared to 22 cents.
None of the SS&SD trains covered their operating costs in FY09 compared to four that did so in FY08. None of the LD trains came close to covering their operating costs, but 10 of the trains reduced their loss per passenger mile. The California Zephyr and Sunset Limited showed the greatest reductions in their losses per passenger mile.
End point on-time performance for the system was 80.4% in FY09, up from 71.2% in FY08. The Acela trains were on time 87.2% compared to 84.5%, and the other NEC trains, including the Keystone service, were on-time 83.3% compared to 79.7%. The SS&SD trains were on-time 79.1% compared to 68.6%, whilst the LD trains were on-time 75.2% compared to 54.2%. The LD trains showed the greatest improvement in on-time performance, with the Texas Eagle showing an improvement of 57.3%, followed closely by the Sunset Limited at 52.1%.
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