JPS1Hmm, it would appear that Amtrak is acting more like a customer driven - dare I say market based - carrier.
Possibly but there is still a small number of Amtrak Corridor trains that are not on yield management yet for ticket prices.......including Chicago-Milwaukee. There are other random inefficiencies as well costing them money.
In FY15 the Auto Train had an operating profit of $2.7 million or approximately 1.1 cents per passenger mile. This compares to an operating loss of $4.3 million in FY14.
Operating profit/loss is before allocation of depreciation, interest, and miscellaneous items.
This is the first time, as far as I know, that the Auto Train has had an operating profit while under Amtrak's management.
The number of Auto Train Passengers declined one per cent between 2014 and 2015, but the decline was offset by a 3.5 per cent increase in revenues.
The number of sleeping car passengers increased by 1.9 per cent, but the sleeping car revenues declined by .2 per cent.
The Auto Train offers business class seats. It would be nice to know what impact the business class seats are having on the passenger loads and ticket revenues.
The Coast Starlight is showing business class seats for a November 1st reservation between Oakland and LAX.
Hmm, it would appear that Amtrak is acting more like a customer driven - dare I say market based - carrier.
Rio Grande Valley, CFI,CFII
ACYAs far as I know, those studies never produced a plan that could be guaranteed cost effective.
Look for this to be re-evaluated as the traffic in the associated lanes drops below critical for a train this size, and as the average size and weight of personal vehicles continues to change.
I am of the opinion that regardless of how the autonomous-vehicle-combined-with-Uber-scheduling model pans out, the option to take a car packed with luggage on long round trips, especially to vacation destinations, remains highly attractive. There will likely be a high "political value" in perceived "energy efficiency" associated with charging BEVs to full capacity outside air-quality management districts, and that might be used to overcome some of the 'elitism' inherent in taking the whole multiton car along on the train with the passengers. It'll be interesting to see what combination and quality of food service, and 'sleeper service', this particular cohort of passengers turns out to find most desirable.
There might be a way to generate a public 'perceived value' for this service that is more positive than that for the 'ordinary' kinds of long-distance train as the taxpaying "public" thinks about them.
I'm aware of marketing studies being conducted in the 1990's. They mostly concentrated on the Chicago to California and Chicago to Arizona markets, as far as I know. I never saw the results of those studies, but I talked with people who were conducting them. As far as I know, those studies never produced a plan that could be guaranteed cost effective.
Tom
Interesting, just found this 2010 Chicago Tribune article on the Internet. Had no clue Amtrak even discussed Auto-Train expansion much less conducted research on it..........too bad Amtrak didn't make the research public or share with the states involved....
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-04-18/travel/ct-met-getting-around-0419-20100418_1_sanford-and-lorton-auto-train-longest-passenger-train
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