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Congress approves Amtrak funding by veto-proof margin

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[quote user="sanvtoman"]The other night on the tube a man called Glen Beck tore into Amtrak with a vengence. I only caught a portion of the show but he stated how Amtrak has never made a profit. He also said how it costs between 60 and 100$ per passenger for the government to fund Amtrak. I dont recall all the particulars but he went on a tangent.[/quote]For FY ended September 30, 2007, the average federal subsidy per Amtrak passenger was $40.68, if one considers only the subsidy required to cover the operating deficit.  If the state subsidies for state supported corridor trains, as well as the federal subsidy to cover capital outlays, are taken into consideration, the average subsidy was $53.48.  The subsidies differed between Amtrak's operational categories.  The average subsidy for the NEC was $33.56, whilst it was $16.84 for state and other corridor trains, and $134.79 for the long distance trains.  Based on a projection of the first six months of FY 2008 results, the average federal subsidy per Amtrak passenger will likely decline by the end of the year.  This is due to an increase in the number of passengers and revenue per passenger offset in part by higher fuel and maintenance costs, as well as an extraordinary charge for a labor settlement.
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