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[quote user="John WR"] But clearly many people do want to use Amtrak's  Auto Train.  It is one of Amtrack's more successful services. [/quote] To say that it is one of Amtrak's more successful services is to say that it is not winning the race to the bottom amongst the long distance trains. In FY12 the Auto Train lost $34.9 million before depreciation, interest, and adjustments. Its loss per passenger and seat mile was less than the long distance train averages (15.4 and 10.7 compared to 20.5 and 12.8), but that is like saying that it was not quite as ugly as the other contestants in the ugly ducklings pageant. In FY12 ridership on the Auto Train increased 1.6%, i.e. from 254,554 to 264,096, and revenues increased 5.7%, i.e. from $68.6 million to $72.5 million.  Ridership on the long distance trains increased 4.7% whilst long distance train revenues increased 7.2%.  Auto Train improved its operating ratio, but it trailed the long distance train averages by significant amounts. In terms of numbers of passengers, the Auto Train stood in the middle of the pack, helped in part by the fact that it beat out two trains that run only three days a week. One can make the case that the long distance trains meet a social need, although I don't buy it, and have long advocated getting rid of them so that train resources can be focused on short corridors.  The Auto Train is a vacation special. I see no social justification for the government hoisting a vacation train, especially for a country that is $16+ trillion in debt.
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