NC Trains are way up

[Phoebe Vet]

Paul:

In addition to the fuel cost, don't forget the 35% pay increase retroactive to January 2000.

[Paul Milenkovic]

For the first nine months of FY 2008 Amtrak's riders increased 10.97 per cent over the corresponding 2007 period. Ticket revenues increased 13.6 per cent, but the cost recovery ratio only increased by .001 per cent, which means the ticket revenues barely outpaced the increase in system operating costs. Cost is a key element in the accounting equation.

There is something strange going on here.  I don't see that Amtrak has put more cars into service or added more trains.  I would guess that the ridership increase translates directly into higher load factor, which on any other mode would be either pure profit, or in this case, operating subsidy reduction.

What has changed is that fuel has gotten much more expensive for everyone, and trains use their share of fuel and are not exempt.  But for a back-of-the-envelope calculation of fuel use, it seems to me that fuel would account for about half the 13.6 percent increase in total costs, whether recovered by fares or by subsidy.  Where is the remaining half of 13.6 percent coming from? 

What I am saying is that all things being equal, the costs are incurred in proportion to seat miles, and costs per passenger mile should decline in inverse relation to increased load factor.  What else besides fuel is more expensive for Amtrak?

[al-in-chgo]

Good heavens!  Is public transportation about to become cool?   -  a. s.

 

[Anonymous]

Reporting an increase in riders and revenues is only half the story.  It does not provide a complete picture.  Moreover, looking at just one month is not good analytics.  Most operating and financial managers look at trends over four, six, and twelve month periods.  A one month blip does not say much about long term trends. 

Amtrak has released preliminary figures.  The official figures will be released in a week or two with the monthly operating report, which is not yet available.  Audited figures will not be available until the end of the calendar year.  These figures are usually adjusted for a variety of factors.   

For the first nine months of FY 2008 Amtrak's riders increased 10.97 per cent over the corresponding 2007 period.  Ticket revenues increased 13.6 per cent, but the cost recovery ratio only increased by .001 per cent, which means the ticket revenues barely outpaced the increase in system operating costs.  Cost is a key element in the accounting equation.

Ridership on the Carolinian and Piedmont increased 18.7 and 27.5 per cent over 2007.  Ticket revenues on these two trains increased 23.3 and 24.5 per cent.  But they lost .7 cents and 12.7 cents per passenger mile before the allocation of other charges.  The Carolinian nearly broke even before the allocation of other charges.  It had a 13.2 per cent decrease in loss per passenger mile compared to 2007, whilst the Piedmont realized a 90 per cent increase in the cost per passenger mile.   

Ridership on the Crescent increased 11.7 per cent, whilst ticket revenues increased 11 per cent.  The loss per passenger mile increased to 27.6 cents per passenger mile before the allocation of other charges vs. 23.8 per cent in 2007.  This is an increase of approximately 16 per cent. 

The average load factor on the Carolinian was an impressive 71 per cent, whilst the load factors for the Piedmont and Crescent were approximately 43 and 50 per cent.     

[Phoebe Vet]

The train to the mountains is more of a wish list than a plan.  There WAS a plan, but it got transferred into the "someday" file for financial reasons.  They are, in fact, restoring some of the old former stations along the route, so there is hope.  There are similar "someday" plans for trains from Charlotte to Macon, GA and Raleigh to the beach.

[oltmannd]

We have the Amtrak Crescent, which comes through your fine City, and Two Trains run jointly by NCDOT and Amtrak.

The Piedmont which originates in Raleigh and comes to Charlotte and the Carolinian which originates in Charlotte and goes to NYC via Raleigh, Richmond and DC.

A 4th train, Joint NCDOT and Amtrak has been approved and the money appropriated, it will begin service sometime around the end of the year as soon as the rolling stock is overhauled.  That is in progress now.

Now if they will just get that Southeast corridor high speed project done........(Not that it's really high speed).

And, there's still interested in a train to Asheville, although that's a lower priority.

[Phoebe Vet]

We have the Amtrak Crescent, which comes through your fine City, and Two Trains run jointly by NCDOT and Amtrak.

The Piedmont which originates in Raleigh and comes to Charlotte and the Carolinian which originates in Charlotte and goes to NYC via Raleigh, Richmond and DC.

A 4th train, Joint NCDOT and Amtrak has been approved and the money appropriated, it will begin service sometime around the end of the year as soon as the rolling stock is overhauled.  That is in progress now.

Now if they will just get that Southeast corridor high speed project done........(Not that it's really high speed).

[oltmannd]

From today's Charlotte Observer: 

Amtrak reported today that its trains carried more passengers in July than any month in its 37-year history. More than 2.75 million people rode trains in July, a 14 percent increase from a year earlier.

In North Carolina, the Piedmont route between Charlotte and Raleigh saw a 43 percent jump in July passengers. Ticket revenue increased by 48 percent, outpacing the national revenue increase of 18.6 percent.

NC is barking up the right tree with their train service.  If only GA would catch on....

I'm jealous!

[Phoebe Vet]

From today's Charlotte Observer: 

Amtrak reported today that its trains carried more passengers in July than any month in its 37-year history. More than 2.75 million people rode trains in July, a 14 percent increase from a year earlier.

In North Carolina, the Piedmont route between Charlotte and Raleigh saw a 43 percent jump in July passengers. Ticket revenue increased by 48 percent, outpacing the national revenue increase of 18.6 percent.