Back in 1970, the old Saturday Evening Post ran an article about the formation of AMTRAK. In it, they reported how passenger rail service began a long decline after World War II. Most passenger cars were looking worn and dated, and while Post articles described the comfort of new postwar trains, many travelers had simply shifted to flying. Not wanting to see America’s rail infrastructure go to waste, the government considered starting a new passenger rail service to be known as Amtrak.
Representatives of the railroad lines that would be part of the service weren’t optimistic. Back then, the chairman of Burlington Northern said, “We should let the long distance passenger train die an honorable death like we did riverboats, the stagecoach, and Pony Express.” And the president of Penn Central said there was absolutely no future for long-distance passenger trains.
They should have hedged their predictions. In Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), Amtrak reached an all-time ridership record, serving 32.8 million passengers, a 15% increase from the previous year. Total operating revenue also increased by 7% to $3.6 billion, according to Amtrak Media. Ticket revenue reached a record $2.5 billion, a 9% increase year-over-year. Roughly 96,000 passengers now ride more than 300 Amtrak trains every day.
And something like 80% of the ridership is the Batimore-Washington corridor.
ReplyDeleteWe (again) subsidize the East Coast folks.
Take that away and you have much less travel on Amtrak.
And it loses money every year, just like the Post Office.
Amtrak should be forced to either make money (or at least break even) or die
I'm a fan of railroads but not Amtrak. Like most things run by the government it is inefficient. Forcing railroads to make way and make time for passenger trains ties up infrastructure better used by freight trains. It only makes sense in the busiest commuter areas on dedicated tracks.
ReplyDeleteAmtrak is another example of a government boondoggle. It exists to keep people off welfare. Without government (read "taxpayer") subsidies, it would have died a quick death decades ago.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-amtrak-train-railroad-photos-2019-5#in-total-the-system-serviced-43-states-on-21-routes-4
All those figures may be true, but Amtrak has never made a profit since its began in 1971. It is completely reliant on government subsidies(our tax dollars) to function. Just as an example, in fiscal year 2023, Amtrak reported an operating loss of $757 million despite an increase in ridership. Those railroad lines representatives likely knew that Amtrak would end up yet another Government-subsidized boondoggle, costing American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars. Just saw this--"Amtrak's new budget plan assumes $1 billion per year combined operational losses, in perpetuity, despite ridership and revenue returning to pre-COVID levels." Note that "in perpetuity."
ReplyDeleteAmtrak had so many derailments in the mid to late 70's that it started the drug testing mandate. It eventually extended to truck drivers and bus drivers. Suddenly the derailments went to near zero.
ReplyDelete"And they still don't know how to run a railroad." That was a quote from my deceased Father-in-law who worked for Burlington Northern for 40 years, ever since WWII ended, actually. We asked him to go with us on a train trip from Omaha to Reno, NV. He declined, even though Amtrak would have offered him a free fare.
ReplyDeleteLived in Solana Beach next to the train station and for a few years worked in Old Town at the old Consolidated hangars. The Coaster is a wonderful ride except that part around the end of Miramar air station.
ReplyDelete