Long Distance Train Facts
Amtrak: Long Distance Trains: FY 2008
Long-Distance Train Facts
• A long-distance train typically consists of sleepers, coaches, a diner and/or a lounge car. • Long-distance trains travel as far as 2,800 miles and pass through as many as 12 states. • Amtrak operates 15 long-distance trains over 18,500 route miles serving 39 states and the District of Columbia. These trains provide the only rail passenger service to 23 states. • In FY 2008 these trains carried 4.2 million passengers accounting for 2.6 billion passenger miles—42% of Amtrak’s total—and produced ticket revenues of $415 million. • The average long-distance train passenger traveled 626 miles in FY08. • Long-distance trains run primarily on tracks owned and maintained by private …show more content…
Many long-distance trains serve small communities with limited or no significant air or bus service, especially in remote or isolated areas in the United States. As a result of airline deregulation and decisions by national bus carriers to exit many communities, rail transportation may provide the only feasible common carrier transportation option for a growing number of areas. 1 If long-distance trains were eliminated, 23 states and 243 communities would be left with no intercity passenger rail service and 18 other states would lose some service. No state or private operator has picked up a long-distance route that Amtrak has …show more content…
These operating cost figures should be cited with caution. Critics often refer to the “loss per passenger” of the longdistance trains. However, each long-distance train passenger is the equivalent of five short distance train passengers because of the greater distances traveled. More importantly, these “loss per passenger” figures often include not only the “avoidable” costs of operating individual long-distance trains (such as the cost of diesel fuel) but all of the shared costs that Amtrak incurs for the benefit of both long-distance and corridor trains (such as the cost of mechanical facilities, Amtrak’s computer systems, and stations like Los Angeles Union Station). Including shared costs produces inflated and misleading “loss” figures, since these costs will not go away if long-distance trains are eliminated. Eliminating all long-distance trains would produce negligible cost savings in the first few years because Amtrak must pay labor protection to impacted employees. When these payments end after five years, the savings would still be minimal—around $300 million annually, or about a quarter of Amtrak’s annual appropriation in recent years. Eliminating individual trains produces even fewer savings—most of the shared costs of Amtrak’s long-distance network would remain. Additionally, Amtrak
Long-Distance Train Facts
• A long-distance train typically consists of sleepers, coaches, a diner and/or a lounge car. • Long-distance trains travel as far as 2,800 miles and pass through as many as 12 states. • Amtrak operates 15 long-distance trains over 18,500 route miles serving 39 states and the District of Columbia. These trains provide the only rail passenger service to 23 states. • In FY 2008 these trains carried 4.2 million passengers accounting for 2.6 billion passenger miles—42% of Amtrak’s total—and produced ticket revenues of $415 million. • The average long-distance train passenger traveled 626 miles in FY08. • Long-distance trains run primarily on tracks owned and maintained by private …show more content…
Many long-distance trains serve small communities with limited or no significant air or bus service, especially in remote or isolated areas in the United States. As a result of airline deregulation and decisions by national bus carriers to exit many communities, rail transportation may provide the only feasible common carrier transportation option for a growing number of areas. 1 If long-distance trains were eliminated, 23 states and 243 communities would be left with no intercity passenger rail service and 18 other states would lose some service. No state or private operator has picked up a long-distance route that Amtrak has …show more content…
These operating cost figures should be cited with caution. Critics often refer to the “loss per passenger” of the longdistance trains. However, each long-distance train passenger is the equivalent of five short distance train passengers because of the greater distances traveled. More importantly, these “loss per passenger” figures often include not only the “avoidable” costs of operating individual long-distance trains (such as the cost of diesel fuel) but all of the shared costs that Amtrak incurs for the benefit of both long-distance and corridor trains (such as the cost of mechanical facilities, Amtrak’s computer systems, and stations like Los Angeles Union Station). Including shared costs produces inflated and misleading “loss” figures, since these costs will not go away if long-distance trains are eliminated. Eliminating all long-distance trains would produce negligible cost savings in the first few years because Amtrak must pay labor protection to impacted employees. When these payments end after five years, the savings would still be minimal—around $300 million annually, or about a quarter of Amtrak’s annual appropriation in recent years. Eliminating individual trains produces even fewer savings—most of the shared costs of Amtrak’s long-distance network would remain. Additionally, Amtrak