I don't know if this has been discussed before but I found this report on the RPA website. It was published 15 Aug 2018. Some findings from FY 2017:
Miami was charged with snow removal.
Over $67,000 of Maintenance of Way charges for the Michigan line were charged to the Lake Shore Limited and the Capitol Limited.
Over $3 million of Electric Traction Maintenance of Way(wires, sub-station, etc.) to routes that do not use electrified infrastructure.
Over $10 million in track maintenance cost to State Supported and Long Distance routes but less than $90 thousand to the entire NEC.
At Chicago, the California Zephyr was charged over $1.8 million for moving the train to/from the yard for servicing but the City of New Orleans was charged less than $200,000.
I can't report all the findings of RPA. They believe the Long Distance trains are overcharged by at least $300 million. I wanted to post the entire report but I didn't know if I needed their ok to do so.
The Title is Amtrak's Route Accounting: Fatally Flawed, Misleading & Wrong.
Miami was charged with snow removal.
Over $67,000 of Maintenance of Way charges for the Michigan line were charged to the Lake Shore Limited and the Capitol Limited.
Over $3 million of Electric Traction Maintenance of Way(wires, sub-station, etc.) to routes that do not use electrified infrastructure.
Over $10 million in track maintenance cost to State Supported and Long Distance routes but less than $90 thousand to the entire NEC.
At Chicago, the California Zephyr was charged over $1.8 million for moving the train to/from the yard for servicing but the City of New Orleans was charged less than $200,000.
I can't report all the findings of RPA. They believe the Long Distance trains are overcharged by at least $300 million. I wanted to post the entire report but I didn't know if I needed their ok to do so.
The Title is Amtrak's Route Accounting: Fatally Flawed, Misleading & Wrong.