I think we have had this discussion in the past, but I don't find any info. Maybe someone knows.How much does the private railroads charge Amtrak to run a train on its tracks?
Good golly; would they know how to operate without them?The idea is to eliminate the smoke-and-mirrors bookkeeping system.
.50 to $1.50/mile per coach or .50 to $1.50/mile per train? I thought it would be a lot more.On most class I roads, the fee ranges from .50 to $1.50/mile depending on the host RR and the geographic area. Your car must be Amtrak certified for use on their trains.
There is no smoke nor mirrors. $92.4 million in FY 2007, from the bottom of page 38 of the annual report.This lack of being able to figure out just what any one particular thing is costing or bringing in is one of the things addressed in the new bill, I believe. The idea is to eliminate the smoke-and-mirrors bookkeeping system.
Because Amtrak would pay a lot more than $92.4 million if the liability for passenger operation fell to the host railroad. Assuming liability on a no-fault basis is a GREAT deal for Amtrak. They save more much money in access fees assuming no-fault liability than they pay out for the occasional accident.This discussion makes the liability discussion even more confusing. Why, if AMTRAK pays good money to run on other-owned tracks would AMTRAK be liable if something went wrong on those other-owned tracks.
That would be like driving on a toll road and if the bridge collapsed, you pay not the toll authority.
That is part of the difference, but it's not the only reason for the difference. Amtrak does not pay, at least up front, the full value of what they would be charged but for the past. Any commuter op running on freight train tracks pays far more to run on freight train tracks than does Amtrak.Could the cost difference between Amtrak and Freight be because freight trains are longer, slower, heavier, and far more destructive to the tracks?
I suspect that it includes the bonuses since I can't find any other category that could possibly cover only the bonuses.It's also not clear if that $92.4 M that Amtrak paid is just access fees or if that number includes the performance bonuses that Amtrak pays to freight Co's that keep Amtrak trains on time. If it does include those bonuses, then the disparity becomes even greater.
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