train money losses

[dan]

I know this has been asked before, but why do passenger trains loose so much money? I was reading a 1948 issue of Railway Age that showed most streamlined "name" trains made between $2.00 and $5.00 profit per MILE, and that was in 1948 dollars! Today even well used trains seem to loose big bucks. Why is that?

 

[dan]

thats LOSE so much money, not loose. I'm really out of it today.

dan

 

[Amfleet]

Building and maintaining railroads has never been a cheap ordeal, but back in the 1940's that was the main mode of transportation. Many companies and manufacturers were geared toward producing railroad parts and so on. After WWII, many of those companies went out of the railroad business and started making parts for the airplane and automobile. Also, even back in the '40's, I think the government was putting a good amount subsidy into the railroads. Again, as times changed the money was directed towards airports and roads.

 

[PennsyFan]

Additionally, the railroads in those days owned the track and stations they used, and would have had to maintain it whether they ran passenger trains or not. The numbers you're citing are "above-the-rail" profits, as in before maintenance of track and equipment, and station costs. If Amtrak didn't have to pay for any of that stuff, they would be making money, or at least not losing it at this rate.

Yet another case for nationalization of right-of-way.