(NOLA.com posted the following Associated Press article by Garry Mitchell on February 5.)
MOBILE, Ala. — The Sunset Limited, which makes wee-hour stops in Mobile on a route from Los Angeles to Orlando, is among Amtrak’s major money-losers, the government says, but its supporters say passengers take it for reasons hard to fit into a budget equation.
Passengers get on and off at various locations on the long route, with some connecting to other rail lines, creating an economic spillover. In Orlando, for example, they can take Amtrak’s Silver Service to Miami and back to New York.
But the U.S. Department of Transportation says the Sunset Limited lost $347 on every passenger it carried in 2001. Amtrak spokeswoman Karina van Veen said Wednesday that Amtrak won’t have its loss figures until next month, but the railroad’s figure is tracked differently than DOT’s estimate.
“We do loss per passenger mile,” she said.
Van Veen said the head of Amtrak opposes eliminating parts of the overall service, saying there’s no cost savings in eliminating routes.
The Sunset Limited once ran only from LA to New Orleans, but stops east of Louisiana were added about a decade ago. It’s Mobile’s only rail passenger service and could be targeted for elimination in the administration’s budget, which calls for cutting “underused and inefficient” routes. The proposed budget does not single out any specific routes for termination.
In fiscal 2002, the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans had 18,523 passengers, compared to 23,622 the previous year — a decline of 21.6 percent. For the entire route — LA to Orlando — the route had 97,366 in fiscal 2002, compared to 110,262 the previous year — a decrease of 11.7 percent, according to van Veen.
If it’s on time, the westbound train stops triweekly at 4:25 a.m. in Mobile and eastbound train at 2:20 a.m. That makes it hard to take a day trip to New Orleans from the Alabama port city. But the arrivals and departures in busier New Orleans are more convenient — 9:20 a.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Amtrak’s Southeastern planner, Deborah Wetter of New Orleans, said although the Sunset Limited only runs triweekly, many passengers use it to transfer to other routes.
“There’s a lot of connecting revenue it doesn’t necessarily get credit for,” Wetter said in a telephone interview. “You can connect all different kinds of ways across the country.”
Obviously, she added, the long-distance trains were not designed for commuting.
Mobile’s downtown redevelopment planner Steve Walker said when Mobile was first added, the Sunset Limited stopped daily. He said the city still counts on Amtrak to bring passengers for the cruise ship industry that the city hopes to anchor.
But Walker said the train must run on time if the passenger has to be there at 2 a.m.
The Sunset Limited isn’t Amtrak’s only loser. Of the 41 train routes Amtrak ran in 2001, 14 lost more than $110 per passenger and six lost more than $210 per passenger, according to DOT. Only two routes turned an operating profit in 2001.
The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks had an adverse impact on vacationers that make up part of Amtrak’s ridership. Total ridership for Amtrak in fiscal 2002 was 23.4 million, off only slightly from 23.5 million the previous year.
But Amtrak’s current share of the nation’s intercity passenger market still amounts to only one-half of 1 percent of all passenger miles, compared to more popular means of transportation: auto — 50 percent– , air — 48 percent– , and intercity buses — 1.5 percent, the Bush administration says.
Congressional threats to Amtrak have arisen in previous budget debates. One reason the losing rail service continues has been political pressure from legislators and groups like the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission, representing Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
But that support isn’t unanimous.
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Transportation Appropriations subcommittee, said the administration’s proposal on Amtrak is not unjustified.
“Taxpayers are spending enormous amounts of money to operate several lines that carry very few passengers,” Shelby said in an earlier statement. “I believe we should evaluate all routes to determine which we can feasibly maintain.”
In New Orleans, Wetter said Amtrak needs a steady source of capital funds so it can plan and build partnerships. As threats to shut down Amtrak arise periodically, customers stop booking for future trips, she said.