Amtrak: A cost-effectiveness analysis

Abstract

Intercity rail passenger train services in the United States are provided over a basic national route system by a Congressionally created quasi-public corporation called Amtrak. Although Amtrak has succeeded in arresting the long-term decline in passenger train ridership, operating deficits have grown substantially in recent years, requiring increased public subsidy. The justification for on-going public support rests on the belief that rail passenger transport contributes to fulfilling national transport policy objectives in the areas of safety, energy conservation, congestion alleviation and environmental protection. This paper examines the Amtrak impact in each of these goal areas and evaluates the organization's longer term potential. The evidence does not indicate that rail passenger train services contribute meaningfully to any of the national policy concerns outside the Northeast Corridor. Continued subsidization of the existing system appears unjustified, and a major route restructuring seems necessary.