A new Department of Transportation report finds that Amtrak, a federally chartered company, still experiences routine breakdowns and disruptions despite receiving tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer funding to keep its trains running. Daily Caller News Foundation report.
The passenger rail company was founded in 1971 and has never made a profit. Instead, it has relied on taxpayer money to stay in business. The company loses about $1 billion a year. Despite the losses, the company paid its 19,000 employees an average salary of $121,000 in fiscal year 2022, according to documents obtained by Open the Books.
“Without significant taxpayer support, Amtrak cannot operate.”
The Biden administration has pumped billions of taxpayer dollars into the company, including announcing a $16.4 billion investment in November to improve the Northeast Corridor rail system. The money will be used to rebuild tunnels and bridges and upgrade tracks, power systems, signals and stations.
“A one-day closure of the Northeast Corridor would cost the economy $100 million in lost productivity,” the White House previously said. stated.
The administration’s bipartisan infrastructure legislation allocates $66 billion for rail improvements, which the administration touted as the “largest investment” in Amtrak’s history. As part of that investment, the Biden administration allocated $3.07 billion to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a project that has not made much progress since it was approved in 2008.
According to the White House, Biden envisions transforming Amtrak into a “world-class passenger rail transport” and aims to invest “to make rail service more convenient and environmentally friendly than driving or flying.”
Approximately 22.93 million passengers rode Amtrak in fiscal year 2022. Statista It has been reported that from January to December 2022, approximately 853 million The passengers traveled on a US airline.
DOT’s Latest report According to the DCNF report, Amtrak experienced 333 accidents nationwide between 2021 and July 9, 2024, slightly fewer than the 397 accidents that occurred between 2016 and July 2020 under the Trump administration.
Since Biden took office, there have been 66 derailments, 84 obstructions, 115 trains crossing roads, five fires or “violent ruptures,” and 54 incidents described as other.
Last week, a power outage caused by a faulty breaker disrupted service between New York and Boston. W.C.B.S. The outage was reported to have affected all tracks between Pennsylvania Station in New York and Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut.
“Amtrak is communicating directly with customers affected by these adjustments to offer options for rebooking their travel plans,” the company said. “Amtrak apologizes for any inconvenience caused by this disruption.”
Last month, Amtrak CEO Steven Gardner said of the company’s recent service disruptions, “We understand the impact recent events have had on Amtrak and NJ Transit customers and their families, and we share their frustration.”
“It is critical that we work with NJ Transit to identify the root causes of these disruptions and restore the on-time service and quality experience our customers expect,” Gardner added.
An Amtrak train traveling from Kansas City, Missouri to Chicago, Illinois derailed on Monday afternoon, with the company saying a tree on the tracks was the cause of the accident. Korean TV No injuries were reported.
Last year, House Republicans introduced a bill to cut funding for Amtrak, a cut the Biden administration rejected as “too draconian.”
“Without significant taxpayer support, Amtrak cannot operate,” the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said.
Neither Amtrak nor the Department of Transportation responded to requests for comment from the DCNF.
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