Amtrak looks certain to survive – at least until the autumn.
The American train company pleaded for help last month, claiming that $200M in private financing was immediately needed ahead of promised funds to avoid closing down.
Two separate funding packages totalling $6.6bn are already making their way through the House of Representatives and the Senate. This will go towards much-need tunnel and track repair and other infrastructure needs. Amtrak president, David Gunn, said the $200M was needed to keep operations going through the summer.
Some commentators believe that selected Amtrak stations should be mortgaged and unprofitable lines shut down, in order to keep the network running. Others, however, fully support a subsidised rail network. Parsons Brinckerhoff chairman, Bob Prieto, told T&TI earlier this year that ‘it will be the first time in a long while that this country [USA] has invested in something other than highways for connecting its cities.’
Amtrak has never made a profit, despite carry 23M passengers in 2001. In the same year, Amtrak lost $1.1bn with debts topping $3bn.
