Amtrak food costs cause hundreds of millions in losses

[Dave]

Another example why the government isn't much good at running much of anything. Another reason I'm scared to see what happens with Obamacare down the road. The $9.50 for the burger meal probably wouldn't be so bad if it was a freshly cooked piece of meat prepared right there on the train but I do believe this is the type of burger that is basically either microwaved or prepared in such a way where it arrives on the train frozen and is heated in some way other then a grill/frying pan. Assuming that the picture provided is what you'd get from ordering off the Amtrak menu, it doesn't appear to be the most appetizing piece of meat.

If you've ever bought a burger on an Amtrak train, you know that you've probably spent upwards of $9.50. That's one issue that affects your wallet.

The burger meal on an Amtrak train costs $9.50 for a rider but more than $16 for the company. Photo: Amtrak

When that burger cost Amtrak $16, though, it dramatically affects the wallet of the company, along with taxpayers. That's making lawmakers furious.

In the last ten years, officials say that the rail agency lost nearly $834 million on food alone. In 2011, the company lost $84.5 million on food.

When labor is factored into those patties, the hamburger they sell for just under $10 each costs them $16.15. The same even goes for sodas; each $2 serving costs Amtrak $3.40.

In a statement to Congress, Amtrak officials say that they're still looking for ways to improve cost recovery and aim to recover 70 percent of their food and beverage costs by 2015. They also say, though, that the availability of that food is what attracts travelers to the rails.

However, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), who chairs a committee with oversight of the railroad, thinks that isn't good enough.

"Every hamburger sold is subsidized $6.65 by the taxpayer," Mica said. "2015 is too far off. It's always tomorrow, and it's too late for the taxpayers."

Amtrak says that food costs actually only make up less than 8 percent of their total expenses every year and the they've been reducing the size of the federal subsidy they receive.

However, the company's own inspector general told Congress that there is more they could be doing to get their costs down.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/08/amtrak-food-costs-cause-hundre...

[Brian Carlson]

Amtrak has been losing money since the 70s. I remember them saying that Amtrak cost the taxpayers enough money to buy every person in America a ticket from coast to coast. The government cannot run business because they are politicians and not managers. Amtrak, the post office, social security to name just a few, could all be run better by the private sector.

[Dave]

True enough... the government has never really shown any sort of knack in regards to operating pretty much any business. I would love for trains to be more available and affordable, I would probably travel via train if they were. Back when I was younger I did take the train to Chicago and it was fun. About 20 years ago I had a car accident in St Louis.. to get back down to St Louis to pick up the car from the body shop I again took a train... the ride was nice and I liked being able to get up and walk around as the train moved down the track. Sadly though, in many areas there is simply not enough people interested in riding trains for travel. This is why high speed rail will never be feasible here in the USA.