Amtrak: Taxpayers Subsidizing First Class

Traveling on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle from Chicago to St. Louis on November 10 will set you back $24. More, if you want to ride in a first class sleeper car compartment. Add $136 for a superliner roomette, $217 for a family bedroom, and $260 for a superliner bedroom.

But there’s a big problem. Even with higher charges, taxpayers are subsidizing first class sleeper service.

Amtrak’s Sleeper service comes with some nice perks. Beds to stretch out in, sometimes a private bathroom (no having to share the gross public toilet). Some rooms even come with a shower. On top of that:

Sleeping car passengers are entitled to a range of hotel-like amenities, including fresh linen and towel service, complimentary bottled water and daily newspapers.

A new Waste Action Alert details how cutting federal subsidies for first class sleeper car service on Amtrak could save up to $1.2 billion over ten years.

Why the spending is wasteful:

According to the Congressional Budget Office, “only 16 percent of Amtrak’s long-distance passengers use sleeper service, at a subsidy that ranged in 2004 from $269 to $627 per passenger and exceeded subsidies for coach service by at least 50 percent and sometimes more than 100 percent per route.” These losses are made up by taxpayers. During these increasingly tough economic times, taxpayers do not need to be additionally burdened by paying for turn-down service and pre-paid movies. This unprofitable activity is one reason that Amtrak has received $37 billion of taxpayer subsidies since 1970.

Rep. Mac Thornberry (TX-13) has introduced H.R. 5801 to cut federal subsidies for sleeper service. Amtrak could still offer the service, but it would have to set the price at its actual cost. Here is Rep. Thornberry talking about his bill.