Amtrak loses a ton of money each year. It doesn’t have to.

Amtrak loses a ton of money each year. It doesn’t have to.

"The Brookings report argues that Congress should arrange a deal with the states for these 15 longer money-losing Amtrak routes. If a route is losing money, then the states that are in its path should negotiate how best to provide financial support and fill the hole. (Under this plan, they’d be allowed to use federal transportation funds.) If the states can’t or won’t chip in, then the routes get pared back.

As it happens, this sort of arrangement is already in place for Amtrak’s 26 short-haul routes — Congress set it up back in 2008. States have already been supporting the shorter routes, and this fall, they’ll have to increase their share. That’s expected to reduce Amtrak’s losses by a further $180 million. The Brookings report essentially argues that Congress should set up a similar deal for longer routes — a complicated but doable task."