FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It now appears that Amtrak, the nation’s rail passenger service, may reach its congressionally imposed requirement of financial self-sufficiency in 2003 — mostly because of a freight service that breaks some generally accepted rules.
In 1997, Congress mandated that Amtrak, which had been the object of government subsidy since its inception, must find a way to “break even” on its services by 2003 or be discontinued.
With total revenues of $1.84 billion in fiscal 1999, Amtrak fell just over $310 million short of self-sufficiency. The company’s projections call for a shortfall of $189 million this year and $63 million in 2001, with suffiency reached by the end of 2003.
Most observers believed it was unlikely that the passenger service could ever hit its marks. However, it was also widely doubted that it would be politically possible to shut down the nation’s last remaining rail passenger service — especially in light of the fact that every other nation in the world heavily subsidizes its rail passenger service.
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