February 2024 Amtrak Financial Report

• The February Report was dated March 29, 2024, and posted on April 2, 2024. 

• The NEC generated a cash operating surplus of $38.731 million for the year so far (as determined by their accounting system), while the remainder of the system had an operating cash loss of $451. 460 million. Combined, the entire system had a cash operating deficit of $412.730 million for the period.

• To date, the NEC has made debt service payments totaling $32.734 million and capital expenditures of $708.950 million. Counting all capital sources, the NEC Account has a positive balance of $135.732 million. It also has the cash reserves remaining from previous years.

• For the rest of the National System, $0.035 million was needed for Debt service and $481.098 million was spent on Capital Expenditures. The National Network Account Balance now has a negative balance of $160.649 million. It also has the accumulated surplus from previous years. 

• The amount of appropriated money for the combined NEC and National Network received for the year to date was $1,251.052 million. Amtrak has also received $359.578 million from other capital sources for the entire system.

• The combined accumulated reserves at the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year totaled $254 million in cash and cash equivalents, $222 million in short-term investments, and $3.188 billion in available-for-sale securities. This brings total cash reserves as of October 1, 2022, to $3.664 billion. The current ratio (Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities) was 1.98, which would make Amtrak quite creditworthy for any fresh borrowings. 

• In October 2023 Amtrak’s burn rate (Operating Revenues-Minus Operating Expense-Minus Debt Service-Capital Expenditures) was $278.584 million. In November, the burn rate was $247.746 million. In December the burn rate was $185.701 million. In January, the burn rate was $495.185 million. In February, the burn rate was $388.361 million. 

• In their tradition of changing reporting of Capital Spending for the year to date a number of categories were renamed and gather into larger categories: Engineering (now listed as Capital Renewal):  $398.9 million; Mechanical: $164.9 million; Operations was $2.4 million; Digital Technology was $124.9 million; Commercial and Marketing is no longer listed as separate category. ADA was $51.5 million; Stations & Facilities was 26.2 million; Amtrak Police & Emergency Management was $7.1 million; Safety was $1.2 million; Environmental was $1.9 million; Procurement and other was $6.6 million ; Acela 21: $93.4 million ($40.0 million in in February); Gateway was $145.6 million. Planning & Strategy was renamed Real Estate, Strategy & Planning and is now $41.6 million ($4.8 million increase in February); B&P Tunnel was $41.0 million and intercity Trainsets: $24.2 million (an increase of $5.8 million in in February). Major Stations was 56.7 million and Long-Distance Equipment Procurement was $1.9 million. Total was $1,190.1 million which is $277.0 million more than FY2023 for the same period.

• The GAAP Loss for the year so far appears to be $852.0 million which is $94.8 million worse than FY2023.  The cash operating earnings for the year was $77.2 million worse than in FY2023.

• For cash operating earnings, the corporation is $8.7 million behind its Forecast. The GAAP figure is $9.0 million worse than the Forecast. 

• The number of product lines showing a measurable operating surplus for the period was 4. They were:

  • Acela $37.3 million

  • Northeast Regional $21.9 million

  • Hoosier State $2.0 million

  • Auto Train $1.8 million

• The Hoosier State (which has not run for several years) which had been eliminated in the January Report has been reinstated.

• The four Virginia product lines generated a total loss of $15.9 million.

• Amtrak is now showing costs based on Frequency Variable Costs, Route Variable Costs, and System Fixed Costs. Most trains covered their Frequency Variable Costs. The exceptions were all of the long-distance trains, not including the Auto train, Silver Meteor, Lake Shore Ltd., Capitol Ltd., Crescent, and Palmetto. Gulf Coast Ltd., which has not started running, is shown as not meeting its variable costs. 

• Ridership for the Fiscal Year so far is more than 2,222,500 from FY2023. For the year, it stands at 12,890.6?? (Amtrak reports ridership to the nearest 100). In fact, the total number of riders in January was 2, 256.1??. The situation with the long-distance trains shows a gain of riders across most product lines, except the Coast Starlight, Sunset Ltd., and Auto Train. The Coast Starlight was annulled for various reasons. The Auto Train had record ridership in FY2023, so it has reverted to previous levels. The Palmetto was the biggest winner at +34.5% gain in the new fiscal year so far. Lake Shore Ltd. was second at a 28.5% gain. The line that showed smallest ridership gains after those three in negative territory was the Capitol, Ltd. with a 0.2% gain. The Acela gained 14.8%.

• A number of passenger cars have been released by Beech Grove. 

• The THUD was approved by Congress and signed by the President. 

• A notice of availability for four different grants has been posted or will be posted in March and April.
  

Steve Musen Representative from Rhode Island to NARP's Council of Representatives.