April 2024 Amtrak Financial Report

• The April Report was dated May 31, 2024, and posted on June 3, 2024. 

• The NEC generated a cash operating surplus of $85.5 million for the year so far (as determined by their accounting system), while the remainder of the system had an operating cash loss of $615. 911 million. Combined, the entire system had a cash operating deficit of $530.408 million for the period.

• To date, the NEC has made debt service payments totaling $47.4 million and capital expenditures of $1.3 billion. Counting all capital sources, the NEC Account has a positive balance of $35.0 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 $734.9 million was spent on Capital Expenditures. The National Network Account Balance now has a negative balance of $319.2 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 $1.6 billion. Amtrak has also received from other capital sources $674.2 million 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 $3.2 billion in available-for-sale securities. This brings total cash reserves as of October 1, 2023, to $3.7 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 $278.6 million.

  • November, the burn rate was $247.7 million.

  • December the burn rate was $185.7 million.

  • January, the burn rate was $495.2 million.

  • February, the burn rate was $388.4 million.

  • March, the burn rate was $549.5 million.

  • April, the burn rate was $388.7 million.

• .In their tradition of changing reporting of Capital Spending for the year to date, a number of categories were renamed and gathered into larger categories:

  • Capital Renewal (Engineering) $602.6 million

  • Mechanical $239.5 million

  • Operations $10.2 million

  • Digital Technology $186.5 million

  • ADA $73.8 million

  • Stations & Facilities $42.8 million

  • Amtrak Police & Emergency Management $8.0 million

  • Safety $1.6 million

  • Environmental -$13.1 million

  • Procurement and other $1.3 million

  • Acela 21 $117.6 million

  • Gateway $452.8 million

  • Real Estate, Strategy & Planning (Planning & Strategy) $64.6 million

  • B&P Tunnel $63.8 million

  • intercity Trainsets $53.8 million

  • Major Stations $85.4 million

  • Long-Distance Equipment Procurement $3.3 million

  • Total was $2.9 billion, which is $592.6 million more than FY2023 for the same period.

Trying to figure out how Environment expenses went to a negative figure.  (Amtrak sold whatever contaminants they dug up to another party for a profit?)

• The GAAP Loss for the year so far appears to be $1.1 billion, which is $138.6 million worse than FY2023. The cash operating earnings for the year were $96.7 million, worse than in FY2023.

• The corporation is $22.3 million behind its Forecast for cash operating earnings. The GAAP figure is $55.1 million, worse than the Previous Forecast. 

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

  • Acela $64.3 million

  • Northeast Regional $53.6 million

  • Auto Train $5.5 million

  • Hoosier State $2.0 million

  • The Hoosier State (which has not run for several years) 

  • The four Virginia product lines generated a total loss of $20.5 million.

• Amtrak is now showing costs based as 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, Crescent, and Palmetto. The 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 3,127,300 from FY2023. For the year, it stands at 18,421.900 (Amtrak reports ridership to the nearest 100). In fact, the total number of riders in April was 2,705.900. The situation with the long-distance trains shows a gain of riders across most product lines, except the Sunset Ltd. and Auto Train. The Auto Train had record ridership in FY2023, so it has reverted to previous levels. The Palmetto was the biggest winner at a +23.3% gain in the new fiscal year so far. The Lake Shore Ltd. was second at a 20.4% gain. The line that showed the smallest ridership gains after those two in negative territory was the Coast Starlight. with a 3.5% gain. The Acela gained 14.8%.

• The House THUD subcommittee is scheduled to release its draft this month. The House has passed a single appropriation bill (The MILCOM). 

• Amtrak has been running the new Chicago-St. Paul train (The Borealis) for a few weeks. That trains statistics will show up in the May Report.

• Virigina is reconsidering its route to the New River Valley. It had purchased the right of way of a portion of the old Virginia RR. However, the Commonwealth is considering the historic route via the old Norfolk & Western.

Steve Musen