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Amtrak Food Service Lost $834 Million in 10 Years, Mica Says


Aug 2, 2012

By Jeff Plungis

Read More: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...mica-says.html

Amtrak lost $84.5 million selling food and beverages last year and $833.8 million over 10 years, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica said, calling for a “better way” to run those operations. It costs taxpayers $3.40 for each can of soda the U.S. passenger railroad sells on its trains, and Amtrak charges $2.00, the Florida Republican said at a hearing today. Taxpayers subsidized $68,477 in losses in 2011 for each Amtrak food-service employee, he said, citing Government Accountability Office estimates. “At a time of running multitrillion-dollar deficits, we’ve got to look at every area of government,” Mica said. “Hardworking Americans are underwriting these losses. There has to be a better way.”

- Food costs aren’t the major cause of Amtrak’s financial difficulties, and congressional micromanagement has made it impossible for Amtrak to make good decisions, Rahall said. “This is a whopper of a bad idea if I have ever heard one: trading good-paying jobs with benefits for cheaper cheeseburgers,” he said. Having food service on routes covering more than a few hours is a essential component of running trains, Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Joe Boardman said at the hearing. Reducing on- board service may cause people to stop riding and lead to higher losses, he said. In 2006, the railroad recovered 49 percent of its costs on food. In 2011, the figure was 59 percent. The goal for 2015 is 70 percent, Boardman said. Amtrak contracts out its commissary functions while using its own workers to serve food and beverages on trains. Legislation proposed last year by Representative Jean Schmidt, an Ohio Republican, would require the on-board operations to be contracted out to companies.

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