Executives at Amtrak are earning high salaries, with some making as much as $780,000 per year, while passengers of the train system experience delays and disruptions, according to a report by government spending watchdog Open the Books.
The top 10 executives at Amtrak earn between $504,000 and $780,000 annually. The railway company, which is funded by taxpayers, only disclosed a portion of its payroll information, and the salaries of 19,000 other employees were not made public due to a Freedom of Information Act exemption protecting personal information.
The watchdog group estimates that these employees have an average annual salary of $121,000.
These high executive salaries have led to concerns among lawmakers. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, expressed her surprise at the large salaries and questioned the increase in ticket prices.
Amtrak is a government-subsided corporation responsible for running the national passenger train service in the U.S. The company received $6.6 billion last year and an additional $6.8 billion this fiscal year from the Federal Railroad Administration. It has also received funding from the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan due to the impact of the pandemic on ridership.
Despite receiving substantial financial support, Amtrak has faced widespread complaints about its train service. Signal problems, mechanical issues, and computer breakdowns have been reported across the country. The Northeast region, in particular, has experienced slow and delayed trains, with issues attributed to heat, an aging train fleet, and track maintenance.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, Chair of the House Republican Conference, recently sent a letter to Amtrak and the Canadian National Railway demanding answers regarding service disruptions on the Adirondack Line. The line had no summer service for three years, and elevated temperatures caused additional shutdowns in June this year.
Prior to the pandemic, Amtrak was on track to make a profit for the first time in nearly 50 years. However, the company continues to incur significant losses that are largely covered by taxpayers.
According to Adam Andrzejewski, Founder and CEO of Open the Books, Amtrak expects to lose approximately $1 billion each year and has never turned a profit despite being heavily subsidized.
Some Amtrak routes are costing the company more money than the ticket prices. For example, the high-speed Acela service between Washington and Boston has gone from making a profit to incurring a loss of $2 per mile. The Sunset Limited service from New Orleans to Los Angeles is losing $566 per passenger, while the Los Angeles to Chicago route is losing $288 per passenger.
Rep. Troy Nehls, Chairman of the House Transportation Committee panel on railroads, stated that Amtrak needs a better business strategy. He believes that the company’s losses primarily come from its National Network and long-distance routes, and expanding this network may further burden taxpayers.
