Amtrak Funds at Risk in Extended U.S. Government Shutdown

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-04/amtrak-at-risk-in-extended-u-s-shutdown.html

Amtrak, the U.S. intercity passenger railroad, may have trouble staying on track, literally, if a U.S. government shutdown is prolonged for a month or more.

The Washington-based railroad, which has never made money, gets 12 percent of its operating budget and most capital and debt-service funding from U.S. appropriations funneled through the Transportation Department. Some are scheduled to be paid quarterly while others are reimbursements, all of which have been cut off for now.

“At some point, I don’t know whether it’s weeks or months, they have a real problem,” said Mortimer Downey, a former member of Amtrak’s board and a former deputy U.S. transportation secretary. “If there’s nobody at DOT, there’s nobody to pay them reimbursements.”

Ticket revenue for Amtrak may also decline, further crimping cash flow, with government workers not traveling, said Ross Capon, president of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a Washington-based advocacy group.

[MindPilot]

1. Doubt if they could get any worse.

I used the love to travel by rail. Took a trip up the coast last year, I will never do that again.