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Report: Amtrak loss comes to $32 per passenger

Taxpayers spent a whopping $32 per passenger subsidizing the cost of the typical Amtrak rider last year — about four times the rail operator’s own estimate, according to a private study released today.

Amtrak, which operates a nationwide rail network in 46 states, lost money on 41 of its 44 routes, according to Subsidyscope, an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Leading the list was the route between New Orleans and Los Angeles, known as the Sunset Limited, which lost $462 per passenger.

The Northeast corridor, on the other hand, has the highest passenger volume of any Amtrak route and actually pulled in a profit. The corridor’s high-speed Acela Express made a profit of about $41 per passenger.