Founded 54 years ago, Amtrak set out on a bold adventure to revitalize passenger rail. Fast forward to today, and this experiment has failed. Politicians have often crafted routes to win votes rather than attract riders. As a result, Amtrak has been squandering taxpayer money since 1971.

Amtrak ignored profits under Democrats but now claims it will be profitable to win GOP votes. Despite reporting a $661.7 million loss for fiscal year 2025, it failed to include:

With its real costs factored in, the notion that Amtrak can ever turn a profit is a pipe dream. In fact, Amtrak is demanding larger subsidies than ever before.

Take, for instance, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. It allocated a monumental $66 billion to bolster passenger rail. Despite this support, Amtrak's losses soared from $1.12 billion in fiscal year 2019 to $2.09 billion by fiscal year 2025. This financial drain isn't new; America's passenger trains have lost money for 80 years.

Lawmakers rarely realize that travelers prefer north-south routes because of the weather. In FY2025 alone, Amtrak's east-west routes lost over $530 million. Meanwhile, the Auto Train, Virginia........

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