Amtrak Says Railroad’s Subsidies Dwarfed by Highway Bailout

The head of Amtrak defended U.S. support of the railroad’s operations, saying highways have received more emergency help from U.S. taxpayers in the past four years than Amtrak has gotten in its 41-year history.

“In the past four years, the federal government has appropriated $53.3 billion from the general fund of the Treasury to bail out the highway trust fund,” Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman said in testimony at a congressional hearing today. “That’s almost 30 percent more than the total federal expenditure on Amtrak since 1971.”