Amtrak was originally intended to be a financially self-supporting organization, but has never been profitable in its 39-year history, and instead has consumed billions of dollars of American taxpayers money supporting intercity [[Railroad|rail services]] that are little used and unreliable. The Pew Charitable Trusts determined that 41 out of 44 Amtrak routes lost money in 2008. The largest loss per passenger was $462 per passenger on the Sunset Limited, which runs from [[New Orleans]] to [[Los Angeles]]. The average loss was $32 per passenger trip.<ref>[http://www.subsidyscope.com/projects/transportation/amtrak/ Analysis Shows Amtrak Lost $32 Per Passenger in 2008]</ref> | Amtrak was originally intended to be a financially self-supporting organization, but has never been profitable in its 39-year history, and instead has consumed billions of dollars of American taxpayers money supporting intercity [[Railroad|rail services]] that are little used and unreliable. The Pew Charitable Trusts determined that 41 out of 44 Amtrak routes lost money in 2008. The largest loss per passenger was $462 per passenger on the Sunset Limited, which runs from [[New Orleans]] to [[Los Angeles]]. The average loss was $32 per passenger trip.<ref>[http://www.subsidyscope.com/projects/transportation/amtrak/ Analysis Shows Amtrak Lost $32 Per Passenger in 2008]</ref> |