Amtrak, the federally subsidized passenger rail service, made headlines in recent months after an Inspector General report said it offered $428,000 worth of free wine, cheese, and champagne on several of its long-distance routes in 2012. Those freebies were only part of Amtrak’s total food and beverage service losses of $72 million that year. Amtrak has made improvements—losses were $105 million in 2006—but it’s hard to imagine a private company surviving six plus years losing that kind of cash on just its food service.That’s where Amtrak’s federal operating subsidies come into play.Taxpayers forked over $470 million to subsidize Amtrak’s operations (they also sent $920 million in capital subsidies).
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