Recently an outrage group told the media that Amtrak employees made an average of $121,000 per year. They determined it so by "doing the math" and then went on to decry the fact that Amtrak has never made a profit.

This "fact-finding" appeared in syndicated local media stories like this one.

https://komonews.com/amp/news/nation-world/expert-train-is-going-in-the-wrong-direction-as-report-shows-average-amtrak-employee-makes-121000-annually-transportation-open-the-books-federal-employees-tax-payer-funded

Trouble is, it isn't true. The figure comes by dividing Amtrak's operating budget by its number of employees. But the operating budget also includes expenses well beyond payroll, like employee benefits, overtime exacerbated by the labor shortage in the job market, and payments to retirees--and Amtrak's fuel expenses, payments to host railroads, and much more.

Amtrak isn't profitable. Most passenger trains aren't--they are an infrastructure function. That's why the Federal government founded Amtrak in 1971, of course. And the fact that the railroad isn't profitable is hardly the fault of Amtrak's dedicated and hardworking employees. If that were a fault at all. 

Further, the vast majority of these expenses were covered by ticket sales and other revenues generated by Amtrak, anyway.

The organization behind this failed exercise in arithmetic is biased--and media reporting this story as fact are intellectually lazy at best.

The outrage here is that the story is false. If this piece aired in your area, speak up to the news director of the program where it aired.

Or better yet, thank your local Amtrak staff for their service.

--Jackson McQuigg