Commuter and freight railroads that operate over the Amtrak-owned portion of the corridor pay access fees to Amtrak for the use of its tracks. Commuter railroads account for about 91 percent of the passenger train movements on the corridor. From 1988 through 1993, commuter railroads used an annual average of $105.3 million in revenues and operating subsidies to pay for operating and maintenance expenditures on the corridor. Amtrak provided for about 42 percent of the average annual capital expenditure during this time period, using funds from its Northeast Corridor Improvement Program (NECIP) and general capital subsidies. The Proportion of Amtrak and Non-Amtrak Funding Varies Widely on Various Segments of the Corridor

As figure 6 shows, the relative portion of average annual expenditures for the corridor’s operations and maintenance from 1988 through 1993 funded by Amtrak and non-Amtrak sources varied substantially from segment to segment. Additional Annual Expenditures May Be Required to Maintain a State of Good Repair and Continue Improvements

Information provided by Amtrak and other corridor users indicates that about $677 million will be needed annually over the next 15 years to operate and maintain the infrastructure of the corridor, return it to a state of good repair, and continue existing improvement programs. To determine the relative usage of the corridor and the sources of funding among Amtrak and commuter and freight railroads, we requested train-mile, expenditure, and funding source data for 1988 through 1993. GAO’s Comments

1. GAO’s Comments

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Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the use of the Northeast Corridor by Amtrak and other commuter and freight railroads, focusing on: (1) sources of funding for the corridor's expenditures; and (2) annual funding required to operate and maintain the corridor's infrastructure.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the Northeast Corridor is used daily by 100 Amtrak trains, 1,100 commuter trains, and a few freight trains; (2) about 91 percent of the trains using the corridor are commuter trains; (3) Amtrak and commuter and freight railroads provide the bulk of the funding needed for operating and maintaining the corridor; (4) from 1988 through 1993, commuter railroads provided an average of $105.3 million in revenues and operating subsidies for the corridor's operation and maintenance expenditures and Amtrak funded approximately 42 percent of the corridor's average annual capital expenditures; (5) Amtrak and other users spent an average of $497 million annually on the corridor's operation, maintenance, and capital improvements; (6) an additional $2.7 billion will be needed over the next 15 years to upgrade the corridor's infrastructure; (7) Amtrak and non-Amtrak funding varies widely on various segments of the corridor; and (8) Amtrak needs to improve the quality of its service to protect its revenue.