“According to a new study, Amtrak lost $462 per passenger on its route from New Orleans to Los Angeles and $193 per passenger on its route from Chicago to San Francisco in 2008. In each case I found a variety of airline flights for just over $100 on these routes. Therefore, it would have been cheaper for Amtrak to buy its passengers free airplane tickets than transport them. I don’t know what Amtrak charges because, as is often the case, its web site is down.” — Bruce Bartlett