Semi-troll. Saw something about that in a TRAINS within the last couple of months. Believe it when I see it actually happen, and Amtrak's accounting is notorious for being able to show whatever the management wants it to show - though somehow it's never shown a profit.

The problem with Amtrak breaking even is that it's ephemeral if it even happens, and if done mainly by cutting costs it's hardly sustainable. The railroads that have been into PSR for a while are finding that out - at some point, growth must again occur. Also, let's be clear what "breaking even" means in this context (starting to sound like Bill Clinton here): it means that operating revenue equals operating cost. Not fully allocated cost, not even EBITDA or any of the other Wall Street alphabet soup. Simply raw cost for staff, supplies and other things that go into running the trains is equal to (or less than, if you want a profit) the ticket and other operating revenue (probably including payments demanded from the states, and possibly including income from contracting entities like commuter lines). Congress still needs to provide money for equipment replacement (which is becoming desperate for some parts of the operation) and other capital expense (like fixing bridges and tunnels in the NE Corridor).