National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), Office of the Inspector General, Semiannual Report to Congress (April 1, 2008 - September 30, 2008)

摘要

This is Amtrak's Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress. It highlights significant audits, evaluations, and investigations for the six-month period ending September 30, 2008. Amtrak ended FY 2008 with record ridership and revenues, well above budget forecasts, allowing Amtrak to operate with one of the lowest annual subsidy levels in its thirty-seven year history. While there were many larger economic drivers for these excellent business results, including higher gas prices much of the year, and rising fares and service problems in the airline industry, Amtrak generally positioned itself well to take advantage of these opportunities. Amtrak improved its Customer Services indices on a number of routes, and Amtrak successfully partnered with a number of State and regional authorities in their achievement of record ridership and revenue gains as well. Against the results of a banner year for Amtrak, there remain areas where Amtrak needs to continue to improve its core operations, and it is the OIG's responsibility to assist the Board and management in making these improvements. While some improvements have been made in the capital budgeting processes and management of capital spending, more can be done to ensure that capital dollars are being used effectively and on the more important projects. Amtrak can also do more in the area of operating reform, including consolidation and rationalization of maintenance facilities and making more effective use of the idle time of these critical assets.