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A friend has sent you a link to an article found on FlatheadBeacon.com. To read the full text of this article online, click here: /articles/article/how_congress_runs_the_railroad13808/ ARTICLE EXCERPT: In October 2008, Congress directed Amtrak to study adding more routes to Amtrak’s system. Among those routes were two for the Northwest, the Denver-Boise-Portland Pioneer, and a second Seattle-Chicago line, the North Coast Hiawatha (NCH) through Bismarck, Helena and Missoula on the old Northern Pacific. Amtrak’s 53-page NCH report makes interesting reading. Amtrak’s current long-distance trains, not counting the unique Northeast Corridor and California’s special in-state network, cover about 51 percent of direct costs. Each dollar in fares requires the same in subsidy. Some trains, such as the Sunset Limited, cover only 24 percent, meaning every dollar in revenue is backed with $3 from taxpayers. The Empire Builder across the High Line is the “best”-performing conventional Amtrak train, covering 65 percent of its direct costs.