Amtrak's Financial Woes Bode Ill for SunRail ... Or Do They?

Memo to Gov. Rick Scott: Amtrak is on its way to a $616 million loss, even as it posts record ridership numbers.

The hemorrhaging rail line reported this week that it will require even larger government subsidies if it is to continue operations. Ditto for Tri-Rail, the three-county commuter train that serves Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties in South Florida.

Amtrak's dire financial outlook comes as the passenger line is on pace to carry a record 28.7 million riders. Amtrak said its biggest losses come on long-distance runs.

"They're all unprofitable," Amtrak President Joseph Boardman told Congress on Tuesday.

Whether it's short-haul Tri-Rail or long-distance Amtrak runs, the news is sobering -- and relevant -- to Scott's pending decision on SunRail, the proposed four-county commuter line planned for Central Florida.

With anticipated ridership of less than half of Tri-Rail's numbers (projected to serve just 0.002 percent of the population area it covers), the $1.2 billion SunRail venture appears no more economically viable than the high-speed train Scott rejected earlier this year.

Scott's office said the governor is reaching out to "all stakeholders" before making his final decision. But SunRail critics, including state Sen. Paula Dockery, have complained that Scott is listening mainly to proponents, led by Associated Industries of Florida and Central Florida's GOP delegation.

In a prediction last week, Dockery told Sunshine State News that the governor will eventually green-light the project.