If you’re like me, you love riding trains, especially longer routes. Amtrak certainly has some legendary ones.

The Sunset Limited between New York and Los Angeles, the Silver Meteor between Miami and New York, and of course the Coast Starlight, which heads up and down the west coast between California and the Canadian border.

But the harsh economic reality is this—despite train ridership being at record highs on short haul runs, Amtrak’s long haul services are losing passengers and money—a lot.

On the Sunset Limited, Amtrak loses more than $500 per passenger.

Even the Southern Crescent that travels between New York and New Orleans loses more than $130 per passenger.

Consider this: the Amtrak Cardinal Train, which goes from New York to Chicago, generated $8.5 million in revenue in the last fiscal year, but was hit with $29 million in expenses.

So the question remains—How long can Amtrak continue these routes with such losses?

The answer may be by privatizing some of the trains. That is, if someone wants to foot the bill…and that might just mean higher fares.

For more information about train travel, check out:

• 5 Family-Friendly Train Rides Around the Country
• Train Passes That are Actually Worth the Price
• Short Haul Train Trips You Can Take Around North America

Keep reading for more travel tips.