Equipment shortages, restrictive labor rules, and policies and procedures of the railroads contracted to run passenger trains place severe constraints on improving Amtrak's finances. Some of these constraints are summarized here.
Insufficient capacity to generate adequate levels of ridership is the basic underlying cause of Amtrak's dismal financial performance. In an [era] of [supply] side economics, it is indeed ironic that growth of ridership is thwarted by a static inventory of rolling stock and locomotives. The nearly $1 billion spent by Amtrak on new passenger cars and locomotives over the past decade has replaced worn out equipment, but it has not provided any opportunity for significant growth. The new equipment has reduced maintenance costs, improved operating performance, and given travelers a more pleasant ride and better on-time arrivals and departures. Because new passenger cars have higher seating capacity and spend less downtime for repairs, fewer of them are needed to equip the existing train fleet on a system-wide basis. However, Amtrak's rolling stock inventory contains some 12 percent fewer cars in 1981 than at its peak period in 1976. The system is stretched to near capacity, and the ridership growth surge developed in the 1970s will level off: trains are full and cars are not available to lengthen existing trains or to add new trains for greater market penetration on those segments of the system where growth potential exists. A decade of inadequate capital funding is in large part the cause of continued high operating deficits and hence the need for hefty federal subsidies.
The thin supply of rolling stock in relation to the size of the system can be seen in the following comparison. The Amtrak figures are from the 1980 Annual Report; all others are from British Railways Board: Facts and Figures, 1980, and Manual of International Railway Statistics, International Union of Railways, 1979.
| Railroad | Route Miles | Number of Passenger Cars |
| Amtrak | 24,000 | 2,000 |
| British Rail | 11,000 | 24,000 |
| French National | 21,000 | 17,000 |
| Italian State | 10,000 | 12,000 |
| German Federal | 17,700 | 17,000 |
| Swiss Federal | 1,800 | 2,000 |
| Japanese National | 13,000 | 26,000 |
Labor rules often hamper operational improvements that could enhance revenue or reduce costs. In 1980 contractual agreements calling for a second crew member in the cab of new, self-propelled rail diesel cars delayed the introduction of this equipment, which was more economical to operate. Requirements that a switching crew be called to add or subtract cars to trains at main-line stations, although road crews could handle the job, increase costs to the point where it is cheaper to haul empty cars to the end of the route. This results in poor equipment utilization and constrains movements of through cars from one train to another. High labor costs resulting from manning requirements established in the last century have been cited as making operations of some trains prohibitively expensive.
In order to comply with a congressional directive for food services to break even, Amtrak in 1981 substituted prepackaged microwave-heated meals for on-board cooking-the only way in which significant staff reduction, and hence cost savings, could be achieved in food services.
Amtrak contracts with 22 private railroads to operate its trains over their lines. The service provided varies with each railroad because they have different attitudes toward passenger trains. While most of these carriers attempt to operate Amtrak trains expeditiously, others have been known to delay passenger trains for freight, to shift freight traffic away from routes used by Amtrak trains (thereby paving the way for downgrading of track and signal systems), or to refuse to operate certain Amtrak locomotives or cars.
A frequently cited agreement by these operating railroads against possible increases in the number of passenger trains is that they interfere with the railroad's main purpose of hauling freight. Railroad operating practice is to run freight trains on an unscheduled, or "extra" basis, which requires a longer time slot than that of scheduled trains. If more scheduled passenger trains are added, then the time available for unscheduled freights is reduced. However, if all trains (freight as well as passenger) were scheduled and operated punctually, capacity on a given track segment would rise.
Another major operational difficulty is that engine and train crews work directly for the contracting railroad and do not fall under the management control of Amtrak, except in the Northeast Corridor, which Amtrak owns and operates.