Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT) 

System 

Methodology Summary 

September 2017 

DOT-VNTSC-FRA-17-06 

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Office of Policy and Planning 

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1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE

September 2017 

3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED

Technical Report

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT) System

Summary of Allocation Methodology

5a. FUNDING NUMBERS

RR06D3 

6. AUTHOR(S)

Greg Bucci, David Hyde, Ronald Mauri

5b. CONTRACT NUMBER

QD253

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

U.S. Department of Transportation

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

55 Broadway

Cambridge, MA 02142-1093

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 

REPORT NUMBER

DOT-VNTSC-FRA-17-06 

9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)

Federal Railroad Administration

Office of Policy and Planning

Washington, DC 20590

10. SPONSORING/MONITORING

AGENCY REPORT NUMBER

11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE

13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)

The Volpe Center collaborated with Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop a cost accounting system named Amtrak 

Performance Tracking (APT) used by Amtrak to manage, allocate, and report its costs. APT’s initial development was detailed in a 2009 FRA 

Report to Congress and again in a 2016 update. This report is a summary of the APT methodology and implementation providing an 

introduction to new stakeholders. The report describes APT’s purpose, input data, allocation methodology, uses, and stakeholders. For a full 

discussion of APT, see the April 2016 Update on the Methodology for Amtrak Cost Accounting Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT).

14. SUBJECT TERMS

Amtrak, Amtrak Performance Tracking, APT, Cost accounting, Cost allocation,

Federal Railroad Administration, Fully allocated costs, National Railroad Passenger

Corporation, Passenger rail, Railroad

15. NUMBER OF PAGES

64 

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OF REPORT

Unclassified

18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

OF THIS PAGE

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20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89)

Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18

298-102
SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS

Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol

LENGTH

in inches 25.4 millimeters mm

ft feet 0.305 meters m

yd yards 0.914 meters m

mi miles 1.61 kilometers km

AREA

in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2

ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2

yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2

ac acres 0.405 hectares ha

mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2

VOLUME

fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL

gal gallons 3.785 liters L

ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3

yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3

NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3

MASS

oz ounces 28.35 grams g

lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg

T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t")

oz ounces 28.35 grams g

TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9

or (F-32)/1.8

Celsius oC

ILLUMINATION

fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx

fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS

lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N

lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa

APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS

Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol

LENGTH

mm millimeters 0.039 inches in

m meters 3.28 feet ft

m meters 1.09 yards yd

km kilometers 0.621 miles mi

AREA

mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2

m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2

m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2

ha hectares 2.47 acres ac

km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2

VOLUME

mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz

L liters 0.264 gallons gal

m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3

m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3

mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz

MASS

g grams 0.035 ounces oz

kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb

Mg (or "t") megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T

g grams 0.035 ounces oz

TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oC Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF

ILLUMINATION

lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc

cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl

FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS

N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf

kPa Kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2

*SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003)
APT Methodology Summary i

Contents 

List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... iii

List of Tables ..........................................................................................................................iv

List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. v

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 What Is APT? What Does APT Do? ............................................................................................. 1

1.2 Overview of the APT Methodology ............................................................................................. 2 

Building APT Input Data .................................................................................................. 5

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 Expense Transaction Data Records and Their Codes .................................................................. 6

2.2.1 Cost Center..................................................................................................................... 7

2.2.2 Account .......................................................................................................................... 8

2.2.3 Internal Order ................................................................................................................ 8 

2.2.4 Profit Center ................................................................................................................... 9 

2.2.5 Work Breakdown Structure Element ........................................................................... 10 

2.3 Revenue Transaction Data ........................................................................................................ 11 

2.4 Amtrak’s Business Lines: Trains, Routes, and Other Businesses .............................................. 11 

2.4.1 Amtrak’s NTS Business Line – Intercity Trains and Routes .......................................... 12 

2.4.2 Infrastructure Business Line......................................................................................... 15 

2.4.3 Amtrak’s Other Ancillary Businesses ........................................................................... 16 

2.4.4 Unallocated Business Line............................................................................................ 16 

2.5 Allocation Statistics ................................................................................................................... 17 

APT’s Allocation Process ............................................................................................... 19

3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 19

3.2 Allocating Train Operating Costs............................................................................................... 20

3.3 Overview: The 5-Step Allocation Process ................................................................................ 21 

3.3.1 Step 1: Obtain Input Data from Amtrak Information Systems ................................... 22

3.3.2 Step 2: Match Each Expense Transaction to an Allocation Rule ................................. 23

3.3.3 Step 3: Obtain Allocation Data for Each Expense Transaction ................................... 24
APT Methodology Summary ii

3.3.4 Step 4: Allocate Costs to Designated Trains ............................................................... 25 

3.3.5 Step 5: Storing Cost Allocations into an Accessible Database ..................................... 26 

3.4 Data and Methods Used in the 5-Step Allocation Process ....................................................... 26 

3.4.1 Financial Codes—Determining What Transactions Use an Allocation Rule ................ 27 

3.4.2 Identification of Trains Receiving Cost Allocation ....................................................... 28 

3.4.3 Designation of the Allocation Statistic in an APT Rule ................................................. 29 

3.4.4 APT’s Allocation Formula ............................................................................................. 30

3.5 Creating APT’s Rules and Family Structure ............................................................................... 31 

3.6 Allocation Rounds ..................................................................................................................... 31 

3.7 Allocating Revenues .................................................................................................................. 33 

APT’s Treatment of Capital-Related Expenses ............................................................... 34

4.1 Description of Capital-Related Expenses .................................................................................. 34

4.1.1 Depreciation Expenses ................................................................................................. 34

4.1.2 Interest Expense .......................................................................................................... 35

4.1.3 Capital Acquisition Expenses ....................................................................................... 35

4.2 Allocating Capital-Related Costs in APT .................................................................................... 35

4.2.1 Accounting for Capital Consumption Costs in APT ...................................................... 36

4.2.2 APT’s Treatment of Depreciation and Interest ............................................................ 38 

4.2.3 APT’s Treatment of Capital Expenditure ...................................................................... 38 

APT Reports and Uses ................................................................................................... 39

5.1 APT Reporting ........................................................................................................................... 39

5.1.1 Business Planning and Consolidation Software ........................................................... 39 

5.1.2 APT’s Core Required Reports ....................................................................................... 41 

5.2 APT’s Primary Users and Uses ................................................................................................... 42 

5.2.1 Amtrak’s Use of APT..................................................................................................... 42 

5.2.2 Federal Government’s Use of APT ............................................................................... 43 

5.2.3 State Government’s Use of APT ................................................................................... 44 

APT Administrative and Background Information ......................................................... 46

6.1 Development History of APT ..................................................................................................... 46

6.2 Amtrak’s Operation of APT ....................................................................................................... 47

6.2.1 Monthly Testing and Maintenance .............................................................................. 47
APT Methodology Summary iii

6.2.2 Maintaining APT’s Long-Term Utility ........................................................................... 48

6.3 Cooperation for Future Changes............................................................................................... 48

Appendix A.......................................................................................................................... 50

List of Figures

Figure 1-1. Overview of APT Allocation Methodology and Data Flows....................................................... 4

Figure 2-1. Example of Cost Centers and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record................................ 7

Figure 2-2. Example of Accounts and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record ..................................... 8

Figure 2-3. Example Internal Orders and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record................................ 9

Figure 2-4. Example of Profit Centers and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record.............................. 9

Figure 2-5. Example of WBSEs and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record.......................................10

Figure 2-6. Carolinian Base/Increment Route............................................................................................13

Figure 2-7. Northeast Corridor Route Structure........................................................................................14

Figure 3-1. Components of Fully Allocated Costs......................................................................................19

Figure 3-2. Overview of APT Allocation Methodology and Data Flows.....................................................21

Figure 3-3. Step 1 - Obtain Input Data from Amtrak Information Systems...............................................22

Figure 3-4. Step 2: Matching Each Expense Transaction to an Allocation Rule........................................23

Figure 3-5. Step 3: Obtaining Allocation Data for Each Expense Transaction...........................................25

Figure 3-6. Step 4: Allocating Costs to Designated Trains.........................................................................26

Figure 3-7. Step 5: Storing Cost Allocations into an Accessible Database ................................................26

Figure 3-8. Round 1 Allocation...................................................................................................................32

Figure 3-9. Using Round 1 Results to Allocate Round 2 Expenses.............................................................33

Figure 4-1. APT’s Treatment of Various Operating and Capital Expenditures...........................................37

Figure 5-1. Store Cost Allocations into an Accessible Database ................................................................40
APT Methodology Summary iv

List of Tables 

Table 2-1. Example of SAP-APT Transaction Codes Used for Cost Allocation.............................................. 7

Table 2-2. Example of APT Revenue Accounts...........................................................................................11

Table 2-3. Amtrak Routes...........................................................................................................................15

Table 3-1. APT Rule for the San Antonio Station Example.........................................................................27

Table 3-2. Example of APT Train Groups....................................................................................................28

Table 5-1. Fiscal Year 2016 Total Operating Costs for Station Services, San Antonio, TX, Cost Center ....40

Table 5-2. Total Operating Costs for the Texas Eagle Route for Fiscal Year 2016 .....................................41
APT Methodology Summary v

List of Abbreviations

Abbreviation Term

AC Account

ANC Ancillary 

APT Amtrak Performance Tracking

AUA Asset Usage Allocation

BPC Business Planning and Consolidation

CC Cost Center

CETC Consolidated Electrification Traffic Control

ELH Enginemen Labor Hours

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning

FRA Federal Railroad Administration

FY Fiscal Year

G&A General and Administrative

GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

IG Inspector General

IO Internal Order

LMS Labor Management System

MARC Maryland Area Regional Commuter

MPR Monthly Performance Report

NTS National Train Service

OPEB Other Post-Employee Benefits

PC Profit Center

PRIIA Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008

PRJ Project Related Costs Paid with Capital Funding

RPR Route Profitability Report

RPS Route Profitability System

RRDW Ridership and Revenue Data Warehouse (System)

SAIPRC State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee

SAP Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing

SQ Statistic (Stat) Qualifier

Stat Statistic

TBD Total Boards and Deboards

TG Train Group

TUS Train Unit Statistic (System)

Volpe John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

WBS Work Breakdown Structure

WBSE Work Breakdown Structure Elements

XSP Excluding Special Trains
APT Methodology Summary 1

Introduction 

The purpose of this report is to describe in plain language the Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT) 

system. APT is a large, complex system and this report provides users a high-level understanding of APT 

to facilitate the proper interpretation and use of its results, especially train costs and revenue results. 

Other documents are available that provide more detailed explanations of APT’s background, methods, 

and terminology.1

While the primary users of APT are Amtrak 

employees for internal management purposes, 

other parties use APT results and have an interest 

in understanding its background and procedures. 

The main audiences for this report are the end 

users of APT’s results, such as the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), U.S. Congress, and Amtrak’s 

State partners. FRA and Congress use APT results in 

their role as Amtrak overseers, including 

monitoring financial performance, creating 

budgets, and other initiatives involving Amtrak. Also, APT results are a key input into the service 

agreements Amtrak enters into with its State partners who use APT results to validate their bills and 

evaluate their services. See Section 5 of this report for more discussion of APT’s users, uses, and 

outputs. 

1.1 What Is APT? What Does APT Do? 

APT is an Amtrak financial reporting system that 

allocates revenues and costs to Amtrak trains, 

routes, and other business lines. 

 

1 Update on the Methodology for Amtrak Cost Accounting, Amtrak Performance Tracking (APT): Volume 1, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, April 22, 2016 (hereafter referred to as APT 

Update Report). Volume 2 contains Appendices A – F. Volumes 1 and 2 are accessible online at: 

http://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/15780 and https://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/15771.

APT Users and Uses 

x Internal management by Amtrak 

staff 

x Federal oversight 

x Service agreements with State 

partners 

APT reports costs and revenues for 

Amtrak trains and other businesses 
APT Methodology Summary 2

Congress mandated its development in 2004 and APT went into effect in Fiscal Year 2010. Listed below 

are APT’s notable features. 

• APT provides allocated results of the total operating costs for all of Amtrak’s train services, or

fully allocated costs. 

• Fully allocated costs include expenses associated with a single train, such as the wages of an 

engineer or conductor.

• Fully allocated costs also include a portion of the expense for employees, materials, and other 

items that support the operation of multiple trains. Examples of these shared expenses are 

management staff and station operating costs. APT allocates these shared costs to the 

relevant trains they support.

• APT allocates the cost to Amtrak’s other business lines2 in the same way it allocates the cost of 

trains. These other business lines include the following: infrastructure access by other 

commuter and freight railroads to its network on a fee basis; operating commuter railroads; 

repairing or maintaining rail equipment and track for other railroads; and commercial real 

estate activities such as selling, leasing, or operating its stations and other properties.

• APT’s results use Amtrak’s audited financial data.

• The methods for APT’s allocation of Amtrak revenue follow the same general approach as its 

cost allocation. 

• APT allocations are made at the train level, but most public uses of APT results involve 

aggregating these to the route level. One simple example is that the Silver Star route between 

New York and Miami has two trains daily, one in each direction.

1.2 Overview of the APT Methodology

The fully allocated cost and revenue results from APT are its final output and are based on input data 

from several other Amtrak financial and information systems. Figure 1-1 depicts the overall process used 

in producing APT results and may be a useful reference to the reader serving as a roadmap of the 

 

2

 In its documentation and programs, APT uses the term “business lines” in reference to Amtrak’s trains and other 

business activity for customers. In response to the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub.L. 114-

94, enacted December 4, 2015), FRA developed an accounting structure that uses the term “service lines” for this 

purpose (see Section 5.2.2). Although closely related, the two terms are distinct.
APT Methodology Summary 3

systems and data needed to operate and produce APT allocated results. The upper and left-hand areas 

depict the two primary data sources used by APT. The upper area shows a transaction entering Amtrak’s 

SAP3 financial system and being

coded for use by APT while the lower

left-hand area shows Amtrak’s train 

and operations data entering APT as 

train statistics for allocation. Section

2 of this report explains this process, 

including a description of Amtrak’s 

financial codes shown in the SAP 

box. The lower right-hand area in 

Figure 1-1 depicts how APT uses the 

financial data, in combination with train statistics, to allocate costs and revenues. Section 3 of this 

report explains the allocation methodology depicted in the lower area of the figure. 

 

3 SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing) is the general reference for SAP AG, a German-based 

software corporation best known for its enterprise management and reporting software products. SAP’s primary 

product is SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and is used by corporations worldwide, including Amtrak. The 

term “SAP” may refer to the corporation or the SAP ERP product, depending on the context.

• APT uses SAP financial data

• APT uses train operating data from other 

systems

• APT has allocation rules /logic

• The APT program uses data and rules to 

produce allocated results
APT Methodology Summary 4

Figure 1-1. Overview of APT Allocation Methodology and Data Flows
APT Methodology Summary 5

Building APT Input Data 

2.1 Introduction 

APT’s basic purpose is to interpret Amtrak financial transactions and allocate4 them to trains and other 

parts of its business. This process has three basic elements: 

x What is being processed͸cost and revenue financial transactions 

x The business lines͸trains and other businesses, such as contracts for commuter railroad 

operations and repairs, to which the costs and revenues are allocated 

x A method͸logic, rules, or formulas that do the allocation 

This section explains the upper and left areas of Figure 1-1, beginning with a description of the financial 

codes used and how they form the building blocks for APT’s allocation process. An example will be used 

in this report to illustrate how a specific expense item, management’s wages at the San Antonio, TX 

station, is handled in SAP. Section 2 also discusses different types of financial transactions and other 

data used in the APT allocation process, including Amtrak’s train and operations data, which become 

APT’s train statistics. With this foundation, Section 3 then describes the APT methods depicted in the 

lower right-hand area of Figure 1-1: how APT interprets the financial codes and uses them in allocating 

costs to trains. The San Antonio expense transaction example will continue into Section 3 to illustrate 

the allocation process. In both sections, the San Antonio case is an example of one type of expense and 

allocation rule and is not representative of other station wages or all expenses at that location. It is a 

simplified example to demonstrate one potential path for a real-world expense through the SAP and 

APT systems resulting in a route cost. 

 

4

 In this report, the term “allocate” is used broadly for fully allocated costs, covering all APT processes for 

attributing costs to trains, both direct and allocated. This usage is consistent with APT’s goal of reporting fully 

allocated route costs, as further explained in the Section 3 discussion of APT allocation process. 
APT Methodology Summary 6

2.2 Expense Transaction Data Records and Their Codes

Amtrak uses software from SAP as its general ledger and financial accounting system for reporting and 

management. This report follows the common convention of referring to both the company and this 

software as “SAP.” Among its many functions, the SAP system creates the data records for all Amtrak 

financial transactions5 both external (cash flows such as expenses and revenues) and internal (transfers 

and credits).

Each expense transaction becomes a data record in 

the SAP system that contains its dollar value and 

several codes that give information about the type 

of transaction—what was bought, when, by whom,

for what purpose, etc. 

When a transaction is entered into SAP, the relevant codes are assigned to the data record. For 

example, when a material purchase is made, the location of the maintenance facility and the type of 

material purchased are used to assign codes reflecting this information to the transaction data record. In 

the San Antonio station example, a payroll expense record is created with codes that indicate a 

manager’s assignment, function, and wage. 

Each month, SAP transfers to APT all expense and 

revenue transactions, including both the dollar value 

and the set of codes APT uses to allocate costs to 

trains and other businesses. There are five financial

transaction codes (together called the “Code Block”) 

that are the key building blocks used in the APT 

allocation process. 

Table 2-1 gives the Code Block data for the San Antonio station management wages example. The 

following subsections describe the structure and content of these five transaction codes and their 

specific application to the San Antonio station example.

 

5 All financial transactions in SAP are transferred as an input to APT, but APT does not allocate all transactions to 

routes and business lines. See Section 4 for a description of these unallocated transaction types and how APT 

treats them.

Every Amtrak revenue and expense 

transaction becomes a SAP data 

record

“Code Block”: The five transaction 

codes for each expense that APT uses 

to allocate costs
APT Methodology Summary 7

Table 2-1. Example of SAP-APT Transaction Codes Used for Cost Allocation

Code and 

Description Cost Center Account Internal Order Profit Center WBSE

Code CC_2814 AC_500010 IO_1241 PC_18250 W_NO_W

Description

Station 

Services, San 

Antonio, 

Texas

Wages

Station Services – 

Management and 

Supervision

Long-Distance General 

Management Support

No WBSE 

Qualifiers 

The Code Block for all transactions has Cost Center, Account, Internal Order, Profit Center, and Work 

Breakdown Structure Elements codes. Each unique combination of Code Block elements is typically used 

for multiple expense transactions processed by APT. In this example, there are several employees 

involved in operating this station over the 12-month fiscal year.

2.2.1 Cost Center 

SAP includes and maintains a database of Cost Centers (CC). Most Cost Centers are hierarchical 

organizational units with a supervisor and staff where work takes place. Each Cost Center is identified by 

a four-character code and an associated name. The performance of a defined set of activities or 

functions, such as ticketing at a station or passenger car repairs at a maintenance facility, results in Cost 

Center expenses. Many, but not all, Cost Centers are focused on the operation of Amtrak’s core 

passenger train business. Amtrak uses other Cost Centers for Amtrak’s non-train ancillary businesses, 

and as virtual Cost Centers to manage overheads and other accounting special cases, such as certain 

special projects and fuel purchases. Amtrak has approximately 1,600 active Cost Centers.

In the San Antonio station example, there is a specific San Antonio Station Services Cost Center. When a 

payroll transaction is created, such as a manager’s bi-weekly paycheck, that Cost Center code is added 

to the expense transaction record.

Figure 2-1 gives examples of several APT Cost Centers and illustrates the insertion of the Station 

Services, San Antonio, Texas Cost Center code into a transaction data record. 

Figure 2-1. Example of Cost Centers and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record
APT Methodology Summary 8

2.2.2 Account 

SAP includes and maintains a database of Accounts (ACs) that identify various types of expenses, 

revenue sources, and balance sheet items. Each Account is identified by a unique six-digit number and 

an associated name. Amtrak’s accounting systems use approximately 500 Accounts.

When a San Antonio station manager is paid wages, “AC_500010―Wages” is included on the payroll 

transaction. If the manager had been on paid vacation that period, “AC_500011―Vacation” would have 

been used instead. Figure 2-2 gives examples of APT Accounts and illustrates the insertion of the Wages 

Account code into the transaction data record for the San Antonio station example.

Figure 2-2. Example of Accounts and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record

2.2.3 Internal Order 

SAP includes and maintains a database of Internal Orders (IOs). Internal Orders categorize expenses by 

purpose and identify the task, type,or nature of work performed. Internal Orders are identified by a 

four-digit number and an associated name. Amtrak’s accounting systems use approximately 150 Internal 

Orders. 

Station operations include several types of labor activity, each with a unique Internal Order, including 

Ticketing, Operations, and Red Caps and Porters. In the San Antonio station example, the 

IO_1241―Station Services―Management and Supervision is used. This Internal Order is associated with

a manager’s payroll record and added to the SAP transaction record. Figure 2-3 gives examples of APT 

Internal Orders and illustrates the insertion of the Station Services Management and Supervision 

Internal Order code into a transaction data record for the San Antonio example.
APT Methodology Summary 9

Figure 2-3. Example Internal Orders and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record

2.2.4 Profit Center 

SAP includes and maintains a database of approximately 100 Profit Centers (PCs) to record revenues6

and expenses within Amtrak’s business lines (see Section 2.4 for a discussion of Amtrak’s business 

lines). Profit Centers are identified by a four-digit number and an associated name. In APT, the Profit 

Center code is used to identify the relevant service in developing an allocation rule in cases where the 

other Code Block data does not provide enough information about an expense’s type, purpose, or 

linkage to a train or other business lines.

As the San Antonio station serves only long-distance routes, all its expenses are associated with 

Amtrak’s Long-Distance Route General Management Support Profit Center, and that code is entered for 

each transaction at that station. Figure 2-4 gives other examples of APT Profit Centers and illustrates the 

insertion of the Long-Distance Route General Management Support Profit Center code into the same 

transaction data record for the San Antonio station example.

Figure 2-4. Example of Profit Centers and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record

 

6 Expenses are coded with both a Profit and Cost Center, while revenues are coded in SAP with only a Profit Center.
APT Methodology Summary 10

2.2.5 Work Breakdown Structure Element 

SAP includes and maintains a database of approximately 65,000 Work Breakdown Structure Elements 

(WBSEs) to track a project’s expenses. WBSEs have a multi-level coding structure. Lower-level fields

provide more detail about a project’s expenses (for example: location, train segment, or specific 

equipment units) and are connected by the WBSE hierarchal coding structure as part of a single overarching project. 7

Under the “WBSE Database” in Figure 2-5, two Boston South Station entries illustrate the hierarchical 

structure. The higher-level L_1252 is used for general management and oversight expenses for projects 

at South Station, and the lower-level, more specific WBSE code L_1252_900475 is used for expenses 

involving a specific electrification project.

In the selected example transaction of a San Antonio station manager’s wages from the payroll, the 

WBSE code “W_NO_W” is used for general station operations when the manager is not assigned to a 

particular project.8 Figure 2-5 gives examples of APT WBSEs and illustrates the insertion of the “no 

project” WBSE code into the same transaction data record, now containing the full Code Block needed 

by APT for cost allocation. 

Figure 2-5. Example of WBSEs and the Link to an Expense Transaction Record

 

7 However, the WBS structure is not directly additive within the hierarchy. The WBSE code for a specific expense is 

entered only at one WBS level, and thus higher-level WBSE codes are not sums of lower-level entries. Figure 2-5

describes two Boston South Station entries in the WBSE database. The higher-level project L_1252 does not 

include the other’s costs, even though both projects are physically located at the same location and they share the 

same prefix.

8 This example is not an exhaustive treatment of the San Antonio station or wage transactions. Other transactions 

for the same manager (including other wage or related transactions) could have specific WBSE project codes.
APT Methodology Summary 11

2.3 Revenue Transaction Data

APT obtains monthly revenue transaction data from SAP as part of the same process it uses to obtain 

expense data. Each revenue transaction is processed in SAP and APT in the same manner as the expense

transactions, using Accounts, WBSEs, and Profit Centers to allocate revenue transactions to trains and 

other businesses. Account codes are the key identifying feature and describe the type and source of 

revenue. Table 2-2 gives examples of APT revenue account codes. 

Table 2-2. Example of APT Revenue Accounts

Account Code Account Name

400102 Passenger Ticket Revenue

400104 Sleeping Car Revenue

400112 First Class Revenue

400110 Food and Beverage Revenue

410017 State-supported Service Revenues

459008 Merchandise Sales

Profit Center codes identify the Amtrak route. Examples of routes include the Northeast Corridor or 

Heartland Flyer. Profit Center also identifies the ancillary lines of business, such as Amtrak-operated 

commuter railroads, or reimbursable repair of other railroads’ equipment. WBSE codes identify the 

specific trains or ancillary business customers that generated the revenue.

2.4 Amtrak’s Business Lines: Trains, Routes, and Other 

Businesses9

APT allocates costs and revenues to Amtrak’s “business lines.” The APT business lines include Amtrak’s 

trains and routes―the National Train Service (NTS), but also Amtrak’s non-NTS business lines. The 

inclusion of these other non-NTS business lines in APT facilitates the allocation of a portion of various 

common overhead costs to them, and not just to Amtrak’s passenger trains.10 The following subsections 

 

9 Amtrak’s Business Lines are related but distinct from the FAST Act Section 11201 Service Lines discussed in 

Section 5.2.2 10 In APT, even the non-NTS business line to which costs are allocated are treated as “trains,” albeit with names 
APT Methodology Summary 12

describe APT’s four categories of business lines; namely:

• Amtrak’s National Train Service, or NTS11

• Infrastructure

• Amtrak’s other ancillary businesses

• Unallocated12

2.4.1 Amtrak’s NTS Business Line – Intercity Trains and Routes

Amtrak’s primary business line in terms of size, 

interest, and general public awareness, is its 

intercity NTS, specifically its passenger train

service. 

APT uses trains as the basic unit of analysis for 

its passenger service business. The definition of a train follows common usage, namely one or more 

locomotives and passenger cars linked together and traveling a specific route between two end points, 

usually with intermediate stops. APT allocates revenues and costs to the many Acela, Northeast 

Regional, State-supported and long-distance passenger trains that Amtrak operates. 

The simple definition of a train does not convey the complexities of actual operations. An example is

when a train is split on occasion at an intermediate point and the two parts now continue on different 

paths to different end points as two separate trains. In another case, a State, under a contractual 

agreement with Amtrak, will support some (or appropriate costs as defined by the 209 Cost 

Methodology Policy) costs in excess of revenues for a given route. The State-supported portion of the 

route is treated as a separate train in APT, despite being a single physical train. Amtrak uses the term 

“Base/Increment” for these cases where “Base” refers to the Amtrak-supported portion of the route, 

and “Increment” refers to the State-supported portion(s) of the route(s). An example of this is the 

Carolinian, a train from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina. Figure 2-6 shows the case of the 

Carolinian; the portion of the route from New York to Washington, DC is the Base while the Statesupported Increment is from Washington to Charlotte.

 

that reflect their actual nature. This is a necessary expedience for allocating costs to these other business lines.

11 Amtrak’s NTS includes 3 services: the Northeast Corridor (NEC), State-Supported, and Long-Distance Services.

12 Unallocated is not a business line that performs services, but is a virtual business line for allocation of certain 

special-case transactions, separate and distinct from Amtrak’s other business lines.

APT “Business Lines” are Amtrak’s 

National Train Service (NTS), the 

primary APT business line, and 

Amtrak’s other businesses

APT allocates costs to individual 

passenger trains and aggregates to 

routes
APT Methodology Summary 13

Figure 2-6. Carolinian Base/Increment Route

There are also special cases of trains operated once or only a few times a year, such as tourist trains and 

extra trains at holiday times. Amtrak uses a system of distinct train numbers to manage such 

complexities, and APT uses Amtrak’s train numbering system in allocating costs. Amtrak operates about 

500 numbered trains per day. For example, train number 821 travels from Oklahoma City, OK, to Fort 

Worth, TX, while train number 822 travels the same route in the reverse direction.

Although APT’s cost allocation and Amtrak’s operational management focuses at the train level, 

Amtrak’s business management, stakeholder interest, and most reporting focus on the route and service 

level. Routes are groups of trains that operate and serve, at least in part, common stations or city pairs. 

The simplest definition of a route would be two or more trains that regularly operate between the same 

end-point cities in both directions. For example, route number 29 is the Heartland Flyer and has two 

trains (821 and 822 noted above), one in each direction between Oklahoma City, OK, and Fort Worth, 

TX. Other routes have some trains that do not operate over the entire end-to-end route or involve more 

complex networks with a core “stem” line plus “connecting corridor” branches or spokes. A prime 

example is the Northeast Corridor route, with its core Washington, DC, to Boston, MA “spine” and 

multiple connecting corridors serving Harrisburg, PA, Hartford, CT and other points. Figure 2-7 illustrates 

this spine-and-branch route structure of the Northeast Corridor.

Routes are geographical groupings of trains
APT Methodology Summary 14

Figure 2-7. Northeast Corridor Route Structure

Source: NEC Commission 13

Amtrak has an identification system for routes that uses both numbers and names. Each specific train 

number is associated with just one route. Table 2-3 provides a list of Amtrak’s current 48 train routes by 

name and number.

14 APT route-level reporting includes all trains that are members of that route and is 

the sum for all daily trips in the reporting time period, which is typically a month, year-to-date, or year.

 

13 Source is NEC Commission (Northeast Corridor Capital Investment Plan: FY2017-2021, April 2016, available at: 

http://www.nec-commission.com/cip-fy17-21/report/Northeast%20Corridor%20Five-Year%20Capital%20Plan.pdf, 

pg. 9).

14In Appendix B of the April 2016 APT Update Report, Table B-8 provides a full listing of Amtrak’s current 47 train 

routes, including their NTS Service Line and the key markets they serve.
APT Methodology Summary 15

Table 2-3. Amtrak Routes

Route 

Number Route Name Route Type Route Number Route Name Route Type

1 Acela Express NEC Spine 33 Sunset Limited Long Distance

3 Ethan Allen Express State-Supported 34 Coast Starlight Long Distance

4 Vermonter State-Supported 35 Pacific Surfliner State-Supported

5 Northeast Regional NEC Spine 36 Cascades State-Supported

7 Albany-Niagara FallsToronto State-Supported 37 Capitol Corridor State-Supported

9 Downeaster State-Supported 39 San Joaquin State-Supported

12 New HavenSpringfield State-Supported 40 Adirondack State-Supported

14 Keystone State-Supported 41 Blue Water State-Supported

15 Empire Service State-Supported 45 Lake Shore Limited Long Distance

16 Silver Star Long Distance 46 WashingtonLynchburg State-Supported

18 Cardinal Long Distance 47 Washington-Newport 

News State-Supported

19 Silver Meteor Long Distance 48 Palmetto Long Distance

20 Chicago-St. Louis State-Supported 50 Washington-Norfolk State-Supported

21 Hiawatha State-Supported 51 WashingtonRichmond State-Supported

22 Wolverine State-Supported 52 Crescent Long Distance

23 Illinois State-Supported 54 Hoosier State State-Supported

24 Illinois Zephyr State-Supported 56 Kansas City-St. Louis State-Supported

25 Empire Builder Long Distance 57 Pennsylvanian State-Supported

26 Capitol Limited Long Distance 63 Auto Train Long Distance

27 California Zephyr Long Distance 65 Pere Marquette State-Supported

28 Southwest Chief Long Distance 66 Carolinian State-Supported

29 Heartland Flyer State-Supported 67 Piedmont State-Supported

30 City of New Orleans Long Distance 96 Special Trains State-Supported

32 Texas Eagle Long Distance 99 Special Trains NEC Spine

2.4.2 Infrastructure Business Line

The costs of operating and maintaining Amtrak-owned or controlled fixed assets such as track, 

communication and electrical traction systems, bridges, tunnels and other physical assets Amtrak uses in 

its train operations, are allocated to the Infrastructure business line. The Infrastructure business line 

consists of two components:

• Commuter Infrastructure Access: Contracts for access to Amtrak’s track and other facilities by 

independently operated commuter railroad agencies
APT Methodology Summary 16

• Freight Infrastructure Access: Contracts for access to Amtrak’s track and other facilities by 

freight railroads

Each railroad that pays for access to Amtrak’s facilities in the Infrastructure business line is its own

“train” in APT.

2.4.3 Amtrak’s Other Ancillary Businesses

In APT, each of Amtrak’s other Ancillary businesses are treated as another “train” with costs and 

revenues like Amtrak’s NTS operating trains. APT’s other business lines include:

• Commuter Operations: Operation of commuter service by Amtrak on behalf of outside 

commuter railroad agencies

• Reimbursable: Maintenance of infrastructure and equipment performed by Amtrak for 

outside enterprises, mostly commuter and freight railroads, on a reimbursable cost basis

• Commercial: Management of Amtrak’s property and assets, other than for the provision of 

intercity passenger train service (e.g., retail space at stations, parking garages, air rights, etc.). 

Each of these other business categories is treated like a route in APT and can have multiple individual 

“customers” whose treatment in APT parallels that of trains. For example, each commuter and freight 

railroad making use of Amtrak trackage and other infrastructure is treated as a separate customer and 

Profit Center with allocated costs and revenues.

The treatment of these other 

businesses, including Infrastructure, as 

trains alongside Amtrak’s NTS trains 

allows APT to allocate to them a share 

of corporate overhead expenses, also

commonly known and referred to as general and administrative (G&A) expenses. A portion of the 

various corporate overhead activities and expenses incurred at Amtrak is directed to managing and 

supporting the other businesses and are essential to their existence. APT’s allocation method properly 

allocates a share of those costs to these businesses.

2.4.4 Unallocated Business Line

APT uses a virtual business line named “Unallocated” in its treatment of certain special-case expense 

transactions that are not allocated to the operating costs of its trains and other businesses. Because 

these expense transactions are entered into SAP and are part of the APT input data, the APT method 

uses Unallocated to set these expenses aside and exclude them from APT’s regular reporting of

allocated operating costs and revenues. Most of these are depreciation and interest operating expenses 

related to capital consumption not allocated to the NTS trains and other businesses. Other minor 

expenses, such as the Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG), are also put in Unallocated and not 

allocated to trains.

APT allocates costs to individual customers 

and treats them as additional “trains” in the 

system
APT Methodology Summary 17

Section 4 explains the Unallocated business line in more 

detail, including its purpose, a fuller description of these 

expenses, their background at Amtrak, APT’s treatment of 

these unallocated transactions, and a depiction of the process 

in context with other Amtrak allocated expenses.

2.5 Allocation Statistics

In addition to the financial transactions transferred from SAP to APT, APT receives Amtrak’s operational 

and train data. These data come from several systems within Amtrak, including:

• Labor Management System for train crew assignments and hours

• Ridership and Revenue Warehouse for train passenger counts and ticket revenues

• Train Unit Statistic System for rolling stock equipment assignments

• Operations Management System for train movement and location data

Together, the systems provide a series of quantitative measures of each train, referred to collectively as 

“allocation statistics” as depicted in the lower left-hand area of Figure 1-1. 

APT uses allocation statistics to calculate the portions of expenses allocated to each train or business 

line. Allocation statistics are measures that reflect the level of train activity or inputs to train operations. 

They are commonly referred to as “cost drivers” because activity levels and costs tend to move in 

parallel. In 2015, APT used 75 statistics for allocation and reporting; this number could change in the 

future as the business evolves and APT is updated. APT allocation statistics fall into the following general 

categories:

• Train operation statistics, such as Total Operated Train Miles and Diesel Unit15 Miles

• Passenger statistics, such as Total Boards and Deboards (at a station) and First-Class Riders

• Labor Statistics, such as Engineer Labor Hours and Sleeping Car Attendant Labor Hours

• Account-based statistics, such as Passenger Related Transportation Revenue and Food 

Expenses

 

15 A “Unit” is a single piece of rail equipment, usually a locomotive or passenger rail car.

APT uses the “Unallocated” 

category for “allocating” 

expenses that are not train 

costs

Allocation statistics are “cost driver” measures of train activity
APT Methodology Summary 18

• APT generated dollar-denominated statistics, such as Total Activity Cost and Maintenance-ofWay Direct Cost

• Manual or system-generated statistics, such as Gallons (of diesel fuel) and Travel Agent Sales

In the April 2016 APT Update Report, Appendix D lists and describes the allocation and reporting 

statistics used in Fiscal Year 2015. 
APT Methodology Summary 19

APT’s Allocation Process 

3.1 Introduction 

APT directly assigns or allocates costs and revenues to Amtrak trains and other parts of its business 

using a process or methodology that follows straightforward and widely accepted accounting principles. 

The allocation process for costs and revenues are identical; only the transaction coding is different. 

APT’s allocation processes for capital expenses, capital consumption costs, and non-train expenses share 

many features with the general methodology, but also includes special treatments explained in Section 

4. 

In this report, the term “allocate” is used broadly for fully allocated costs, covering all APT processes for 

attributing costs to trains. This includes both allocation of shared expenses and assignment, the many 

cases in which 100 percent of an expense is directly assigned to a train. This usage is consistent with 

APT’s statutory requirement to report the fully allocated cost of each route: the sum of direct and 

allocated costs. Currently, about 55 percent of Amtrak’s total expenses are directly assigned, a share 

that has increased over time. 

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This section describes APT’s general allocation process using only train operating costs as the example. 

With this as a basis, the methodology variations are explained for allocating revenues, non-train costs, 

and capital expenses and costs. 

The objective of APT is to fully allocate expenses to the train (or 

trains) that generates or benefits from the expense 
APT Methodology Summary 20

Fundamentally, APT’s train operating cost allocation method identifies a train16 that generates or 

benefits from an expense, and allocates the cost to that train. Sections 3.2 and 3.3 explain how the 

allocation process works. Specifically:

• How a given expense transaction is linked to the affected train(s), and

• How a portion of an expense transaction is allocated to a train when more than one train 

generates or benefits from a shared expense.

Then, in Section 3.4, a more detailed discussion follows about the data and methodology. 

This description of APT’s methodology purposely omits the technical details of the actual APT operating 

systems. The focus of this report is to provide its audience an understanding of the logical process that 

guided the development of the APT computer programs. A complete description of these systems and 

technical details is contained in the APT Update Report. 

3.2 Allocating Train Operating Costs

APT’s process for allocating costs uses two key elements:

• A predetermined set of allocation rules

• A core allocation formula

Allocation Rules. APT’s allocation rules were created during APT development and continue to be 

updated and maintained based on changes to the business. APT selects and applies one of these 

predetermined allocation rules for each expense transaction. Typically, a single rule is used to allocate 

many similar expense transactions. 

Allocation Formula. The other major feature of APT’s allocation process is its allocation formula. If an 

expense is associated with only a single train, then the formula functions as a simple assignment of cost. 

If an expense is generated by or benefits multiple trains, it is referred to as a “shared” expense, and the 

formula uses statistics to apportion the appropriate expense to each of the relevant trains. APT uses a 

proportional allocation formula that allocates costs based on a measure of one train’s share relative to 

the total of all trains benefiting from the expense.

 

16 In this context, the term “train” can also mean one of Amtrak’s other non-train businesses. Refer to Section 2.4.4

for an explanation of Amtrak’s treatment of such special-case expense transactions that are not allocated to the 

operating costs of its trains and other businesses.
APT Methodology Summary 21

Amtrak’s current period train operating costs are of prime interest to its managers and external 

stakeholders. While capital consumption costs are technically a current operating cost, at Amtrak these 

costs are treated separately from other current operating costs, as they do not involve current period 

cash flows. Given Amtrak’s unique history and relationships with Federal and State governments, APT 

reports these capital consumption costs separately. This section describes the basic allocation 

methodology for train operating costs, and the capital consumption cost allocation method is covered in 

Section 4. 

3.3 Overview: The 5-Step Allocation Process

This subsection gives an overview of APT’s allocation methodology as a 5-step process. Section 3.4 will 

explain in more detail the components of an APT rule, APT’s core allocation formula, and the processes 

for creating and using the allocation rules. The example from Section 2 of the San Antonio station 

management expenses is continued as part of this methodology discussion.

The APT allocation system involves a mostly automated process of: (a) assembling large amounts of 

data, (b) using the assembled data to calculate the allocated costs, (c) storing the results in a database 

system, and (d) creating various reports. It is useful to repeat Figure 1-1 from Section 1.2 here because it 

provides an overview of APT’s allocation process under discussion.

Figure 3-2. Overview of APT Allocation Methodology and Data Flows17

 

17 This is a simplified view of the overall process and is not intended to represent a full system architecture of 

either SAP or APT. Both systems contain multiple components and processes to manage a wide array of data. APT 

contains numerous data tables to process the various types within. The remaining figures in this section similarly 

represent a simplified view of APT in order to understand the basic logic of allocation without detailing the precise 

organization within the system. For a full-page view of this overview graphic, see Figure 1-1.
APT Methodology Summary 22

APT users’ primary interest is the basic logic embedded in this allocation process. Although APT uses 

large amounts of data, and its overall processing system is extensive and complex, its core logic can be 

summarized as a series of five relatively simple steps. These steps make use of transaction and statistical 

data, the contents of the allocation rules, and an allocation formula. The five steps are:

1. Downloading expense transaction and train statistics from other Amtrak information systems. 

2. Matching each expense transaction record to a predetermined allocation rule.

3. Retrieving data items specified in the allocation rule from APT databases.

4. Calculating cost allocations using the transaction and allocation data.

5. Storing cost allocation results in an accessible database.

3.3.1 Step 1: Obtain Input Data from Amtrak Information Systems

The first step is the largely automated process of accessing, downloading, and assembling data from 

other Amtrak systems so the data can be used 

to calculate APT’s cost allocations. Each month, 

APT downloads about seven million expense 

and other financial transactions data from SAP 

(depicted in the upper part of Figure 3-1) and 

train statistics from other Amtrak information systems (depicted in the lower left and center of the 

figure). Figure 3-3 gives an overview of these data types and sources. 

Figure 3-3. Step 1 - Obtain Input Data from Amtrak Information Systems

Expenses directly assigned to a train are indicated by the input data codes from SAP. Upon input to APT, 

these transactions are automatically assigned to the appropriate train. For all other expenses, the next

allocation steps are followed. 

APT processes about 7 million data 

records each month
APT Methodology Summary 23

3.3.2 Step 2: Match Each Expense Transaction to an Allocation Rule

APT handles one expense transaction at a time and applies Steps 2 through 5. In Step 2, APT matches

the financial Code Block data for an expense transaction to the corresponding Code Block data in one of 

the predetermined allocation rules. APT must have a rule for every unique expense transaction Code 

Block combination to allocate costs. Figure 3-3 illustrates the matching or linking of transactions to rules

using Code Block data in the two boxes. The truncated figure masks the large numbers of transactions 

and rules, and that many transactions have identical Code Blocks and are allocated by the same rule–a 

many-to-one matching result. 

As shown in the lower part of Figure 3-4, the predetermined APT rules have two basic components:

• A Code Block component identifying a set of transaction code values

• A Statistic and Train Identifier component used in identifying the trains to which costs are 

allocated and the statistic used in calculating the allocated cost

Figure 3-4. Step 2: Matching Each Expense Transaction to an Allocation Rule

The result of the matching process is a linking of an allocation rule’s Statistic (Stat), Statistic Qualifier

(SQ), and Train Group (TG) information to each expense transaction record. APT uses this information in 

Step 3 to designate the train(s) to which costs are to be allocated. 
APT Methodology Summary 24

Referring to Figure 2-5 for the San Antonio station example, 

the completed Code Block of the manager’s wage expense 

transaction has five codes. Those same codes are presented

in Figure 3-4, with a connecting line illustrating the matching 

of the financial Code Block data from the expense transaction of the San Antonio station manager Cost 

Center (CC) to the financial Code Block data portion of an allocation rule.18 This rule identifies the 

statistic and train identifiers needed to allocate the expense to the proper set of trains. In this case, the 

rule identifies the statistic and identifiers as Total Boards and Deboards (TBD), associated with the San 

Antonio Station (SN_SAS) that includes regularly scheduled Amtrak trains (XSP).19 The logic of the rule is 

to allocate the cost of the station manager’s time to a train in proportion to the number of the train’s 

passengers using the station.

Other expenses, depending on their nature, may be 

allocated by either the Total Boards and Deboards or 

some other statistic. For example, equipment 

maintenance expenses are allocated by a statistic 

that measures a given train’s usage of that 

equipment type. Section 3.4.3 describes how 

allocation statistics are designated by APT’s allocation 

rules.

3.3.3 Step 3: Obtain Allocation Data for Each Expense Transaction

Next, APT uses the rule’s statistic and train identifiers to identify the train or list of trains that are to be 

allocated costs from this expense transaction. It then retrieves the values of the designated allocation 

train statistic for each identified train from its Train Statistics Database. Figure 3-5 illustrates this process 

for the San Antonio station example. The Total Boards and Deboards statistic is used in conjunction with 

the San Antonio Station Statistic Qualifier (SN_SAS in Figure 3-5). A Statistic Qualifier (SQ) identifies all 

trains that have a non-zero value for the Statistic. In this case, it identifies all trains that have passenger 

boards and/or deboards at this station. The result is a list of four trains that stopped at San Antonio and 

the count of their respective passengers that boarded or alighted in San Antonio.20

 

18 In this example, an actual APT rule is used, but the dollar value and values for the allocation statistics in Figure 

3-5 and Figure 3-6 have been adjusted slightly to simplify the mathematical calculations illustrated. 19 San Antonio has four regularly scheduled trains per day: one train in each direction for both the Texas Eagle and 

Sunset Limited routes.

20 In other cases, Train Group (TG) is used instead of Statistical Qualifier to identify the list of trains. Both cases are 

explained in Section 3.4.2. 

APT matches each expense 

to an allocation rule

Rule example: Station manager 

expenses are allocated to trains 

based on the number of each 

train’s passengers using the 

station
APT Methodology Summary 25

Figure 3-5. Step 3: Obtaining Allocation Data for Each Expense Transaction

3.3.4 Step 4: Allocate Costs to Designated Trains

The basic APT allocation formula is used to calculate allocated cost for each designated train. All that is 

required to calculate each train’s allocation is the dollar expense and the value of the allocation statistic 

for each train. The basic process is the same for expenses allocated to a single train as for shared 

expenses allocated to multiple trains. The application 

of the rule identified in Step 2 dictates whether costs 

are allocated to one or several trains. Figure 3-6

illustrates the calculation of cost allocations to the 

four operating trains using data for the San Antonio

station example shown in Figure 3-5. Trains 1 and 2 

each receive allocations of 33.3 percent of the $900 shared expense, or $300, based on their shares of 

passengers boarding and deboarding (i.e., the TBD statistic). Likewise, Trains 21 and 22 each receive 

allocations of 16.7 percent of the $900 shared expense.

APT cost allocations need the 

dollar expense and each train’s 

allocation statistic
APT Methodology Summary 26

Figure 3-6. Step 4: Allocating Costs to Designated Trains

3.3.5 Step 5: Storing Cost Allocations into an Accessible Database 

The last step in the cost allocation process is putting the APT allocation results into a database that can 

be accessed to create train and route performance reports. Each train’s dollar allocation is a data record 

that includes the train number, the financial Code Block, and other information such as the transaction 

date. Figure 3-7 shows the key data entries in the APT database for the four trains from the San Antonio 

station example. 

Figure 3-7. Step 5: Storing Cost Allocations into an Accessible Database

3.4 Data and Methods Used in the 5-Step Allocation Process

This section provides additional technical details about the rule content, how trains are identified, and 

the allocation formula used in the 5-step allocation process. 

As noted in the overview of the 5-step allocation process, an APT allocation rule has two broad 
APT Methodology Summary 27

components, both with several underlying elements: 

• The financial Code Block component specifying a unique combination of transaction codes

• The Statistic and Train Identifier component defining how to allocate any expense that 

matches the Financial Code Block component.

Table 3-1 uses the San Antonio station example to define the various elements within its rule element 

components. 

Table 3-1. APT Rule for the San Antonio Station Example

Rule 

Component Rule Element Explanation

Code Block CC_2814 Cost Center (CC) code for Station Services, San Antonio, Texas

Code Block AC_500010 Account (AC) code for employee wages

Code Block IO_1241 Internal Order (IO) code for Station Services – Management and 

Supervision

Code Block PC_18250 Profit Center (PC) code for Long-Distance General Management Support

Code Block WBSE_W_NO_W Work Breakdown Structure Element (WBSE) code for general expenses 

not associated with a special project

Statistic and 

Train Identifiers ST_TBD Statistic (ST) “Total Boards and Deboards” (TBD) is used for cost allocations under this rule

Statistic and 

Train Identifiers SQ_SN_SAS

Station (SN) Statistic Qualifier (SQ) for the San Antonio Station (SAS) 

limits the use of this rule to trains with non-zero values for the specified 

statistic at this station, in this case, the passengers (TBD) at the San 

Antonio station

Statistic and 

Train Identifiers TG_XSP XSP is an APT Train Group (TG) containing all regularly scheduled Amtrak trains, excluding special trains

3.4.1 Financial Codes—Determining What Transactions Use an Allocation Rule

To allocate a specific expense transaction, APT needs to select or link one of APT’s allocation rules to the 

transaction. The selection of a rule (Step 2) is done by matching the financial Code Block data in the 

transaction record to the corresponding financial Code Block data in a rule.

For the example in Table 3-1, this rule would be used for all wages (AC_500010) at Cost Center 2814 that 

have the codes IO 1241 (Station Services–Management and Supervision), Profit Center 18250 (LongDistance General Management Support), and WBSE W_NO_W. If any of the codes differed, e.g., the

expense was the ticketing agent’s wages rather than the station manager’s, a different IO code would 

have been used and the expense would not be allocated by this rule but another one using that IO 

instead. 

The set of allocation rules need to account for every unique combination of financial code values that 

are used in any Amtrak expense transaction data record. It often happens that among the millions of 

expense transactions, there will be many with a particular Code Block combination. APT will find and use 

a single matching rule for each unique Code Block combination. There is an allocation rule for each 

expense, and each rule can apply to many expense transactions.

If a new transaction Code Block combination occurs that does not match an existing rule, a new rule is 
APT Methodology Summary 28

created. This is expected as the Amtrak business evolves. New rules are created as needed following the 

same original procedures to create APT, and usually these are minor variations from existing rules.

3.4.2 Identification of Trains Receiving Cost Allocation

A critical function of APT is to properly identify the train to which an expense is allocated. Depending on 

the nature of an expense, APT might allocate costs to a single train or multiple trains. An APT rule 

designates the train(s) that receives a cost allocation in two ways:

21

• Specifying a pre-defined Train Group (TG)

• Specifying a Statistic Qualifier (SQ)

The Statistic and Train Identifier part of the rule defines the allocation methodology for all transactions 

that match the financial Code Block component of the rule. In the San Antonio example, costs are 

allocated to all trains with passenger boardings and/or deboardings (Statistic: TBD) at the San Antonio 

station (Statistic Qualifier: SN_SAS) except Special Trains (Train Group: XSP).

The simplest and most straightforward way trains 

are identified is for the rule to explicitly specify a 

Train Group consisting of a predefined list of 

individual trains. Table 3-2 provides a list of such

examples. Any of these Train Groups could appear 

in allocation rules. If a rule includes a specific Train Group, the APT system allocates costs only to trains 

that are a member of the designated Train Group and operated during the time period.

Table 3-2. Example of APT Train Groups

Train Group 

Codes Train Group Name Explanation

APT_RT_09 Downeaster All trains operating as the Downeaster service in New England

ALBTS Albany Turnaround 

Servicing All trains receiving turnaround servicing at Albany, NY

APT_RT_CMMAR MARC Commuter 

Operating

All Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) commuter trains 

operating under contract by Amtrak

STRATPART_CEN State Supported -

Central Routes All State-supported trains operating in Amtrak’s Central Division

WRG Western Region All trains operating in Amtrak’s Western Region

 

21 Either or both can be used.

Each rule identifies:

• The trains getting cost allocations

• The statistic used to allocate

A Train Group (TG) is a predefined list of individual trains
APT Methodology Summary 29

The other way the APT rule identifies which train(s) receives a cost allocation is to specify a criterion, 

referred to as a Statistical Qualifier (SQ) that must be met. Statistic Qualifiers can be geographic track 

segments, stations, and equipment types. Any train that meets the criterion receives a cost allocation. 

The example in Table 3-1 uses a station SQ to identify trains using the San Antonio station (SAS) and 

allocates costs to all such trains with passenger boardings and deboardings. Geographic Statistical

Qualifiers limit cost allocation of track maintenance expenses to trains operating on a specific route 

segment and are therefore an important part of the APT methodology in allocating geographicallyspecific expenses only to trains benefiting from the expense.

3.4.3 Designation of the Allocation Statistic in an APT Rule

Each APT rule specifies the statistic to be used when that rule is selected for a cost allocation. Although 

most statistics are used in allocating shared expenses among multiple trains and/or businesses, the APT 

system also requires that each allocation rule has a statistic even in cases when the “allocation” is to a 

single train or other business. The statistics “Non” and “No_Stat” are used in such cases for an expense

entirely allocated to a single train or business. 

For the majority of APT rules, the designated 

statistic will be used in the APT allocation 

formula to apportion shared costs among 

multiple trains. The primary consideration in 

selecting an allocation statistic is that it is

logically related to the activity generating the 

expense. Its value should vary with the size or 

level of activity of the trains to which costs will be allocated, i.e., it is a “cost driver” of the expense. The 

result is that more of the cost is allocated to a train that had the largest effect on the level of the 

expense. An expense related to servicing passengers will be allocated by statistics that are related to the 

number of passengers. Dispatching of trains expenses will be allocated by a statistic such as train 

frequency that reflects the number of trains being managed.

Operating a passenger railroad involves many disparate activities and inputs―including track and 

equipment maintenance; fuel and electric power; train crews; computer systems; ticketing and other 

passenger convenience, safety and security services; and the many business administrative and 

management functions required for a large corporation such as Amtrak. 

Statistic Qualifiers in a rule are one way for designating which trains will 

be allocated costs

Special Statistic codes are used when 

only one train is allocated a cost

• Non

• No_Stat

A rule’s allocation statistic is selected because it is a “cost driver” for the expense
APT Methodology Summary 30

As a result, APT uses about 

45 statistics to properly 

allocate the expenses 

associated with these widely 

varied activities and inputs. The statistics are obtained in several ways. Most are from Amtrak’s various 

automated information systems and databases. A few statistics are created manually by staff from other 

records, such as commuter timetables. Finally, for the purpose of allocating higher-level general 

management, support, and administrative expenses, APT uses five internally generated cost-based 

statistics that measure the relative sizes of trains and businesses by using lower-level direct and 

allocated costs.

3.4.4 APT’s Allocation Formula

APT’s cost allocations are calculated using a straightforward proportionality formula. Each train receives 

a share of the dollar expense based on its relative share of the allocation statistic specified in the 

allocation rule. The ratio or proportion is calculated as the value of the statistic for a single train divided 

by the sum of the values of that statistic for all trains receiving a portion of the expense. The result for 

each train is a decimal value between zero and 1.0, and the sum of the decimal values for all trains is 1.0 

(i.e., equivalent to 100 percent). The allocated cost for each train is simply the product of its decimal 

value and the shared expense.

This equation presents the allocated cost calculation for one of the trains, Train 1, from the San Antonio 

station example in Figure 3-6: 

TTTTTTTTTT 1 CCCCCCCC = SSh aaaa EEEEEE ×

TTTTTTTTTT 1 TTTTTT SS SS VV VVVV SS

SS SS oo TTTTTT SS SS VV VVVV AA TTTTTT SS

TTTTTTTTTT 1 AA CCCCCCCC = $300 = $900 ×

1,500

4,500

The shared station management expense is allocated to trains based on the number of passengers 

boarding and/or deboarding a train at that station as measured by the TBD statistic. Train 1 has 1,500 

passengers or 33.3 percent of 4,500 total passengers. Its allocated cost is 33.3 percent of the total $900

expense, or $300.

A train with twice as many passengers as another train will be allocated twice the costs, while two trains 

with the same number of passengers will be allocated the same cost. Different types of expenses can 

have different rules that specify different allocation statistics, and the allocated costs to the same set of 

trains can have different proportions depending on the statistic used. 

When an expense is entirely allocated to a single train, as indicated by the designated statistic “Non” or 

“No_Stat,” the formula applies a ratio of 1.0 and the full expense is allocated to that train. 

Because Amtrak has many activities and types of 

expenses, APT uses 45 different allocation statistics

APT uses a proportional allocation formula
APT Methodology Summary 31

3.5 Creating APT’s Rules and Family Structure

A systematic process was used to create all the APT allocation rules and provide a reasonable degree of 

consistency so that similar expenses are allocated in a similar way. This consistency was achieved by 

grouping similar Cost Centers into APT “Families” and “Subfamilies” when creating the allocation rules.22

Since all the Cost Centers in a Subfamily perform the same or very similar functions and activities, their 

expenses are of the same type and should be allocated in the same ways. For example, a rule for 

allocating a red cap expense at a Cost Center at a station in Pennsylvania would be similar to the rule for 

the same red cap expense at a Cost Center in California.

In such cases, the rules for allocating essentially the same type of expense at multiple Cost Centers 

would have the same Account, Internal Order, and, most importantly, allocation Statistic. They would 

only differ in the set of trains to which costs were allocated. A number of other expenses at station Cost 

Centers tend to vary with number of passengers and station size. For consistency, APT would also apply

the same allocation Statistics, Train Groups, and Statistical Qualifiers as the rule for red cap expenses.

3.6 Allocation Rounds

APT computes fully allocated costs using a multi-step iterative process consisting of direct assignment 

and four23 rounds of allocation. Direct assignment is automatic, as APT assigns these costs to identified 

trains upon first obtaining the SAP financial transactions. Round 1 consists of the allocation of shared 

expenses that are closely related to readily identifiable cost drivers.

The allocation process described in the case of the San Antonio station manager is part of the Round 1 

allocation. The Total Boards and Deboards statistic is closely related to the nature of the expense and 

the train’s available allocation statistics. Another Round 1 allocation example is allocating dispatching 

costs by train frequency, as that reflects the number of trains being managed by dispatchers.

 

22 APT uses 42 Subfamilies and 10 Families. 23 Although the rounds are sequential and later rounds depend on the results of prior rounds of allocation, APT 

reports label all allocations after Round 1 as Round 2 costs.

Similar expenses at different locations use similar allocation rules

• They use the same allocation statistic

• They differ in which trains are allocated costs
APT Methodology Summary 32

Some shared expenses are not closely related to train operations and support activities and have no 

readily identifiable cost driver by which to allocate costs. Examples are higher-level, indirect 

management and overhead expenses. In these cases, APT uses the Round 1 results to create new dollardenominated statistics for a second round of allocations. APT refers to these as “Round 2” allocations 

because APT must first perform all the directly assigned costs and Round 1 allocations based on 

externally obtained allocation statistics. Then, the total dollar value of the direct costs and Round 1 

allocations for each train become the internally-generated allocation statistics used for Round 2

allocations. 

Figure 3-8. Round 1 Allocation

For example, as depicted in Figure 3-8, a train’s Round 1 maintenance costs are the allocated wages of 

maintenance workers and materials for the type of passenger car it uses, and the allocation statistic is a 

measure of the time or distance a train uses the equipment. The expenses of higher-level engineering 

staff that plan and manage the equipment maintenance program or the maintenance facility where the 

Round 1 activity takes place are Round 2 expenses. The Round 1 total cost for each train’s directly 

assigned and allocated equipment maintenance costs is calculated and becomes the Round 2 allocation 

statistic. The Round 2 rule uses this internally-generated Round 2 statistic for allocating these higher 

overhead equipment maintenance expenses. Next, these Round 2 allocations are added to the Round 1 

costs to create the internally-generated allocation statistics for subsequent allocations of even higher 

administrative or general expenses in Round 3. The process is repeated one more time for Round 4,

where the highest-level general and administrative expenses are allocated. Figure 3-9 illustrates this 

iterative process for Round 2.

High-level costs without a clearly identifiable cost driver are allocated by costbased statistics created from lower-level direct and allocated costs
APT Methodology Summary 33

Figure 3-9. Using Round 1 Results to Allocate Round 2 Expenses

3.7 Allocating Revenues

APT’s process for allocating revenues to trains and other businesses closely parallels the process used 

for cost allocation. Specifically, the revenue transactions and expense transactions use the same Code 

Block items. Revenues are allocated according to a set of rules with the same structure as cost allocation 

rules, the same allocation formula, and the same 5-step process used in allocating costs to trains and 

other businesses. Thus, the basic cost allocation logic and process are followed for allocating revenues 

to trains.

While the revenue allocations process is exactly the 

same as for cost allocation, there are a few notable 

distinctions in applying the methodology to revenues. 

First, all of the revenue “Cost Centers” are virtual 

constructs in APT that have no corresponding existence in the Amtrak organizational hierarchy and no 

staff or expenses. These revenue Cost Centers are a useful and necessary mechanism for managing data

and allowing the APT computer programs to function properly. 

The other notable distinction is that, in contrast to 

costs, the vast majority of revenues, about 90 

percent, are directly assigned to either a single train 

or other business. This occurs because most revenue 

transactions are recorded with a WBSE code that identifies a specific train number or a specific business 

customer, or with a specific Profit Center code. A clear example is passenger ticket revenue, since most 

tickets are either purchased for or on a specific train. The exceptions for revenues not linked to a specific 

train are categories such as revenues for State-supported routes, merchandise sales, and commercial 

rents at stations.

APT uses virtual Cost Centers for

allocating revenues to trains

About 90 percent of revenues are

directly assigned to a train
APT Methodology Summary 34

APT’s Treatment of Capital-Related 

 Expenses 

APT allocates costs and revenues monthly, with results available for month, quarter, or annual totals. 

Most of the costs are operating items, such as employee wages, salaries, fuel, electric power, materials, 

and services, which are bought and paid for in the monthly or annual time period being reported. APT’s 

standard reports of fully allocated costs consist of these current period operating expenses. 

Under standard accounting practice, three other sizable capital-related expense items are included in a 

company’s financial reports that are treated differently from the typical operating expenses. They are: 

x Depreciation 

x Interest 

x Capital acquisition expenses24

The following subsections describe these special cases, the differences in how they are treated in APT 

relative to typical reporting period operating expenses, and APT’s method for calculating and reporting a 

train’s capital cost. 

4.1 Description of Capital-Related Expenses 

4.1.1 Depreciation Expenses 

As a capital-intensive entity, Amtrak uses long-lived assets such as locomotives, passenger vehicles, and 

track in its operations. Capital assets are produced or acquired within one time period but are used over 

the many years of an asset’s lifespan. Depreciation is a 

cost estimate for the portion of the full cost of assets 

consumed and allocated to a single reporting time 

period. Amtrak follows “Generally Accepted 

Accounting Principles” (GAAP)25 in the computation of 

depreciation as a measure of capital consumption and 

includes depreciation as an expense on its income statement. Depreciation is among the SAP transaction 

24 Commonly referred to as “capital expenses.” 

25 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are an accounting standard used in the United States and 

overseen by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). See www.fasb.org for more information. 

Depreciation distributes an 

asset’s cost across the many time 

periods in which it is used 
APT Methodology Summary 35

data that is obtained and processed by APT. 

4.1.2 Interest Expense

Interest expenses are payments made within a reporting time period for borrowed funds (debt) and are 

closely related to depreciation, since most debt is incurred as financing for the acquisition of long-lived 

assets. Interest, like depreciation, is treated as an expense on the income statement and is among the 

SAP transaction data obtained and processed by APT. 

Together, depreciation and interest are the 

current reporting period’s cost of capital 

consumption that are typically allocated to the 

current period operating results of a business and 

reported following GAAP procedures. 

4.1.3 Capital Acquisition Expenses

Among the many expense transactions APT obtains from SAP are current period expenditures for the 

acquisition, creation, and installation of long-lived assets needed for Amtrak’s continuing operations. 

These are commonly referred to as capital expenses and are different from the depreciation and 

interest capital consumption costs described in the previous sections. The capital acquisition cost of an 

asset occurs within a single time period, whereas the depreciation and interest spread these acquisition 

costs over multiple time periods in which the asset is used.

The treatment of capital acquisition expenses in financial reporting systems varies depending on the 

purpose of the report. Under GAAP, operating cost estimates for a given time period exclude these 

capital expenditures. Instead, they become assets on a firm’s balance sheet. APT follows this convention 

of excluding capital acquisition transactions from reporting period operating costs, but does allocate 

them to trains. Also, they are included in the FAST Act account structure as cash flows. 

4.2 Allocating Capital-Related Costs in APT

The underlying purpose and primary focus of APT is to monitor the financial performance and provide a 

management tool for Amtrak’s intercity passenger train business using a consistent methodology that 

According to GAAP, depreciation 

and interest are operating costs in 

the multiple time periods of an

asset’s service life

Accounting rules exclude capital expenses from operating costs. 

Instead, under APT and FAST Act, these expenses become:

• Assets on a firm’s balance sheet

• Part of cash flows
APT Methodology Summary 36

follows accepted accounting practice.

Although Amtrak is a public corporation that follows generally accepted financial reporting norms, it is 

also unique for historically receiving considerable funding support from both Federal and State 

governments, especially for the acquisition of capital assets. APT’s design and reporting reflects 

Amtrak’s unique financial history and status as a government-assisted business. In particular, the APT 

methodology separates its depreciation, interest, and capital expenditures from Amtrak’s other train 

operating costs. Instead, APT uses an 

alternative method for estimating

these capital consumption costs that 

better reflects Amtrak’s capital funding

history and processes. The following 

subsections describe how this approach 

is implemented in APT.

4.2.1 Accounting for Capital Consumption Costs in APT

Under standard accounting practice, capital consumption is an operating cost. Given Amtrak’s mixed 

history of capital funding, APT does not allocate the standard measures for capital consumption, 

depreciation, and interest; however, APT does account for capital consumption. 

APT bases its estimate of the capital consumption cost of train operations on the original acquisition 

cost of assets recorded in Amtrak’s asset database. Because only a portion of the asset is consumed in 

any time period, the acquisition cost is spread over the expected life of the asset. Using asset values 

from Amtrak’s Asset Ledger, APT calculates the portion consumed in the reporting time period using a 

standard financial amortization formula and labels it “Asset Usage Allocation” (AUA).

26

The calculated AUA is allocated to 

trains and other business lines in the 

same manner as other expenses. 

Allocation rules are created based on 

other information about the asset in 

the Code Block. The AUAs of rail locomotives and passenger cars are allocated to the trains that utilize 

the specific type of equipment using train-based allocation statistics such as car-miles. The AUAs for 

fixed assets, such as stations or track, are allocated to the trains that utilize or benefit from the asset. 

 

26 The formula and additional details of how AUA is calculated are described in Section 4.2.2 of the APT Update 

Report (pp. 37-39).

APT reports of a train’s operating costs do 

not include depreciation, interest, or capital 

expenses

APT uses an amortization formula to compute 

capital consumption costs and refers to it as 

“Asset Usage Allocation,” or AUA
APT Methodology Summary 37

The cost allocation for fixed assets uses location Statistic Qualifiers and Train Groups and the same 

allocation statistics used for allocating other operating expenses associated with the asset.

In APT, the AUA estimated measure of capital cost is usually not included in Amtrak’s monthly 

publication of basic train operating costs. APT’s monthly Route Performance Report (RPR) includes a 

table that reconciles Amtrak’s train operating results with depreciation, interest, and ancillary business 

financial results. (Refer to Appendix A for an example RPR.) See Figure 4-1 for a depiction of how 

current-period capital 

expenditures become 

capitalized as part of the asset 

base, which in turn is the basis 

for the AUA allocated to 

Amtrak’s trains and other 

business lines.

Figure 4-1. APT’s Treatment of Various Operating and Capital Expenditures

APT-published reports of train costs show how these 

operating and capital-related costs are connected to 

other Amtrak financial reports
APT Methodology Summary 38

4.2.2 APT’s Treatment of Depreciation and Interest

The expense transaction data APT receives from SAP includes depreciation and interest as the GAAP 

estimate of capital consumption cost. These SAP expenses are identified by their financial transaction 

Code Block codes. By using an alternative measure, AUA, for capital consumption, APT avoids double 

counting of capital consumption costs by setting them aside and placing them into a special non-train 

business line category that is appropriately labelled “Unallocated.” Figure 4-1 in Section 4.2.1 provides 

an overview of APT’s treatment of depreciation and interest.

4.2.3 APT’s Treatment of Capital Expenditure

The SAP expense transaction data includes expenditures for the acquisition, creation, and installation of 

capital assets. Under standard accounting practice, expenditures for these long-lived assets are not 

operating costs and instead are entered as assets on a corporation’s balance sheet. Amtrak’s financial 

group follows this practice. 

The APT methodology also follows this practice by properly excluding capital expenditures from its 

operating allocations and reports of fully allocated train operating costs. APT does, however, also 

allocate capital expenditures to trains using essentially the same methodology used for allocating 

operating expenses. A train’s allocated capital expenses are kept separate from operating costs and 

have their own APT Profit Center. While excluded from APT’s standard reports of route operating costs, 

they are included in a reconciliation table in each month’s Route Performance Report (refer to Section 

5.1.2 for more details about this report). Figure 4-1 in Section 4.2.1 provides an overview of APT’s 

treatment of capital expenditures. 

Since APT uses its Asset Usage Allocation measure, instead of depreciation and 

interest, there is no double-counting of capital consumption or usage costs
APT Methodology Summary 39

APT Reports and Uses 

APT is both a method for allocating Amtrak’s financial transactions from SAP to its trains and business 

lines, and the mechanism for storing and accessing its results. While Sections 2 and 3 discussed the 

source data and allocation methodology, this section summarizes APT’s reporting capabilities, its 

regularly published reports, and the primary users and uses of the information contained in APT reports. 

5.1 APT Reporting 

Upon completion of the allocation process, APT’s allocated data is saved and made available to Amtrak 

users. Amtrak’s finance department staff developed and operates an information system for maintaining 

a data archive and reporting APT results. This data warehouse and reporting system operates on SAP’s 

software platform, Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC). While APT’s data processing and 

allocation are performed in a series of database procedures, it is only through BPC that users can view 

APT’s data.27

5.1.1 Business Planning and Consolidation Software 

APT allocation results are saved in a series of relational database tables that contain the characteristics 

of the original financial transaction and the statistical data used in the allocation process. BPC is the tool 

for accessing this APT data by creating regular standardized reports and by allowing users to exercise its 

customized querying capability. BPC generates reports as spreadsheet files usable for analysis and for 

constructing other computer files and tables for published reports. 

Examples of BPC queries of APT results are useful in understanding published financial results based on 

APT data and seeing how APT data can be used to provide more detailed information about the financial 

performance of Amtrak trains, routes, and operations. It 

is useful to repeat the Figure 3-7 example of allocating 

wages for the San Antonio station manager from Section 

3.3.5 here because it shows some of the variables in the 

APT result records that can be used in a BPC query. 

27 BPC has other capabilities not discussed in this report, but knowing about them is not necessary for the users of 

APT results, i.e., the intended audience for this report. 

BPC is the software tool used to 

create APT cost reports
APT Methodology Summary 40

Figure 5-1. Store Cost Allocations into an Accessible Database

For example, APT can be used to query all monthly or annual operating costs of the Station Services, San 

Antonio, Texas Cost Center (CC_2814), or for all cost centers servicing Texas Eagle Route. Table 5-1 gives 

the structure and results28 of such a query about costs at the San Antonio station, presenting the annual 

totals by Account for the two routes that stop in San Antonio.

Table 5-1. Fiscal Year 2016 Total Operating Costs for Station Services, San Antonio, TX, Cost Center

Account Description Route 32 -

Texas Eagle

Route 33 - Sunset 

Limited

CC 2818 - San Antonio 

Station Services

Wages and Overtime $191,250 $115,000 $306,250 

Employee Benefits Expenses $89,250 $55,000 $144,250 

Employee Related $4,250 $2,500 $6,750 

Train Operations $4,250 $2,500 $6,750 

Fuel, Power, and Utilities $21,250 $12,500 $33,750 

Materials $4,250 $2,500 $6,750 

Facility, Communication, and Office $106,250 $57,500 $163,750 

Other Expenses $4,250 $2,500 $6,750 

Total Costs $425,000 $250,000 $675,000 

Similarly, APT results can be queried for all operating costs for the Texas Eagle route, broken down into 

major cost category Families (refer to Section 3.5 for explanation on the organization of individual Cost 

Centers into APT cost Families). Table 5-2 gives the results of such a query. As evident from Table 5-2, a 

route’s fully allocated operating costs include costs from the wide range of activities involved in running 

a passenger railroad.

 

28 Due to reasons of confidentiality, Table 5-1 and Table 5-2 present cost results that are hypothetical dollar values 

and are rough approximations orders of magnitude.
APT Methodology Summary 41

Table 5-2. Total Operating Costs for the Texas Eagle Route for Fiscal Year 2016

APT Family Descriptions Route 32 -Texas 

Eagle

Maintenance of Way $573,027

Maintenance of Equipment $8,595,407

Operations-Transportation $34,954,657

Sales and Marketing $3,438,163

General and Administrative $8,595,407

Utilities $57

Police, Environmental and Safety $1,145,997

Total All APT Families $57,302,716

Table 5-1 and Table 5-2 show the varying levels of detail available to APT users to identify expenses and 

display results. Table 5-1 describes the detailed Account expenses for all routes that use a single Cost 

Center. Table 5-2 shows the full operating cost for a single route across all Cost Centers (including the 

San Antonio Station Cost Center, in the Stations Subfamily, embedded in the Operations-Transportation 

row). While Table 5-2 is presented at a Family summary level, Amtrak staff uses the BPC query capability 

to extract detailed data on costs and revenues at the train, project, and organizational unit levels.

5.1.2 APT’s Core Required Reports

The public law that mandated the creation of APT also required that Amtrak use APT to report to 

Congress annually the fully allocated costs of each route. Amtrak publishes on a monthly and annual

basis APT results for all its routes as part of its Monthly Performance Report (MPR) and makes it 

available on its website.29 The APT route results appear as Section C, Route Performance Report (RPR) in 

the Monthly Performance Report and include both costs and revenues. Refer to Appendix A of this

report for an example of Section C of the December 2016 RPR.

 

29 The Monthly Performance Report for December 2016, Amtrak, January 31, 2017.

Amtrak is required by law to report to Congress annually the full costs of trains
APT Methodology Summary 42

5.2 APT’s Primary Users and Uses

APT has multiple users and uses. Amtrak employees use APT results for external reporting and internal 

management purposes. FRA and Congress use APT results in their role as Amtrak overseers, including 

monitoring financial performance, creating budgets, and other initiatives involving Amtrak. Also, APT 

results deliver key inputs to establish service agreements Amtrak enters into with its State partners, who 

then use APT results to validate their bills and evaluate their services. 

5.2.1 Amtrak’s Use of APT

Amtrak has two primary uses of APT results: 

• External Reporting

• Internal Management

External Reporting: The first broad use of APT is to satisfy Amtrak’s statutory reporting requirements as 

described in 5.1.2. Additionally, Amtrak staff uses APT to meet other legislative and executive branch 

oversight requirements that rely on Amtrak’s financial data.

Internal Management: The second primary use of APT is for Amtrak’s internal management, including 

business line management, budgeting, and service planning. Amtrak managers at all levels use cost data 

from APT to create budgets and monitor performance of their organizational units against those 

budgets. Amtrak managers estimate future expenses and input them along with simulated statistics data

into the BPC system to create a projected budget dataset. The dataset is then allocated by APT and can 

be queried in the same way as APT historical results. Higher-level managers, responsible for the 

operations and financial performance of routes and other business lines, utilize APT cost and revenue 

data to analyze projected budget results and measure contribution to overall corporate financial 

objectives. 

APT supports two other key internal management activities. As Amtrak services evolve over time, a 

critical input to the general service planning process is the projected revenue and cost data based on 

APT historical results. The service planning staff queries APT to obtain the cost data they use to create 

needed cost factors. Another key related area of service planning in recent years is for shorter distance 

rail services supported by States, as defined by Section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

APT train costs are used in external reporting, Federal oversight, and 

establishing and managing State-supported train services and agreements
APT Methodology Summary 43

Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA).30 Amtrak staff involved in planning, negotiating, and pricing these 

State-supported services make extensive use of APT data in this context. 

5.2.2 Federal Government’s Use of APT

While Amtrak was required by Congress to develop APT and use it in submitting its annual report to 

Congress, FRA is the primary federal user of APT data in its oversight role of Amtrak. Each month, FRA 

reviews APT results, which are included in an internal FRA “dashboard” to monitor the financial and 

operational performance of Amtrak routes. Amtrak financial data from APT is also used in FRA’s budget 

requests and FRA’s outreach efforts to help explain to other parties (such as Congress, the U.S. Secretary

of Transportation, or other Federal agencies) Amtrak’s financial performance. Additionally, FRA reviews 

and uses APT results in its role supporting the USDOT Amtrak board member. 

In addition to standard oversight, FRA uses APT data to respond to legislative or administrative 

initiatives. For example, Section 11201 of the FAST Act required FRA and Amtrak to develop an 

accounting structure to “promote Amtrak’s effective use and stewardship of revenues, appropriations, 

grants, and other funding sources, and to enhance transparency of assignment of revenues and costs 

among business lines.”31 The account structure developed to meet this FAST Act mandate uses APT data 

as its key input and separates Amtrak into NEC, National Network,

32 Infrastructure, and other service 

lines―a related but distinct term to the Amtrak business lines discussed in Section 2. APT data is used to 

populate the operating sources and uses in the account structure; Amtrak created a separate rule set for 

capital uses allocation. 

FRA is also a member of the State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee (SAIPRC) to support the 

PRIIA 209 State-supported service cost methodology and to promote cooperation and planning between 

Amtrak and States. In its role as a member of SAIPRC, FRA analyzes APT data used in Amtrak’s route and 

third party cost estimation process. Section 5.2.3 continues with a fuller discussion of State-supported 

services.

 

30 Pub. L. 110-432. 31 For a full discussion of the FAST ACT 11201 account structure and its service lines, see Account Structure 

Definition and Accounting Methodology Improvements to Address Section 11201 of the FAST Act of 2015. Federal 

Railroad Administration. May 2016.

32 The National Network includes the NTS Long-Distance and State-Supported Services.
APT Methodology Summary 44

5.2.3 State Use of APT

Section 209 of PRIIA required Amtrak, with the States and the Secretary of Transportation, to develop a 

“single, nationwide standardized methodology for establishing and allocating the operating and capital 

costs among the States and Amtrak” for any Amtrak routes under 750 miles in length and wholly off the 

Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor Spine. These State-supported services represent nearly 50 

percent of Amtrak ridership, and currently 29 of Amtrak’s 48 routes are operated with contributions 

from 18 States. The PRIIA Section 209 Cost Methodology Policy was finalized in March 2012.33 In July

2015, the States, Amtrak, and FRA created the State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee 

(SAIPRC) to “promote mutual cooperation and planning related to Amtrak’s rail operations and related 

activities on statesupported routes,” 

including reviewing and 

developing adjustments 

to the cost agreement 

structure.34

The APT results provide the cost basis of the PRIIA Section 209 Cost Methodology. While States may 

contract for different levels of service, the PRIIA 209 Cost Methodology uses the consistent approach of 

APT across regions to treat cost areas similarly across States. The methodology also allows that in some 

cases, Amtrak and states may agree to use supplemental financial data to adjust the results of APT. 

Certain APT costs are grouped into Third Party Costs and Route Costs, and other APT costs are replaced 

with Support Fees that are often based on Route Costs. The PRIIA 209 Cost Methodology uses the APT 

results as an input and in some cases adds a filter to screen out certain elements. 

 

33 For a full discussion of the PRIIA 209 costing background, see PRIIA Section 209 Cost Methodology Policy, August 

31, 2011; Amtrak’s Petition for Determination of PRIIA Section 209 Cost Methodology, filed with the Surface 

Transportation Board (STB) on November 21, 2011; and the subsequent Surface Transportation Board Decision on 

March 15, 2012, Docket No. FD 35571. The latest cost categories are contained in Appendix E: Definition of Cost 

Categories Used to Determine State Operating and Capital Cost Pricing, adopted October 10, 2016. Information

about PRIIA 209 in this document is provided for the convenience of the reader, but is not intended to be guidance 

or precedent in the preparation of PRIIA 209 financial information such as forecasts or invoices.

34 The FAST Act (PL 114-94), Section 11204 required the Secretary of Transportation to establish the StateSupported Route Committee. The Secretary recognized SAIPRC as satisfaction of this requirement.

PRIIA required a standard method for cost sharing between 

Amtrak and its State partners. The “State-supported 

services” are operated by Amtrak with State subsidies
APT Methodology Summary 45

SAIPRC has established a series of working groups 

that also use or review APT. The APT Working 

Group investigates changes to the APT allocation 

methodology and is discussed in greater detail in 

Section 6.3. The Reports Working Group is 

charged with improving all reporting from Amtrak 

to the States, including cost reporting that uses APT results. The Reports Working Group has developed 

a series of APT PRIIA 209 Cost Validation Reports that Amtrak distributes each month along with State 

invoices. These reports are not the same as the fully allocated costs reported by Amtrak. The Cost 

Validation Reports break down the cost category totals into a more granular view, including dollars by 

train or Cost Center and Allocation Statistics. States use the reports to help validate their invoices and to 

better understand and manage the cost drivers of their services. 

The PRIIA 209 cost methodology uses 

APT costs as a basis for Statesupported agreements
APT Methodology Summary 46

APT Administrative and Background 

 Information 

APT was required by Congress, developed jointly with FRA, and is operated by Amtrak in consultation 

and cooperation with FRA and its State partners. 

6.1 Development History of APT 

APT, as described in this report, is the culmination of efforts that began in 2005 by Amtrak, FRA, and the 

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center or Volpe) to develop an improved 

and transparent methodology for calculating and reporting fully allocated costs and revenues for Amtrak 

routes and other businesses.35 APT is an information technology system that the Route Systems and 

Assessment Department within Amtrak’s Finance organization implements and manages. 

APT was developed through the synthesis of two parallel efforts to improve Amtrak’s cost information. 

FRA tasked Volpe to help the agency meet its legislative mandate of developing a methodology for 

determining the fully allocated costs of each Amtrak route. At about the same time, Amtrak separately 

recognized the need to develop a more robust information system that would provide Amtrak 

management with more accurate and timely financial information to use in analysis, reporting, and 

decision-making. Amtrak initiated an effort to improve its route performance reporting and re-host it in 

a client-server environment. Recognizing this opportunity, FRA, Amtrak, and Volpe decided to pursue 

these parallel initiatives as an integrated effort. The result of this collaboration is the APT system. 

FRA, Amtrak, and Volpe worked together 

on many levels to develop APT. FRA 

provided general oversight and a policy 

perspective of multiple stakeholders. 

Amtrak provided detailed knowledge of 

its passenger rail and other businesses necessary in such an effort, and also was responsible for the 

system design, programming, and implementation. Volpe provided the Congressionally-mandated 

outside technical expertise in financial analysis, resource costing, and accounting needed for developing 

the allocation methodology, and was responsible for documentation. 

35 Pub. L. 108-447, Division H, Title I, Department of Transportation, directed that a new Amtrak cost accounting 

methodology be created. 

APT was developed as a result of merging 

FRA and Amtrak’s efforts to improve 

Amtrak’s financial reporting 
APT Methodology Summary 47

This collaborative approach extended to deciding as a team which new features and functionalities APT 

would include, and how the system’s cost methodology would be structured and configured. Because 

APT integrates with existing financial and reporting systems, it was essential that Amtrak assumed 

primary responsibility for information system development and implementation. Volpe and Amtrak 

jointly developed and achieved consensus on the methodology used to calculate the fully allocated costs 

of Amtrak routes.

APT was initially implemented in Amtrak’s Fiscal Year 2009 and operated in parallel for a year with 

Amtrak’s legacy reporting Route Profitability System (RPS). In Fiscal Year 2010, Amtrak shut down RPS 

and APT became Amtrak’s financial route reporting system of record. This initial version of APT was 

documented in a 2009 methodology report.36

After its initial deployment and the publishing of the original methodology report in 2009, Amtrak 

introduced SAP as Amtrak’s general ledger system. The new financial system required a new data 

transfer process be established between SAP and APT because APT had been designed to use 

transaction data from Amtrak’s previous general ledger system. The modifications required by the 

conversion to SAP and other changes to Amtrak’s use of APT were documented in an update to the 2009 

Report to Congress, and FRA published this in April 2016. The APT Update Report describes the cost 

accounting methodology and implementing rules for determining Amtrak’s fully allocated costs and 

revenue.

6.2 Amtrak’s Operation of APT

Upon completion of the methodology development, Amtrak implemented APT and today uses it as an 

internal cost and revenue reporting system. Each month, Amtrak’s Route Systems and Assessment 

Department of the Financial Planning and Analysis group imports the data from SAP into APT as 

described in Section 2. Amtrak operates APT and makes APT cost and revenue results available for the 

various reporting needs as described in Section 5. 

6.2.1 Monthly Testing and Maintenance 

As a standard step in APT’s process, each month Amtrak’s Financial Planning and Analysis staff reviews

the results to determine whether any changes to the APT allocation rules are needed. APT may require 

modification of the allocation rules for two routine reasons: 

 

36 Methodology for Determining the Avoidable and Fully Allocated Costs of Amtrak Routes: Volume I, Main Report, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, December 15, 2009 (hereafter referred to as 

APT Methodology Report or 2009 Report to Congress). Volumes II and III contain appendices.
APT Methodology Summary 48

• New transaction codes from SAP

• Operational changes such as new routes or organizational units

Amtrak administers these maintenance-driven rule changes in APT due to new Code Blocks coming from 

SAP or operational and organizational hierarchy changes. Examples can include new accounting codes or 

changes in Amtrak organizations, such as Cost Centers moving between families. Other types of changes 

are changes to a Cost Center’s territorial responsibility, modification to a route’s station stops, or the 

creation of new train statistics. Such changes can impact either the underlying transactions or the train 

identifiers contained in the allocation rules shown in Section 3 and explained in Section 3.4.2. 

Often, these changes result in a new transaction posted in SAP not having a corresponding allocation 

rule for its combination of Code Block elements. In cases where a transaction’s coding is not covered by 

an existing rule, Amtrak staff investigates further to create a new rule to properly allocate the cost. 

These monthly changes are made consistent with the APT allocation principles and methodology as 

described in the APT Methodology Report. 

Refer to Section 6.3 for a discussion of changes that impact State-supported services.

6.2.2 Maintaining APT’s Long-Term Utility

Each year, Amtrak is required to submit to FRA a plan on how Amtrak will maintain APT over time. As 

APT is the source of Congressionally-mandated fully allocated cost reports, it must be able to produce

such reports until it is replaced for that purpose or no longer required. Amtrak’s annual report identifies

potential improvements to the methodology such as increased direct assignment of costs. The annual 

maintenance plan also covers potential software or hardware upgrades that may impact APT’s 

operation.

6.3 Cooperation for Future Changes

While Amtrak maintains and operates APT, its importance in the PRIIA 209 cost methodology make 

changes to the APT methodology important to the States as well as to FRA. Given the importance of 

potential changes, Amtrak, FRA, and the States cooperatively propose and review changes to APT’s 

methodology. Then Amtrak is responsible for implementing the approved changes.

A working group under the State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee (SAIPRC), called the Amtrak 

Performance Tracking (APT) Working Group, has been charged to lead efforts to identify, describe, 

disseminate, record, and track actual, planned, or unplanned changes to and issues affecting APT. This

can result in material financial impacts to or material changes in the nature of one or more statesupported intercity passenger rail service routes.

Amtrak is required by FRA to maintain and update APT
APT Methodology Summary 49

The working group has developed categories for changes to APT methodology along, with a scale to 

assess the impact on State-supported routes. Categories include maintenance revisions (as discussed in 

Section 6.2.1), strategic revisions that consider new allocation methods or changes, and global changes 

that could significantly change APT methodology. Additionally, a severity index categorizes the financial 

impact to State-supported routes from a proposed APT change.

Amtrak has wide leeway in maintenance revisions reviewed by the working group, but as the financial 

impact of a potential change increases in significance, the group works together with Amtrak field staff 

as necessary to develop consensus on the change. If either Amtrak or the States were to propose any 

significant methodology changes, the full SAIPRC executive committee would be notified. 
APT Methodology Summary 50

Appendix A

Monthly Route Performance Report – Fully Allocated Summary YTD Route Results

December 2015 and December 2016

(Source: Monthly Performance Report for December 2016, C-1, Amtrak, January 31, 2017)
APT Methodology Summary 51
APT Methodology Summary 52
APT Methodology Summary 53
APT Methodology Summary 54
U.S. Department of Transportation 

John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

55 Broadway

Cambridge, MA 02142-1093

617-494-2000

www.volpe.dot.gov