WASHINGTON — Amtrak spent at least $23.2 million on unnecessary leases of office space, and could have made at least $6.8 million in additional revenue through better management of its property, according to a report from the Amtrak Office of the Inspector General.
The report found Amtrak needed better data on its office space, citing as an example two buildings in New York City where the Amtrak offices had vacancy rates over 50 percent. “With better data, we estimate that the company could have avoided up to $2.8 million in lease costs on one of the buildings through December 2020,” the report states.
It also states that Amtrak needs a formal process for decisions on leased office space. Amtrak’s facilities group “seeks input from departments on the need for lease extensions, but departments are not required to develop a business case or other formal analyses to support that input. This has led to costly lease extensions … that exceed the company’s needs as well as missed opportunities to generate revenues.” As an example, it cites the Club Acela lounge in Boston, which it says is more than twice the size needed and will cost the company at least $2.8 million for unneeded space over the life of its lease.
And it finds the company needs a long-term facility plan, which could help in space utilization and making sure office space fits the company’s long-term goals. It cites the planned construction for $9.6 million of a temporary police building at Washington Union Station “without fully assessing potentially less costly options, such as accommodating some police functions in a nearby building it already owns.” Amtrak is also spending $4.9 million for excess office space in Washington and $3.1 for excess space in Boston, the report says.
The full report is available here.
