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Amtrak had its best year since 1973, three years after it was created as a passenger service from the financial wreckage of America's regional railroads.

That doesn't mean it made a profit.

In fiscal year 2014, which ended Sept. 30, Amtrak reported its lowest operating loss, $227 million, since 1973, a 37 percent improvement from fiscal year 2013. The passenger rail system reported unaudited record revenue of $3.2 billion, the fifth consecutive year of revenue growth, and the eighth out of the past nine years.

During fiscal 2014, nearly 31 million passengers traveled on Amtrak on more than 300 daily trains that connect 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces.

"America's Railroad" said it covered 93 percent of its operating costs with ticket sales and other revenues, up from 89 percent the year before. That's an unprecedented margin, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

The Northeast Corridor had an operating surplus of $496.7 million in fiscal 2014, up from $390.1 million the previous year, Amtrak said. Its long-distance service, by contrast, which includes its daily California Zephyr coming and going through Lincoln, had an operating loss of $507.5 million in fiscal 2014, compared to a loss of $594.2 million last year.