Amtrak's long distance service is more akin to the Essential Air Service, in that it connects lots of small, otherwise unconnected rural areas and is not expected to make a profit.
Amtrak has always been a company with two halves, and Congress really should just split it to stop this Jekyll and Hyde tug of war about what exactly the company is supposed to do.
A nice statistic would be some kind of report about travel times, densities and total populations. Looking at the map, there's some people that live at lower density that have a nearby station and then most people that live in metros have a nearby station.
> Amtrak's long distance service is more akin to the Essential Air Service, in that it connects lots of small, otherwise unconnected rural areas and is not expected to make a profit.
If that's true, it seems like those communities would be better served by subsidized long distance bus travel instead.
I understand that doesn't make a whit of difference to congress, though.
It doesn't sound like you've taken either a train or a bus long distance. Even four hours on a bus can be downright nauseating. Amtrak coach class beats flying for comfort. Never mind the people who have some money, but are adverse to flying, so they book sleeper cabins.
Amtrak has always been a company with two halves, and Congress really should just split it to stop this Jekyll and Hyde tug of war about what exactly the company is supposed to do.