Government entities, and government-sponsored entities, have NO incentive to do it right.
Stick a fork in Amtrak... it's WAY overdone.
Joe Biden is going to have to find a new way to get home to Delaware each night. Or he could retire from the senate.
I've never understood how they don't make money. The trains were always rather full; and they usually hauled 7 or 8 private cars (I think they were mail...or some other packages).
The first time, I went in the "regular" car (never again); the rest I had a sleeper room. I paid close to $1000 round trip, which is high, but I don't particularly like to fly if it's not entirely necessary.
The train is really kind of fun; I can see why it used to be such a big deal! The food was great; the employees (most of whom have been with Amtrak for YEARS) are really top-notch; and I enjoyed sitting in the "bar car" watching the scenery from the huge windows...oh, and you really DO sleep like a baby on a train! I met some really great old folks at dinner, too.
I know they lease track rights from the railroads; is that a large part of the cost, or is the administrative cost so prohibitive that they bleed money? By the way, they should get a total refund from some of the railroads from whom they lease tracks...the ones through Arizona were notoriously horrendous. It was always right at the late dinner; and the servers had tremendous trouble even keeping their balance!
I wonder if a private company could take over what I think would be a very lucrative market if the costs could be a bit lower? I doubt I'll get to it before they're defunct, but the NW route that goes through the mountains in Montana and Idaho would have breathtaking scenery.