I don’t think diversity is the problem on long haul rail transportation (though it might be in consideration on inner city light rail). The worst experience I had with regards to fellow passengers was with a family of toofless hill billies traveling to the west coast. They were so bad that they when they were seated at a table in the dining car, the adjoining family got up and left rather than eat near them.
The big problem (other than the cost) that I found in going across America by rail is the second class status that they assign to passenger rail. Freight always takes precedence. There are long delays for passengers while their train waits for a freight to use the tracks ahead of them.
I once took a train from Chicago to Rhode Island via dc. We left out of Chicago sometime around dusk, traveled out of the city, stopped, and it wasn’t until the sun came up that the train started moving again. Made me miss my dc connection.
Of course, I haven’t ridden the train in ten years now. All could have changed.
> > > Freight always takes precedence. There are long delays for passengers while their train waits for a freight to use the tracks ahead of them. < < <
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Passenger trains ostensibly take precedence, but the long length and slow speed of freight trains makes it moot.
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https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4131509/posts?page=26#26
“...second class status that they assign to passenger rail. Freight always takes precedence. There are long delays for passengers while their train waits for a freight to use the tracks ahead of them.”
The freight railroads own the track. AMTRAK only owns the Northeast corridor.