If they’re hemorrhaging cash, tighten up or cut it off.
I looked into the California Zephyr when I was moving back east from California... the cost for Me, my wife and my child to take it to Chicago from California was thousands of dollars when all the expenses were added up (ticket, room, meals, etc) and 3 days. I flew back in 4.5 hours and spent well under $1000
If the California Zephyr can’t be run profitably, (when it has the added appeal of being a touristy draw), then maybe it should die. This isn’t a commuter route, its a 3 day cross country train ride, and honestly it is a tourist line, not a pragmatic transportation line... Its one thing to argue subsidy for commuter transportation... there are reasonable models to justify it... for that line, there is no model that justifies operating it if it can’t be done profitably.
Privatize the railways.