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[quote user="jclass"] How might the financing of Amtrak relate to the way city and regional bus/commuter rail systems are financed?  "Profits" are few and far between there, also, yet for the most part, they are viewed as essential as transportation choices. [/quote] Until the end of WWII many of America's transit systems were for profit entities.  For a variety of reasons they were forced to exit the business. Municipal governments concluded, rightly in my opinion, that transit is akin to a public service that cannot cover its costs through the fare box. Its mission is to provide essential transport services to everyone in the community irrespective of their ability to pay for it. Most transit systems, including commuter rail systems, have been created as municipal departments or as separate authorities.  As a rule they follow fund accounting principles, which means they are not expected to generate a distributable profit.  They may be controlled by more than one government. Sometimes they cross state lines. The users are not expected to cover their costs.  They depend on government support to sustain operations.  In Texas, the last time I looked, the average fare box recovery rate was 18 per cent. To come back to the question, Would you support a Chicago-Miami Autotrain that is not government supported, my answer is yes if it could cover its costs without government support. If it requires government support, my answer would be no.  Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a market for the service. Amtrak's Auto Train from the populous northeast to Florida lost $36.2 million in FY11 before interest, depreciation, and ancillary charges. Its experience does not offer much hope for a private operator.
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