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[quote user="Phoebe Vet"] When Amtrak was first formed, participation was not cumpulsory.  Some railroads turned their passenger service and stock over to Amtrak and some did not.The building of the interstate highway system and the rapidly growing airlines put pressure on the railroads, and the railroads were very slow to adapt.Passenger service requires better track maintainance than freight and passenger trains cannot bring in anywhere near the revenue that freight can.  As the railroads began merger mania in an attempt to avoid bankrupsy, elimination of passenger service was really an obvious step.Amtrak, in typical government run fashion, is still not competing, but rather is just maintaining business as usual.  The stations are one level below the average bus station, their schedule is more like a rough estimate, and they never seem to wash the trains.  One plus ... the Amtrak employees are all very friendly and helpfull.When the airlines killed trans oceanic passenger ships, the owners competed by making the ships the REASON for the journey instead of trying to be efficient transportation.  Now cuise ships are very successful.  Railroads should also play to their strengths.  Amtrak's autotrain is a great idea.  A cruise train could tour several cities, sleeping on the train as it travels at night and spending entire days in different cities, perhaps in partnership with companies like Greyline Tours. Train travel should advertise, pointing out that they go from city center to city center.  For trips of 500 miles or less, rail is actually FASTER than air when you measure point to point, not airport to airport.  The station in Washington DC is two blocks from their convention center and within walking distance of the mall where most of the museums are.  How many people know that?  Offer restaurant chains the opportunity to put a car on commuter trains.  Put entertainment of some kind at the seats.  Movies, television, a GPS readout so you can see where you are and how fast you are going, or even video games.  Partner with destination cities to build attractive stations that are co-located with the city's mass transit and conveniently located.     You know, compete, don't just exist.[/quote]Amtrack has been starving at the soup line of the Congress Purse Money every fiscal year. The NE Corridor rusts and tries to keep up.The only time everyone lauds Amtrack as a hero or life saver is when vicious winterstorms shut down area airports and the NEC continues to function for a while until switches freeze up.I hear stories that Amtrack offered to whisk thousands out of New Orleans before Katrina arrived but were turned down. Apparently the United States is not some third world nation reliant on it's rails to rescue people who cannot get out anyhow.
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