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[quote]And, while the country has grown over 50% in population since the inception of Amtrak, most of the LD trains are running equal or less capacity and ridership has not kept pace.  Example:The Crescent is down to 3 coaches mid-week these days.  Less than 10 years ago, it used to run 5 coaches north of Altanta every day.  And, only two sleepers - despite near perfect timing for an overnight train between Atlanta and DC and the Northeast - in both directions!  And, the Crescent keeps decent time - and pretty much always has.  And, Atlanta has added nearly a million residents in that time.  Explanation?[/quote]Sometimes there are only three coaches on Crescent, other times there are normal four (or maybe even five, although you might be right - I haven't seen five lately).  That depends on seasonal demand and availability of the equipment.  The same is especially true for sleepers (see my previous message). As for ridership, the statistics shows that it's currently growing.  Of course, it can only grow as much as Amtrak is able to handle.  But less capacity does not mean less demand.  20 years ago, Amtrak got more money than it does now.  Ten years ago it actually got less money, but at that time it was eager to demonstrate its "ability" to comply to the failed self-sufficiency mandate. So, it was getting deeper and deeper into debt, which almost caused a shutdown and bunkruptcy in summer of 2002.  Since then, Amtrak is getting more money - but just enough to keep running without getting into further debt.  Not surprisingly, sometimes this lack of funds manifests itself in some trains running with lower capacity.  But, for the most part, demand is still growing.
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