When they built Acela, they hired Japanese JR consultants to see how Amtrak would run better. The Japanese shook their heads in disbelief that there were no coordinated time schedules between freight and passenger rails and the lack of a central command center for rail traffic. Much has improved by these recommendations, but it is far from a nationwide implementation.

Another recommendation they suggested was putting immigration and customs for the Adridondack at Gare de Montreal rather than at the border, similar to how one goes through Canada customs and US immigration processes at airports in Canada.