I'm a huge supporter of public transit and rail travel. If I can take a train, over any other (land) mode, I'll do it. OK, I fly trans-continental of course, but because it takes 5 hours by plane and 4 days by train. (For the same reason, I have yet to board the QE2 or QM2). But along the corridors like NEC, PNW (Cascades) and in California, I go out of my way to try to travel by train. Outside of North America it is more of a no-brainer for me.

SO with that background, I ask this: Is it time to put Amtrak out of its misery and let the states (with increased funding from D.C.) take over the offering of the service? While the demand may exist all over the country, there is certainly the political will in just a few places outside of the NEC (the states of which do not fund their own share of NEC service). Even if Gunn gets $1.2B out of the Congress that's just another limp-along budget for Amtrak

This state-funding and partial operation has seemed to work especially well on the Downeaster (run by the State of Maine) The Cascades service (Washington State) and the Surfliner/Capitol/San Joaquins Corridors here in California.

Is it time to just Shut Amtrak Down and start again at the state level (which is how the highway system is funded and maintained)?