Originally Posted by fastflyer
If AMTRAK as a national network goes away, it is likely never to return (as a national network).
The subsidy is less than $10 per family per year, which is entirely reasonable for a national train network IMHO.
$10 per year is not very much to pay for a national railroad. I'd be very willing to pay that much!
Just this past weekend, I was in Boston. While getting on the highway, I went the wrong direction (west instead of east). I got off the highway at the first westbound exit and paid a $1 toll. Gettting back on eastbound, I paid a second $1 toll. So for my $2, I could have paid 1/5 of the yearly Amtrak subsity!
I only wish trains could be scheduled at (sometimes) more convenient times. Outside of the NEC and some other corridors, you only have a choice of 1 train a day (except the SL, 3X/week). If you want to go on Amtrak, you may have no choice but to start/end in the middle of the night - sometimes both!
Last year, I took the CZ to/from SLC. The only train departed and arrived at 4 AM and midnight! And this is a "major" city. (It did host the Olympics.) The station is open from (I think) 10:30 PM to 5 AM - it is closed during the day.
I know some routes/stops are purely pork, but sometimes it must run through small density areas in order for a national route system to exist.
If individual states (or groups) operate the trains, what is there to stop them from scheduling "their" trains without concern for the timing of "other" trains? An example would be a trip from (say) Minneapolis to St. Louis. The Minneapolis-Chicago train was scheduled to arrive at 6 PM, but the only (or last) Chicago-St. Louis train leaves at 1 PM. Because 2 separate companies operate the trains, neither one would say that they are responsible for the timing.
At least with a national railroad (Amtrak), they would try to coordinate schedules as much as possible.