I agree with Steve Chapman in that the only way that railroad passenger service has any hope of earning a profit is for it to be provided by for-profit companies. The factor that is limiting Amtrak in its efforts to earn a profit is that it is still operated by government employees who do not understand the profit motive. But the mere fact that passenger trains are not “paying their own way” is no reason to stop providing this important service.
Regarding his view of “railway buffs,” we are not all stuck in some fantasy world where everything was perfect and pure 50 years ago.
As with anything in the past, there was good and bad; the good is that, at one time, one could travel without running from one end of an airport to the other to make connections or wasting time in traffic. As a bonus, you could sleep in a private room while on the move, eat a good meal or enjoy a 360-degree view at 90 miles an hour. I hope that Amtrak or someone will be operating passenger service, whatever the motive, and will increase the choice of destinations and travel times to introduce the current generation to rail travel. Given the choice, I believe people would choose to ride trains.
