I’m currently taking the Amtrak cross-country from Los Angeles to New York, a journey that has taken 66 hours so far. Here are three facts about rail travel in the US that you may not have known:
- At its peak, the US had the world’s largest and best rail network, spanning 254,000 miles. American rail companies were the biggest corporations in the world.
- Freight trains in the US are far more profitable than passenger trains, so 70% of the rail that Amtrak operates on is owned by other companies. This means that freight trains often get priority, leaving Amtrak trains stuck on the side of the road.
- Amtrak is woefully underfunded. The amount of subsidies that the US government has granted Amtrak in its lifetime since 1971 is less than the budget for a single year for the interstate highway system.