And it at least may be worth mentioning that Amtrak came into being in large part because essentially all its predecessors had been losing money and merging--culminating in the largest bankruptcy in American history up to that point in 1970 (Penn Central).

I have a sometimes hankering at least for the idea (if not the likely reality) of taking a long-distance Amtrak train trip. But I'm not sure I could really justify why middle-class American taxpayers should subsidize my Chicago to Seattle train ride.

Maybe there's a market for private luxury long-haul trains with a "flexible" schedule across routes in the West.