Biden's Free Pass On Amtrak Soaks Taxpayers, Not The Rich

Following up on an Extreme Mortman post with an image of Biden and Specter riding Amtrak together reveals that Laura Nichols does little more than regurgitate a purposely designed DNC talking point through the Washington Post. But the real story behind Biden and Amtrak is far from all that for the American taxpayer.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Have you heard Joe Biden takes the Amtrak train home every night from Washington, D.C., to Wilmington? If not, you will soon -- over and over again.

The National Taxpayers Union has been railing, pardon the pun, about Amtrak for years.

Nixon Administration correspondence on Amtrak stated, “It is expected that the corporation would experience financial losses for about three years and then become a self-sustaining enterprise.”

Instead, as you can see from page ten of this NTU pdf, never profitable Amtrak has been soaking taxpayers for years and it still isn't enough.

Amtrak could face the elimination of routes across the country, as its funding would fall $180 million below the Fiscal 2006 level. In addition, the maintenance and upgrades that many Members of Congress have advocated to make Amtrak more competitive would be delayed, undermining Amtrak’s safety and service especially in high-traffic areas like the Northeast Corridor.

Also see this from 2002:

(Alexandria, VA) – Today was supposed to mark the beginning of liquidation for Amtrak, yet the fiscally-challenged passenger railroad will continue to chug along on government subsidies. This broken promise to taxpayers from politicians is only the most recent of many failures documented in a new historical study from the 335,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU).

Here's a blogger and Amtrak rider who probably won't make the Washington Post.

In practice, Amtrak is one of the most dysfunctional organizations operating today.

American taxpayers looking at warm fuzzy images of Joe Biden riding Amtrak should at least stop and consider the fact that they've been subsidizing Slow Joe's ride home every night to the tune of billions of dollars for years.

Since its creation, Amtrak has absorbed more than $29 billion in subsidies and more than $6.5 billion since 1997 alone. It was in 1997 that a federal reform board mandated that Amtrak either become profitable by 2003 or be liquidated. Both the federal government and the state of Michigan must stop providing cash subsidies to this unnecessary and expensive intervention in the transportation marketplace. Taxpayers would be better off with some sort of privatized version of Amtrak, but that does not look like it will happen in the short run.

Of course, it wasn't liquidated. And all Amtrak defender and traveling free loader Joe Biden did was have his lobbyist son placed on the Amtrak Board. That would be the board of a government owned corporation whose stock is worth ... well, about as much as the talking point that Biden is somehow doing American Taxpayers a favor by ensuring he gets to hold on to his subsidized ride back and forth to work everyday.

Wiki Link: Government aid to Amtrak was controversial from the beginning. The formation of Amtrak in 1971 was criticized as a bailout serving corporate rail interests and union railroaders, not the traveling public. Critics assert that Amtrak has proven incapable of operating as a business and that it does not provide valuable transportation services meriting public support,[50] a "mobile money-burning machine."[51] They argue that subsidies should be ended, national rail service terminated, and the Northeast Corridor turned over to private interests.

Comments

[dm60462]

Meanwhile, from the very location that story was reported... Democratic IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich ("Friend of Rezko") commutes daily from his home in Chicago to the State capital of Springfield via private plane at a cost to taxpayers of $5,800 a day. Amtrak runs multiple daily trains between the two cities, but that's not good enough for Rod. Neither is living in the GOvernor's mansion in Springfield, which would entail zero commuting. Did I mention that The Illinois State Constitution requires the legislature to pass a balanced budget, which lawmakers have been unable to do, owing to fighting between factions of the Democratic Party, which controls all government elected offices in the State?
budgethttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/22/politics/main2968669.shtml

[bobInStamford]

Concern about trains is for COMMIES!!

Meanwhile:

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1178294199297

I wonder Gramps can take Amtrak to any of his 8 houses???

[jharp]

"Since its creation, Amtrak has absorbed more than $29 billion in subsidies and more than $6.5 billion since 1997 alone."

I wonder how much we've spent subsidizing the car business by building roads for them during the same period.

Anyone know?

[LenS]

Cars and trucks generate massive revenues via fuel taxes. Revenues that are often diverted for other political pork projects. Public transportation generates nothing. It takes massive subsidies that reward center city businesses over their less politically connected suburban counterparts. Even densely packed Manhattan, the only place in the US where mass transit has a reason for being, requires massive subsidies to pay for the system.

I'm sure if the Gore's and Obama's of the world had their way, the vast majority of the population would be forced to live in giant public housing buildings in the cities using public transit while they continue to live on massive estates in the middle of large parks (paid for by tax dollars) with convenient runways for their private jets.

[seekeronos]

"--- subsidizing the car business... ---"

Do tell: is the gov't subsidizing the car industry ? Or are you referring to Eisenhower's interstate system and the industries that grew up around them, to say nothing of suburban sprawl and our unwillingness/inability to be more like most of Europe or Japan with highly efficient (and highly subsidized) rail networks and high density urban residential development programmes?

There is a difference, you know. The interstate highway system was financed and developed for reasons parallel to those of the German Autobahn during the late Weimar and through the mid-Third Reich: for speedy transport of armor and mech. infantry, the primary reason, and also for the greater ease of commercial transport.

Germany already had a very well developed passenger rail network, the Reichsbahn (later the Deutsche Bahn) which within only the past decade or so has made moves toward privatization.

The USA had various passenger rail companies (and more freight lines) but aside from the Northeast and Chicago-Philly corridor rail density into the bulk of the rest of the nation was underdeveloped.

By the 1950s, the speed and lower cost to build roads over rails lead to the choice to do far more highways than railroads; the rest is a matter of history.

[jharp]

LenS,

Though I appreciate your response I think my 9th grade son could have made a much better one.

You have no idea what you are talking about. And you obviously have never been to a country that has an efficient system in place. Try getting out more.

[jharp]

seeker,

Thank you and you bring up some good points.

It's a tough call but clearly either system has it's costs and limitations.

My experience has been in Hong Kong and China and it's a great system. Far superior to traveling by car.

Probably some combination of the two is the best answer.

Right wingers like to look at things in absolute terms and it is a stupid way to judge things.

[Spartan112]

"Manhattan, the only place in the US where mass transit has a reason for being"

Really? Wow, that's good to know.

Bus/subway systems throughout the US are vital parts of getting kids to school, lower income workers to work and transporting people of all stripes to a fro. Many people in a variety of cities use rapid transit and if you live or work in one of those cities you should be thankful they do. If they did not the added congestion alone would make you regret their choice. Additionally, given the rising price of fuel rapid transit makes more sense now than it ever has.

[Spartan112]

Oh and btw, the nyc-dc line operates at a profit operating above capacity.

And ridership is up 14% from this time last year nationally. given current gas prices that rise is likely to continue.

[joeb]

So Biden was born in 1942. That would make him an old geezer now would it not? Just a mere 6 years younger than McCain. I guess that means age is not an issue any more.
By the way I think the Democrats really snubbed women big time by leaving Hillary out in the cold. They could have won with her but not without her.
And knowing Hill and Bill they are already planning for her to run again in 4 years and win the second time around.
If Biden is elected he can stop taking the train. There is a nice big house in DC for him.
America really screwed up when we lost our fine railroads and light rail. Bring back good railroads and light rail. Cars are anobamanation.

[seekeronos]

"--- 14% ---"

This still gets washed out by the other regions total lack of profits.

[seekeronos]

However, I agree with Spartan that higher gas prices will prove to be an incentive for mass transit.

[Spartan112]

14% is the national ridership increase. The eastern routes show increases in the 30's with some routes having increases as much as 40%.

Let's not forget that on 9/11 when the airports were all closed that the trains were still running.

[Fred Beloit]

This is too funny. Harpo makes an absolute statement that says it is stupid to make absolute statements. Honk honk.
"Right wingers like to look at things in absolute terms and it is a stupid way to judge things."

[Fred Beloit]

Spart, would you share a source for your nums with us?

[seekeronos]

A suggested adjustment to Harpo's comment:

"Most conservatives tend to look at things in well-defined terms, including right and wrong, sensibility, cost, and the grief to the taxpayer vs. the reward of implementing any given change over continuing the status quo... it is an effective, if not necessarily flexible way to evaluate things".

FIXED!

[Fred Beloit]

"It can be greener to drive than catch the train, according to a rail industry study which reveals that trains are losing their environmental advantage.

Modern diesel-powered trains are so polluting that a family of three or more would be responsible for at least double the carbon dioxide emissions on many routes when travelling[sic] by rail compared with driving in a typical medium-sized car."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/article2067255.ece

[seekeronos]

If in fact Amtrak is suddenly becoming profitable, then perhaps it is time to consider reducing the subsidy it gets.

[Fred Beloit]

"For purposes of comparison, I’m taking cost and travel time from the Amtrak website and the Frontier Airlines website, traveling to arrive at the destination city on July 15, 2008, and leave for home on July 18; if there are any options, I’m taking the least expensive routing. Travel times are totaled for the round trip, and include three hours per flight added for getting to the airport and getting through security, and transit time from the airport to and from the city center on each trip. Notice, by the way, that this gives trains an inherent advantage, since the train station is usually in the city center.

The table tells the tale, I think. The train is from one and a half to five times as expensive, and takes four and a half to five times as long, turning a four-day trip into seven or eight days."

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/why-trains-just-dont-work-in-america/

[Spartan112]

"Modern diesel-powered trains are so polluting that a family of three or more would be responsible for at least double the carbon dioxide emissions on many routes when travelling[sic] by rail compared with driving in a typical medium-sized car."

Does the same hold true if 200 families are riding that same train?

[Spartan112]

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=72658

[seekeronos]

The problem lies in a lack of infrastructure. The US rail system exists primarily for freight transit.

Passenger rail is the ugly, red-headed stepchild of US intercity travel, where you'd be hard pressed to find more than half the seats on a scheduled train outside the Boston-D.C. corridor.

We simply have not had either the imperative or the popular mandate for developing something akin to the TGV rail system of France, the Japanese shinkansen (bullet trains) or Chinese mag-lev trains... high speed rail would be a major incentive over air travel for trips of about 500mi. - 800mi. *IF* the lines and the technology existed in the US to beat out the air carriers and the now onerous, PATRIOT Act driven skulduggery one has to subject himself to in order to use.

Of course, I think the coast-to-coast hauls would still be worth the bother of air travel as a full airliner is both faster and more fuel efficient for the time and distance involved.

But if we had the gumption to lay down a few mag-lev lines between say, Richmond and Boston, or from NYC to Minneapolis-St. Paul thru Philly and Chicago... a trip between the endpoints would run about 3-4 hours when moving at 350mph. Almost as fast as a plane, right into the city centres. Points in between (NY to Philly, or NY to DC) could be had in under an hour and half.

The other issue would be creating demand for it, and with aggressive marketing against the near police-state approach of airports over the relatively more convenient rails, loss-leading discounts, and the patience to see a few years of losses before turning a profit, it could be done. Add in rail bonds and other such investment vehicles, and capitalization could come a bit faster.

But chronic NIMBYism, the sheer size of our continental and the American love of the road, car, and a collective distaste for uprooting kit and kindred to "walkable cities" (and perhaps walking in general) is likely to keep us from improving medium-distance high speed rail much beyond that pitifully slow, laughable, and very much overpriced ACELA service from Amtrak.

[seekeronos]

And Fred's right on about this:

A fully-seated airliner will always be more efficient a transport than a train with only 30% of its seats sold:

The measure of efficiency being not so much miles per gallon, but *miles per gallon per passenger*.

It is the same measure which makes a Chevy Suburban fully loaded with 8 people and gear more efficient than 8 people driving 8 Toyota Priuses from point A to point B.

[Spartan112]

Train service to and from NYC and Boston is almost already as fast as flying (even without Acela) when you factor in the time it takes to get to the airports and the time it takes to check in, get through security etc.

Seriously for me to toake the train to NYC I drive 1/2 an hour and hop on, bang I'm there in a few short hours. If I fly it takes an hour to get to the airport, 20 minutes to park, I have to be there 1-2 hours early to do the security check, etc. and then the plane is just as likely to be late. The I have to get off the plane get a cab and get into the city. When all is said and done the time is about the same as train. DC isn't much worse if you take Acela when you consider that most flights are actually flying into Baltimore then you have to arrange ground transit to DC.

Yes, the NE corridor has one of the most profitable routes, but apparently there's a line in SoCal that is equally as popular.

[Fred Beloit]

How about some links, there, Mr Philosopher?

[Fred Beloit]

Typical lib. Spart tells about a personal experience, an anecdote, and this disproves the charges of those who study AMTRAK closely:

"On that note, let’s take a look at Amtrak today, at the close of calendar year 2007.

Amtrak remains statistically irrelevant as part of America’s transportation network, and nobody is doing anything to change that fact.

Amtrak remains a financially bankrupt corporation, suffering under a corps of non-innovative executives whose personal performance and promotions are based on how much money is saved, rather than how many new passengers are found, how many revenue passenger miles are generated, or how much the national system is grown to accommodate passenger demand.

Even worse, at the end of 2007, Amtrak’s greatest supporters are often ill-informed individuals with no useful understanding of the real potential of Amtrak as an integral part of our domestic transportation network, but rather consider Amtrak an environmental toy available for the amusement of tree-huggers and those with an antipathy for fossil fuel vehicles."
http://www.unitedrail.org/2007/12/19/this-week-at-amtrak-2007-12-18/

[Spartan112]

Links on how long it takes me to get to the airport? You are desperate.

Fine.

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=607&category=42

It takes about 4.5 hours by train to get to NYC on the regional train. An hour flying. Add to that the additional time it takes to get to the airport, et through security and then from the airport to the city and you've easily got the same amount of time (if only slightly slower).

[Spartan112]

Remember Amtrak stayed open on 9/11...why do you hate America? You obviously want the terrorists to win.

[Fred Beloit]

I just hate that my tax money is helping your Veep candidate commute home at night. Next you and Harpo will be wanting the same for yourselves.

[Spartan112]

I just hate that my tax money is helping your Veep candidate commute home at night. Next you and Harpo will be wanting the same for yourselves.

Posted by: Fred Beloit |

Well Fred that just proves how stupid you are. You tax money would be helping him get home whether is was by train, bus, car or a litter carried by tibetan monks as the Secret Service will now be travelling with him regardless. Besides, I doubt he'll be allowed to take the train anymore.

[Fred Beloit]

When this election is over, Agent 112, both of your Dem candidates will be riding the rods of a freight train with the rest of the hobos.

[Spartan112]

Ok, whatever you say Fred.

[Fred Beloit]

" The National Journal’s ranking of members of Congress by ideology has already played a bit of a role in this year’s election, as Republicans have pointed to the fact that Barack Obama was ranked the most liberal senator in 2007. It’s worth noting that Joe Biden was ranked third most liberal.

That’s probably why Obama didn’t see a bounce in the polls after his selection of Biden. As Fred Barnes describes in today’s Wall Street Journal, the winds may be blowing for Democrats this year but America is still a center-right nation."
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/is_obama_biden_the_most_liberal_presidential_ticket_ever/

[Spartan112]

The WSJ thinks the US is right-center...big surprise.

[Worst President Ever]

All transportation is subsidized - planes, trains,and cars. It ain't private companies building those highways and airports.

John McSame - how's he going to manage the economy when he can't even keep track of how many homes he owns?

Actually, the country largely supports Democratic policy positions.

[seekeronos]

For WPE:

Highway construction has typically been the domain of national and state governments for nearly as long as they have been in existence. It is probably one of the few things that gov't can do better than private industry, especially since regulation of interstate commerce falls under national purview. However, it is the degree of subsidization vs. the profitability against the utilisation of an industry that was effectively nationalised over three decades ago, which until very recently has failed to either turn a profit or compel much ridership aside from the highly trafficked NE and SoCal corridors, and a small but fiercely loyal band of train enthusiasts.

The prices of annoyance just don't jibe with those of air travel - Let's consider a recent planned family excursion to Disney World in Florida:

Leg 1: Trip from House to Grand Central Terminal

I'll leave out the train trip to and from NYC's grand central since these'd be common costs to me in either scenario.

Leg 2: Trip from GCT to JFK

-1x cab to JFK (There are a few cheaper ways to do this, but travelling as a family schlepping a big suitcase and a carry-on for each family member, plus another case for the requisite souvenirs we'll be obliged to get for various family members, a taxi is the most convenient) $50 incl. tip... Time: 40min +/- 15min for B&T traffic

Leg 3: Flight from JFK to Orlando

-3x round trip fares to Orlando, taking an average here... $210 round trip each for traveller (sorry, no discounts for the kiddo) ... and as prices _do_not_ incl. markup for gas and airport and excess baggage fees and farting-in-the-airport-CO2-emmissions surcharges, but saving a bit since we'll stuff ourselves on homemade sammiches on the train ride in).. Approx. $750, flight time: 2.5 hours

Leg 4: Transport around the Orlando-Kissimee (sp) area

This would also work out to be about the same regardless of travel by air or rail, which I could more or less eliminate by staying at a Disney Resort Hotel and using the monorail shuttle thingy to get back and forth to various attractions. Or not: I might just rent a carbon-belching Mercedes SL convertible if I can get my hands on one and check out other attractions the area has to offer my family.

Or I can do it the Amtrak way:

Leg 2: GCT to Penn Station

1x Cab for about $15 incl. tip, Time: 5min

Leg 3: 3x Amtrak tixx. for 2 adults, one kid is $565 plus taxes. Not a bad price, but being cooped up in a train car on seats that don't fully recline for no less than 48 hours... with a kiddo who will likely be too busy raising Cain up and down the passageway would be a pleasure even the most stalwart rail warrior might be inclined to take a pass on.

And the private, cozy cabins would bring an markup of at least +$500 to the ticket, putting it on a par with a discount cruise, sans water, hot tubs, music, and shuffleboard.

The grand Totals
=================

Amtrak: ≈ $650 over 48 hours travel (round trip), about 52 hours door-to-door.
Jet Blue: ≈ $850 for about 12 hours door-to-door travel time (about 5 hours actual flight time)

JetBlue wins on time factor, with 1hr. to get to the airport from Grand Central, and another hour to get thru security, with an hour's buffer usually spent in the high security lounge at the gate.

(Flabbing about draconian airport security and the TSA bullies aside, it's not so bad for domestic flights, IMHO... it's the int'l flights that have the longer security lines)

We'd probably get choked for another fistful of dollars for luggage, and I'm not sure if we'd get penalized for bringing our own home-made onigiri rice balls or sammiches to snack on (I know that the thermos full of green tea would certainly be verboten and briskly confiscated by the TSA goons, so I'd have to cough up at least $5.00 or more for 12oz water bottles for the kiddo and the wife at the concession in the "secured" zone).

That's the upshot of the train though, as I could likely bring a stylish cooler full of dining wine or Rooibos tea, deli meat, cheeses, bagguette bread and arugula in honour of our presumptuous president-select, and perhaps replenish the same at whatever local Winn-Dixie or Piggly-Wiggly is available down yonder in Orlando before the return leg.

That's of limited value though, if I'm travelling Amtrak by coach, which may or may not have outlets for the cooler.

Another 2.5 hours for actual flight time (assuming there is no silliness like the sort which grounded one airliner for nearly 15 hours without allowing anyone to disembark to stretch their legs), and another 30min to gather luggage, and yet another 30min to arrange for ground transport to the hotel/car rental...

From door to door, it then would take about six hours for the whole ordeal, and my fellow passengers (as well as myself) are spared the potential annoyance of a young'un being more heard from than seen for more than the 2.5 hours we are in the air.

And that amounts to over 36 more hours - that's a day and a half - we'uns could be splashing it up on a beach, or deep sea sport fishing, or even cavorting about a certain theme park with an oversized and well over-compensated rodent and its other nearly well compensated friends.

[seekeronos]

And I forgot points #2 and #3:

#2: McCain won't actually manage the economy. He'll have various advisers who will either work with the people who actually manage monetary policy, and he'll appoint others to those same managerial positions. As for who owns his homes, he really doesn't own any homes. I'd imagine someone as smart as Cindy McCain made him sign a pre-nup, and as wealthy as she is, with her likely having oversight to property managers who keep tabs on the McCain real estate fortune, he is not likely to give an offhand and exact account of their holdings.

#3: I'd say the country is largely split down the middle, with a good deal of intermixing of both GOP and Democrat policy positions. And then there's them whacky Libertarians and Constitutionalists on the fringes adding their voice.

I really don't see how there is a clear endorsement of the far left or far right in the USA. We are large washed out into the centre; although I will concede that that "centre of mass" of political thought has shifted left and will likely favour the Democrats after almost eight years of Bush's and general GOP mismanagement.

Even if McCain somehow wins, as he has a narrow chance of benefiting from the Dem's uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory... the downticket races will largely belong to the Dems. Surprisingly, I bet a lot of them will not make the Kossacks and Firedogs feel validated though, as many of them may be in fact Blue Dogs who serve socially conservative and "Defense conservative" constituencies.

[Worst President Ever]

I was stating that government subsidizes all transporatation, and rail probably gets the smallest subsidies.

Comparing long distance travel in the US between rail and air isn't particularly fair. You're comparing fairly antiquated rail technology to recent generation air. A better comparison is to use cities that have fairly modern - Acela - lines, which are still much slower than foreign bullet trains. Even the Acelas do much better and are often preferred.

Everyone I know knows EXACTLY how many homes they own. Of course, he didn't know because years ago he was a POW. Same answer for every other tough question - I was a POW!

I'd prefer my president to have some sense of how the economy works rather than just hiring "managers". And since he's promised to follow Bush's lead, it doesn't matter who he hires, the math adds up to huge deficits.

More voters self-identify as Democrats than Republicans. Democrats also lead on the generic ballot by something like 8%.

[Spartan112]

Seek, if I'm going to FLA I fly, if I'm going to NYC I take the train. I agree that the train is impractical for longer trips but if marketed correctly it can be very good for commuter usage which is precisely how Biden has been using it.

[seekeronos]

"--- More voters self-identify as Democrats than Republicans. ---"

If this is so, I'd venture to guess that they are Reagan Democrats or blue dogs to the core, whose sense of brand loyalty is at odds with the lunacy being pushed by the DLC/DNC and the Netroots.

And I'll venture to guess that they'd rather vote for Blue dogs, or Pubbies who will stand firm for the same conservative values when they do get some twit from ANSWER or the Greens running as their local D's.

[Fred Beloit]

Worst says, "Actually, the country largely supports Democratic policy positions."

I guess that's why Congress, run by the Dems, gets 9% approval ratings from the polled public. You're no better, Worst.

[Worst President Ever]

Democrats are going to pick up seats in the Senate AND the House this year. Voter5s may be unhappy with the Democrats, but they really, really don't like the Republicans.

[Spartan112]

I guess that's why Congress, run by the Dems, gets 9% approval ratings from the polled public. You're no better, Worst.

Posted by: Fred Beloit | Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 09:38 AM

Oh Fred, you're smarter than that. You know that while people have low approval of Congress as a whole they tend to have much higher approval of their individual representatives. If they didn't the house would almost completely turn over every two years given those approval ratings.

[seekeronos]

"--- I agree that the train is impractical for longer trips but if marketed correctly it can be very good for commuter usage... ---"

Agreed. Although I'd love to see us catch up to the Japanese and French with their utilisation of rail for intercity routes...

The Japanese high-speed railroads (Shinkansen) in particular have a layout along a distance and geography which is roughly analogous to our East Coast:

"JR" or JapanRail, is broken up into several smaller franchises, with a few particular well trafficked lines: JR-Central runs the Tōkaidō line running from Ōsaka to Tōkyō being by far the busiest, and JR-West manages the Sanyō line running from Ōsaka to Fukuoka, and to JR-East goes the less trafficked Tōhoku line, running from Tōkyō to Hachinohe (a good jog north of Sendai, in Aomori prefecture).

The total run is 997mi., which is in the ballpark of a parallel run from Atlanta, GA to Boston, MA at just over 1,000mi. Not counting for transfers and specific trainsets, I estimate that from end to end, one could make the trip in about 6 hours (assuming no local stops and a running speed of about 180mph or 300kph)

We could develop our high-speed rail project along similar lines: "South Atlantic Rail" to run an Atlanta-Richmond-DC line, "North Atlantic Rail" to run the DC-Philly-NYC-Boston corridor, and possibly a later planned "Great Lakes Rail" to manage the Philly-Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Cleveland-Chicago line.

And in time, additional spur lines can be built or upgraded from existing Amtrak routes, such as upgrading the existing Adirondack Line from NYC to Montréal under the auspices of the "North Atlantic" line, or extending a spur services from Atlanta-New Orleans (the "Big Easy Line") and from Atlanta-Savannah-Jackonsville-Kissimmee(Orlando)-Miami (the Orange Line)... cutting a deal with Disney and Universal Studios perhaps, to spur into that particular resort area's mass transit system.

But since "all roads lead to DC"... the short-to-medium haul (such as NYC to DC or Boston to NYC or Richmond to Atlanta) would be well served and well travelled by a few profitable (eventually) regional companies that could break from its directly govenmental subsidized hold.

I'm sure that a "Pacific Line" or a limited California line (which is under much discussion already, independent of Amtrak) will arise in America's most populous state as well.

"--- ...which is precisely how Biden has been using it. ---"

This depends if he is just using it like anyone else, paying his fare, or if this is to suggest that he is essentially riding for free with the taxpayers picking up his entire fare in addition to the subsidy Amtrak gets.