rides home. We could have gotten him a personal limo for a lot cheaper than well over a billion in subsidies. Amtrak's existence is critical, and it will never be able to operate without government subsidy, TheLastBrainLeft on September 11, 2012 at 8:21 PM If Amtrack is producing a service for which its users would not be willing to pay fair market, unsubsidized prices, then it is by definition a convenience for which alternatives would be found in its absence. Amtrack has been a Biden boondoggle for decades. Not another dime . . . When looking for alternatives to having to deal with the TSA, I toyed with the idea of taking AMTRAK from Tucson to Dallas. When I looked, there was only one day a week the train for Dallas runs and it was going to take 3 days to get to Dallas. I can drive in 2 days and that is staying somewhere overnight. $1B per year for nostalgia is pretty pricey. ... and it's not that nostalgic; trains were much more efficient back when they really were used for transportation. But why? Why would the ever privatize this? I count on the constant Amtrak overhead wire equipment and track snafus that end up delaying my NJ Transit trains a half hour (on a good day) while we sit for them to clean up their act. Seriously GOP will would I do without my daily shot of mediocrity and frustration on my morning commute? You tell me. It's