Listen/Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Substack, Spotify, YouTube, or watch this page for New Episodes.
Why was Amtrak created? What impact did that have on US passenger rail service? How is Amtrak’s story part of a broader struggle between public purpose and private profit that has consistently plagued U.S. railroading?
In this third episode of the Reconnect America series, we continue our deep dive into the history and future prospects of U.S. passenger rail—and the vital importance of rail service to the social and economic vitality of communities across the country.
Note that this episode was released just as the new Trump-appointed President of Amtrak Roger Harris announced an arbitrary, unrequired and likely devastating cut of 450 Amtrak employees. This is likely to continue the futile and regressive effort to force Amtrak to generate a profit. As we learn in this episode, Congress eliminated the profit mandate for Amtrak years ago, in favor of maximizing the benefits of the subsidy. The folly of the Amtrak cuts threaten to turn back the clock rather than learn from past mistakes. More on that in this excellent commentary by Jim Mathew's President of the Rail Passengers Association.
In Episode 2, we discussed the historic social contract that the U.S. struck with its privately-owned railroads in the late 1800s, and the railroad’s common carrier obligation to serve passengers and freight. We described how a series of public investment in competing modes of transportation gradually undermined the rail industry’s capacity to compete and thus pushed the industry to the brink of collapse.
Episode 3 picks up with the creation of Amtrak, an attempt to save the railroad corporations by relieving them of their common carrier duty to provide passenger service. We examine the political conundrum that ignored past experience, skirted around the option of nationalizing the rail system, and ultimately both saddled Amtrak with an impossible mandate and failed to truly resolve the crisis for the freight rail system.
We hear from multiple expert guests how Amtrak’s initial mandate to make a profit on service that hadn’t been revenue positive for at least 50 years ignored the broader value of rail service. They describe how that led to vast sections of the US population being left behind, how the new relationship between private freight and public passenger rail has played out, and what these leaders are doing to restore passenger rail service to communities across the country.
Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast on the SR homepage or Substack.
Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE.
Listen/Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Substack, Spotify, YouTube, or watch this page for New Episodes.
Mentioned in E3:
- David Alff’s book: The Northeast Corridor: The Trains, the People, the History, the Region (Code: “UCPNEW” for 30% off)
Also Recommended:
- Phillip Longman’s October 2024 article argues that fixing our freight rail system is a prerequisite to re-industrializing the U.S.: “Train Drain: How deregulation and private equity have gutted the U.S. freight rail system—and with it, the promise of America’s industrial renewal”
-
Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews’ February 2025 article on the evolution of Amtrak’s mandate from profit-centric to service-centric: “Op-Ed: Amtrak Isn’t Profitable—And That’s Okay”
- While you’re at it, check out Jim’s fantastic Instagram monologue from April 2025, which tackles Amtrak privatization and the myth of profitable passenger rail.
- For a fascinating deep dive into the backroom politics behind Amtrak’s creation and the design of its initial system, this series of articles by Jeff Davis of the Eno Center for Transportation are highly recommended:
- Amtrak recently revealed the name for its new service along the Gulf Coast: the Mardi Gras. Read the press release here.
Episode Timeline:
- 00:00—Episode 2 Recap
- 00:57—Episode 3 Introduction
- 07:15—The Political Origins of Amtrak and its Profit Mandate
- 12:36—Profit-driven Abandonments and their Impacts on Communities
- 19:24—Failure to Invest in Service Reduces Ridership, Increases Need for Subsidy, and Undermines Economic Benefits of Passenger Rail.
- 21:51—The Terms of the Deal We Struck With Private Railroad Companies in 1970-73
- 24:10—Failure of Private Railroads to Give Priority to Passenger Trains on Tracks
- 26:40—Refusal of Private Railroads to Accommodate New and Expanded Service on Track; Symptomatic of Deregulation
- 32:03—Passenger Rail as a Potential Area for Trans-Partisan Collaboration, Rural Revitalization.
- 37:16—Passenger Rail as a Vital Essential Service
- 39:10—Conclusion, Previewing Episode 4
Co-written and produced by Bill Moyer and Sasha Elenko. Engineering by August Moore. Musical theme by Ken Jacobsen and additional music by Ota Prota.
Showing 1 reaction