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Introduction:The state-owned intercity passenger railroad company of the US is called 'The National Railroad Passenger Corporation' (trade name Amtrak). Amtrak, which was established in 1971 with a federal grant, has been a national monopoly in the
intercity railroad passenger transportation in the US.
Although Amtrak was expected to achieve operational self-sufficiency
by 1973 without the US government subsidy, the company continued receiving federal subsidies, which amounted to $29
billion by 2004. It was also reported that Amtrak has been losing nearly $1 billion every year from the early 1990s.
Competing modes of transportation like airlines and automobiles have been the major cause of losses at Amtrak. In 2005, the
US government introduced a bill in the Congress called the 'Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act', which intended to
privatize Amtrak. However certain lobbies in the Congress are opposing the privatization of the national rail network. Amtrak,
one of the oldest passenger railways in the world with its network in 46 states of the US, operates commuter
trains under contract, maintains and leases railway lines to private freight carriers and provides mail services, in addition
to shipping small packages (less than truckload).
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