[hammersklavier]

What Wizened Variations is suggesting is the exact same thing that the SNCF, RENFE, Trenitalia, British Rail, and Deutsche Bahn did in their respective countries--it's one of the major reasons European rail is so good.

Yes, HSR is sexy. It is cool. Es hat das Sex-Appeal. But the reality is that while the TGV, AVE, ICE, etc., are all symbols of a country's passenger rail prowess, they are merely top-level overlays on a fundamentally well-run system.

EDITED TO ADD: The only major thing I would change would be to break Amtrak into seven segments, six each to concentrate on improving passenger rail within specific regional submarkets (Northeast/New England, Midwest, Southeast, Texas, Cascades, and California) and one to run the long-distance routes.