Amtrak, Rural Routes, and Change

Without doubt, Amtrak's new CEO Richard Anderson is bringing a lot of changes to our nation's passenger railroad service.  Anderson has a lot of experience running airlines.  I came across this piece in the Wall Street Journal:

https://www.wsj.com/video/amtrak-facing-rural-backlash-over-proposal-to-cut-long-distance-routes/F2E6CBB0-A3F4-4AF2-8D3C-D4878C21165D.html?mod=trending_now_video_1

They mention the Southwest Chief.  That was my go-to train in Kansas.  Well, it was our only passenger train service out there!  Now there's talk about doing away with the Southwest Chief.  For those who have never experienced a long-haul train, the Wall Street Journal gives you some perspective.  You get a dining car with full service.  Think freshly made omelets, getting asked how you'd like your steak cooked -these things are part of the experience.  There's also a lot of small towns that depend on passenger train service.  On the other hand, offering shorter distance trains between larger cities is a consideration.  And that gets us back to Richard Anderson at Amtrak.  Having run airlines, you can see his train of thought.  More frequent train service between large cities could make Amtrak competitive, increase ridership, and more.  Now if you're an airline, you want to pay attention to Amtrak's moves.  To be fair, the same holds true if you're in a small town, far from nearby cities.