>>1891786this
the class 1 railroads used to be required to run passenger service, and this made them go broke. the gov't bailed them out and made it so they didn't have to run passenger service, and instead created amtrak which was separate but they were required to allow them to run on their rails.
part of this agreement was that passenger trains were supposed to get priority, but now as anyone who rides amtrak can tell you, they don't. the reason for this is they make trains so long that they can't fit onto a siding to allow the passenger train to pass. it might change at some point but the gov't agency that is supposed to enforce this has turned a blind eye to it for decades.
they also do not maintain tracks that might be useful to passenger service, but not profitable for the kind of freight they like to run.
