>>1534626>Why is Amtrak so expensive in general?It's not in general. Coach tickets on state-funded lines and the Northeast corridor are not expensive. I can get a round trip from New York to Washington DC for $79, or $38 one way. About $10 per hours of driving in the car, assuming no jams.
As for Long-distance routes, the prices are higher because of an increasing expectation of turning a profit, while having a relative lack of importance to the average American due to the near-universality of roads as the go-to transport.
Overall, it seems like Amtrak been pushing for profitability in earnest over the last few years and actually getting near that mark, especially since many of their most popular lines receive state funding as well (pic related, red lines are supported by states in yellow). However, it's pretty much a guarantee that the long-distance routes (blue) will never turn a profit, receive less passengers than other routes, and per passenger are by far the primary loss for Amtrak. *
Having public funding at all was controversial from the get-go, and has been increasingly seen just a congressional favor for congressmen in states/counties having continental routes. And if the incident with the USPS is anything to go by, it is at least somewhat a blessing for long-distance routes that the Secretary of Transportation is the only board member for Amtrak which the president is always able to directly appoint, the rest only be appointed until when they resign, and the CEO being chosen from a vote of the board. **
* Google "white-paper-amtrak-long-distance-financial-performance" , post filter thinks the pdf link is spam
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/amtrak-is-ruled-a-public-entity , ctrl-F "how the Amtrak board of directors is structured"
