THINK ABOUT IT - for decades, AMTRAK has been maligned, tortured, twisted, abused, under-funded and used repeatedly as the 'least-effective-way-to-move-people' scapegoat/poster child.  NOW, all of a sudden, AMTRAK has become another test bed for more TSA travel abuses and THEY want to break it out from its present and long-running government-subsidized format into a PRIVATIZED (i.e., less-likely-to-be-sued-entity) format.  Are you paying attention? 

http://www.metro-magazine.com/News/Story/2011/05/Transportation-lea...

The issue has NEVER been about moving people in a more timely manner - the issue has always been about getting people sucked into the notion that rapid rail was going to serve them as a better means of transport - while under the surface becoming a national civilian prisoner transport system! from one camp to another, as met their needs.  It's cheap and it's basic (why do you think even the most decent meals on airlines were stopped? to get you accustomed to traveling in "cattle cars.")

Every time the guv'mint throws something at you that's 'for your own good', you had better take a moment to read between the lines, because the chances of it being for your own good is actually something that's being done for THEIR own good against you.  RAPID RAIL IS ONE OF THOSE SCAM SCENARIOS!