Quote Originally Posted by Grog View Post
It will take a long time to come back to some type of capacity in the USA. It takes a long time to build or renovate passenger cars, train the staff, renovate the rails, etc.
We're having that problem now in Connecticut. The last week or two, my normal 4 car train has been cut down to 3 because so many need to be repaired/upgraded. Of the cars they're still using, half the time the A/C isn't working If you get someone with luggage, there's very little room to put it, and it further cramps everyone. Bikes have to be wedged in the doorway, and on the line that runs from NYC to New Haven, they're not even allowed during peak travel times. There's talk of changing that rule and of adding racks or something to the trains to accomodate bikes, but as you said, it's going to take quite some time for that to actually happen.

The other issue we have with the Amtrak trains here is that in most places there's only one track. So there are only certain places where your train can move over and get out of their way. Don't know how they can resolve that.