In 1997, Congress passed the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act, hoping to resolve the perennial fiscal crises of the passenger rail system and to set it on a path to self-sufficiency. Nevertheless, since then Amtrak's financial difficulties have persisted, as evidenced by the discovery of a $200 million cash shortfall that nearly shut down the system in 2002 and an estimated debt of nearly $5 billion at the beginning of this year.

In his new book, End of the Line: The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America's Passenger Trains (AEI Press, 2004), Joseph Vranich offers the first in-depth analysis of the troubled Amtrak system since the passage of the 1997 reform legislation. Vranich, a former president of the High Speed Rail Association and former spokesman for Amtrak, details the rail carrier's history, financial and customer service woes, and never-ending quest for increased federal subsidies. He also discusses the prospect of full privatization of the nation's passenger rail transport.

Dreams of self-sufficiency at Amtrak have never come close to reality. From its inception in 1970, Amtrak has required substantial federal and state subsidies to keep afloat, running up costs so high that critics plausibly argue that the federal government could more efficiently and cheaply buy discount airline tickets for passengers rather than continue to subsidize Amtrak.

Among Amtrak's other major problems, Vranich lists unpopular and unprofitable routes that are politically protected and serious infrastructure shortcomings, especially the failure to complete safety upgrades in the New York City tunnels.

Vranich judges Amtrak incapable of reform. Instead, he recommends following the lead of fifty-five other countries by privatizing the nation's intercity rail system. He proposes that "responsible private-sector operators take over the Amtrak routes that are worth continuing," a move that would apply competition to the rail system in order to produce real cost-efficiency and customer service.