Amtrak has been astonishingly successful at keeping the trains running and even hitting new ridership records, despite decades of strong structural headwinds. So why do so many people still treat it as a failure — and what would it take to shift the dialogue and deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?
We love this video essay from Wendover Productions, which offers a nuanced take on why headlines about disappointing new Acela trains and political posturing about Amtrak’s “failure” to turn a profit are missing the forest for the trees. And along the way, he even makes the case for why an agency that has bee “misunderstood, mocked and maligned, politicized and subsequently villainized, perpetually hamstrung by ebbing and flowing support” is actually “fulfilling its mandate better than ever” — and why ditching the myth that Amtrak needs to make money could hold the key to making it better than ever.
Having trouble watching the video below? Check it out here.
