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AMTRAK in it's current incarnation has a lot of issues.
If the USA wants a comprehensive passenger train system like that in other first world countries, then it will have to do invest in the infrastructure to allow for it. In most other countries, the rail lines for passengers are owned by the government in a similar manner to highways in the USA.
Amtrak needs their own trackage. But they will never have the budget.
AMTRAK in it's current incarnation has a lot of issues.
If the USA wants a comprehensive passenger train system like that in other first world countries, then it will have to do invest in the infrastructure to allow for it. In most other countries, the rail lines for passengers are owned by the government in a similar manner to highways in the USA.
Amtrak had *nothing* to do with this accident other than it being one of their trains.
"The Amtrak train, traveling on tracks owned and maintained by freight railway giant, CSX, was supposed to pass over the switch to continue on to the main line tracks, but instead was directed onto the pad-locked crossing into a portion of track known as “siding” which was occupied by a parked CSX train, Sumwalt said.
“For whatever reason that switch was, as they say in the railroad industry, ‘lined and locked,’” he said. “Which basically means it was aligned for the train coming this way to be diverted into the siding.”
Trains go where track are laid and switches/signals allow. Questions thus are now on CSX to explain find out or whatever why said switches were set incorrectly allowing that Amtrak train to go where it shouldn't.
Over the years via legislation, anti-trust actions, and other means including the creation of Amtrak railroads have been compelled to give other trains access to their ROW. Otherwise things would come to a grinding halt.
The "national rail network" such as it is comprises right of way of many different railroads. No one RR past or present has tracks that stretch from Maine to California.
Amtrak does own in whole or part extensive trackage/ROW. Much of it is the former New York Central RR, Pennsylvania RR, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the Northeast Corridor). Still overall yes, those numbers only amount to around 97% of total ROW.
But there is a method to that madness. Amtrak could *never* afford to own and maintain an extensive trackage system. Remember reason why the thing was created is because private railroads didn't want to continue revenue losing passenger rail service. Even now outside the NEC many of Amtrak's long distance and other train service lose money year after year. That is with them not owning the tracks and only having to pay for trackage rights/access.
I kinda knew I was setting myself up when I said that. It does appear highly unlikely that a switch thrown manually and then padlocked failed though.
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