We're talking about passenger rail here, not cargo. Amtrak has a legally mandated monopoly, so you can only compete with them by building your own rails or usin

We're talking about passenger rail here, not cargo. Amtrak has a legally mandated monopoly, so you can only compete with them by building your own rails or using a different travel mode (e.g., bus or air). If you find their service to be good and cheap, I can only assume you've never ridden a train in Europe.