Amtrak

Passenger rail needs a public subsidy to work, experts say.

It's asking for 50% more funding than it received for the current fiscal year.

The bill includes a fresh $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, the biggest investment the federal government has made in railroads since Amtrak was founded in 1971.

Amtrak is planning to scale back many of its long-distance routes.

After years of being the subject of congressional ire, the federally subsidized company is almost at the point of breaking even.

Delays at the train depot ripple through the economy of the entire East Coast, an expert says.