Reuters, 5/28/15:
To see why Amtrak's losses mount, hop on the Empire Builder train
Its passengers are mostly silver-haired retirees, oil-field workers and a few young families gazing out the windows of Amtrak's least-profitable and third-longest line, rumbling from Chicago through eight states and on to the American West Coast.
As the Empire Builder snakes along 2,230 miles (3,590 km) on a 46-hour journey, it offers insights into the financial problems plaguing America's passenger railroad at a time of intensifying scrutiny over its aging infrastructure and safety record.