Passenger rail transport in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are two major passenger railroads. Some passenger railroads are run by freight railroads.

Here is a list of passenger railroads in the United States:

[edit] Amtrak

Main article: Amtrak

Amtrak, is the brand name of the intercity passenger train system created on May 1, 1971 in the United States. Officially known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, the name "Amtrak" is the blending of the words "American" and "track."

Nominally, Amtrak is an independent for-profit corporation, but all of its preferred stock is owned by the federal government, and the members of Amtrak's board of directors are appointed by the President of the United States and are subject to confirmation by the United States Senate. Some common stock is held by the private railroads which transferred their passenger service to Amtrak in 1971. Though Amtrak stock does not pay dividends and is not routinely traded, a small number of private investors have purchased Amtrak stock from its original owners.