I bet you would be hard-pressed to find a public transportation system which can be defined as profitable. The idea of self-sufficiency for Amtrak is primarily driven by the thought that anything the government does can be done better by a private corporation. However, there are exceptions to every rule. Generally, where large capital investments must be made to infrastructure, government subsidies are needed. This is why airlines are so heavily subsidized. If the airlines, trucking companies and the like had to pay for their infrastructure, they would collapse (airlines are collapsing without having to pay for it). Passenger rail is the same. I am not sure if Amtrak needs to be broken up or not. What does need to happen is those in Washington need to realize that any form of public transportation needs help and they need to give Amtrak the funding needed in order to operate safely and efficiently.