At one time IIRC there was a pool of well over 100 cars that could have been repaired, rebuilt, and/or upgraded, and placed back in service, by Amtrak, back in 2009, when I did some unsuccessful work on the proposed "stimulus", and proposed just that.

It was estimated back then (once again IIRC) that this would provide an extra shift for two years back in Indiana to clear that backlog, "if" that were funded.

Of course, the staff I met from several Congressional Office was my first education in just how out of touch Waxman and Pelosi were on how to get jobs out there quickly, by funding "fast" things like that, and/or just simply "pushing" our existing project lists to speed up delivery. Those were stupid mundane things, that actually put real people to work fast, not really worthy of funding, compared to the glamour and glory of the bullet train.......no to mention the campaign contributions folks would be getting for all of those change orders.....

I do not know how bad of shape some of these cars are in, or what the cost and life expectancy would be if repaired now, 8 years later. If it is cost effective for the life left, it might be a short term fix to current capacity limits.

That repair of existing "fixable" equipment, would have been a very "shovel ready" project to put people to work back in 2009, when we actually needed the "jobs" in these still (permanently?) depressed areas of America.....

Instead, we chose to buy only "new" cars, with the multistate fiasco, that we have never bought, and ultimately created no jobs, at the "purely" domestic content rail passenger car manufacturers, which we no longer have.....and the funding lapsed......

And, now, you often get to "stand" instead of "sit" on weekends, on many LOSSAN runs. And, you will be seeing no real capacity added for a long time, even if we were to put those cars into rehab, yesterday.......

Oh well.....