Growing up in a rural community with but one option for long distance travel, I saw Amtrak as an essential element to overcome isolation and remain sane. Many of times seniors and youth had no other option for family, medical or other long distance visits. And where Greyhound was an alternative, the resulting unsavory characters, uncomfortable seating, lack of sleepers, no senior friendly restrooms, no lounges and no on-board food service was unbearable at best.

Small towns and rural communities provide essential services and products for urban sustainability. Whether it be providing electricity, wood products, food items or leisure getaways, rural services is a critical component to a urban centers vitality. Given the traveling needs of "urban support staff", I hardly see where such a small % of the transportation budget should be a grave concern. Things like rural bandwidth, postal service and transportation are all essential to rural communities so that they can continue to effectively service urban centers.

I think the real issue here is that intercity rail needs to be further upgraded so that long distance routes can better leverage these upgrades and help lower the subsequent cost. For example, Colorado has setup a commission to plan for the implementation of Front Range rail which will include stops in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Once this rail is in service more riders will have the opportunity to transfer to the SouthWest Chief. In turn this will spur investment in places like Albuequerque which in-turn can better service its inter-city rail. This ripple effect is good for all rail.