Quote:

Making the trains run on time is a vexing problem. Rails' supporters,
which include state governments that subsidize passenger trains, tout
train service as a necessary transportation option with important
implications for economic development. But it's an option that can
live up to its potential only if the trains don't turn off ridership
by being late. The problem is frustrating because the source of most
of the tardiness is well known: Trains hauling freight delay their
passenger-carrying counterparts. And the solution is something few
want to hear: massive capital investment.

Quote:

But there are other fundamental reasons why the bonus approach
doesn't work. Incentives are based on a premise that if freight
railroad operators just tried a little bit harder, the passenger
trains would be able to run on time. However, with the tracks
overcrowded and regular maintenance necessary, delays are inevitable.
Slowly, the passenger-rail community is realizing that, despite some
horror stories to the contrary, their freight counterparts might be
doing the best they can. "We have come to grips with the reality that
the freight railroads are not out to make life difficult for Amtrak,"
says Cliff Black, an Amtrak spokesman. "The tracks are congested."