There has been a long debate about whether railways, especially new railways, should be run by experienced railway people or by people with no railway experience (The argument being that they will take a fresh view and not be trapped by the mistakes of the past). Looks as if this will be a pure test of the theory, since this company has previous experience only with buying, selling, and managing toxic assets.

The point about Amtrak is an interesting one. Although Amtrak is supposed to have a monopoly on interstate service, I get the impression that long years of sarcastic criticism from Congress and elsewhere have created an environment in which anyone who wants to break the monopoly just asks his congressman for permission and permission is granted.