Amtrak is a unique operation in the world of passenger rail. They own the equipment and employ the crews on the train. They don't ,with a few exceptions, own the tracks. This makes for a tenuous existence. The railroads got out of the passenger business for reasons of economics. A business decision correctly based on the bottom line, if you don't make money on it STOP doing it. Even Amtrak follows this practice. They couldn't make money hauling the mail so they stopped. As a government subsidized entity Amtrak operates with a very strictly limited set of resources. There is just enough equipment to handle the average level of customers. There aren't enough cars or personnel to handle a "second section" when one is needed, nor is there room in the railroads operation to handle one. Now don't get me wrong. I love trains as much as the rest of you. There just comes a time when you have to step back and look at where things are going. In this country if someone can't make a profit doing something, it isn't going to happen. Profit and competition are what drive this country. The railroads tried to compete with the airlines and lost. The airlines can haul freight but they can't compete with rail for the dollar. A boxcar full of widgets doesn't mind sitting on a siding for the better part of a day. Make a passenger wait for an hour and he/she starts calling their lawyer. Passenger rail should have been allowed to die with dignity in the 70's as much as I hate to admit it.

Passenger trains were profitable for the railroads back when they were the fastest way to go. Leave the horse at home, we can take the train and get there in a few days. If we take the horse we will be traveling for a month. Competition kept fares low and the railroads could still make money. The ability to get there on a plane in a matter of hours instead of days ended that.

There are some trains that are hauling passengers and making a profit, they are in the minority and suffer the economics of a subsidized funding management model. There is nothing in the amtrak service to draw the passenger onboard except the eventual arrival at the selected destination. For the most part Meal service consists of a microwaved hunk of somewhat edible matter on a styrofoam plate served by someone behind a counter that would rather be somewhere else. The food at sizzler or IHOP is better.

Let it go and move on.