How was Amtrak created?
Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 to take over the money-losing passenger rail servicepreviously operated by private freight railroad companies in the United States. More than half of all rail passenger routes were eliminated when Amtrak began service on May 1, 1971. Although Amtrak’s route system has remained essentially the same size, it represents a mere skeleton of what was once the United States’ passenger rail network.
