Great Western Coffee Shop

DERAILED. Amtrak, America’s perennially beleaguered passenger-rail operator, is asking for an extra $1.5 billion of government support to get it through Covid-19. The provider of lucrative Washington-New York-Boston services also runs a network of often slow and money-sucking routes elsewhere. As recently as February, Amtrak was on course for its first-ever breakeven year, boss Bill Flynn told officials in a letter on Monday.

Even then, he was asking Congress for $2 billion based on the rail group’s annual assessment of its needs. Faced with empty trains in the short term and a projected 50% decline in ridership for the coming fiscal year, Amtrak now needs more. The administration of President Donald Trump has previously suggested breaking it up; on the other hand, given sufficient resources, trains might be better placed than planes to offer travel with social distancing. Amtrak’s always cloudy future is more uncertain than ever. (By Richard Beales)