FUEL COSTS 'GETTING TOO HIGH'
Many travellers say they would like to see more services, citing frustration over U.S. gasoline pump prices averaging above $4 a gallon and rising air ticket prices.
"Even for business travellers there's a lot of corporate pressure to cut down on travel costs," said Paul Clapis, 53, after stepping off Amtrak's only high-speed service, the Acela Express, following a trip from New York to Boston.
Clapis, a director of a financial company, said he usually made the trip by air until two months ago when he switched to the train to save money.
Sharon Danaher-Henry, a senior citizen, decided not to fly to Maine from Connecticut. It's too expensive, she said, to fly with the top U.S. carriers, which tried to raise most domestic fares by $20 round-trip over the weekend.
"The cost of flying is outrageous," she said, while waiting in Hartford, Connecticut, for an Amtrak train to take her about 200 miles (322 km) to Portland, Maine.
The ticket to Portland costs about $100, less than a third of one of the cheapest available airline tickets that would require two stopovers. Both trips require more than seven hours when including time needed for switching between planes.
"The train is inexpensive and it takes the same travel time as flying but at least with the train, you get to see scenic things," she said.
The question of whether to expand the nation's only long-haul passenger railroad could spill into presidential politics.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has said on his Web site he would fight for Amtrak funding while seeking reforms. His Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, has in the past sought to block federal subsidies for Amtrak.
Critics say Amtrak remains woefully slow and inefficient.
On tracks shared with commuter trains on the Washington-New York-Boston corridor, Amtrak's premier service, the Acela, averages 82 miles per hour (132 km per hour) although it can hit 150 mph (241 kph) in parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
In contrast, Japan, France and Germany have developed nationwide rail systems capable of speeds of 150 mph (241 kph) to 185 mph (297 kph) on dedicated tracks with sophisticated signalling systems designed for high-speed trains.
