Feel isn't the word. Believe is. And Amtrak ownership of the Keystone Corridor is exactly why I believe its service isn't threatened. Amtrak, together with PennDOT, have invested a lot of money in this corridor to improve the rails, the stations, the train frequencies and speeds and the catenary and now you have speeds of up to 110 mph and 14 round trips per weekday between H'burg and Philly. Amtrak runs more frequently between Philly and H'burg than they do between Los Angeles and San Diego (only 11 roundtrips per weekday, 12 on weekends). Gone are the days of jointed rail, chnging power in Philly and two-hour express trips between the two cities. Ridership on this route is much higher than it was in the 90s when it looked like Amtrak was quitting on Keystone. You really think Amtrak is just going to idle the corridor?
Amtrak has been making similar improvements in, California, Washington State and North Carolina (higher frequency and speeds) and are attempting to do the same in Illinois. But unlike Keystone, they're attempting to improve the service on "someone else's railroad." In NC, Illinois, California and Washington, they have to deal with freight ownership and in some cases single-track alignment. It would be so much easier to quit running service there than to idle the Keystone Corridor. Fortunately, in all four of those states, they have been fortunate to have willing partners in the state governments. But only one of those corridors runs more frequently than Keystone - the San Joaquin Corridor with 16 round trips per weekday between Oakland and Sacramento.
And don't forget, this is Congress we're talking about. That bill is not going to go to the House floor for a vote as is. Some parts will have to be changed or dropped from the bill completely. I can see the part about reinstating the provision prohibiting Federal funding for corridors where Amtrak offers a 50% or more discount being one of them.
