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What Is Amtrak Privatization

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4.g. Privatization of the National Railways
Beyond restructuring, privatization of the national railways should also be considered widely while discussing their reform alternatives. The privatization of a government corporation occurs if the Congress decides that the corporation should operate as a fully private company. However, in the US, some government corporations are considered as a transition step towards a full privatization when they were converted originally from a Federal agency. A government corporation can be fully privatized;
• when their assigned functions are no longer necessary for the Federal involvement,
• when the business conditions that lead to its creation have changed, and
• when they do not provide the most efficient way to achieve their expected public purpose.
On the other hand, the privatization of a government corporation may not be viable;
• when there are market weaknesses or imperfection of the market that can possibly make the privatization inappropriate,
• when the government needs to protect or continue an unprofitable service, and
• when there is a regulatory or …show more content…

Besides, Amtrak receives annual funding directly from the Federal government. Another barrier to the privatization of Amtrak, is the majority of US railroads are owned by private freight firms that control their own tracks. Freight railroad corporations have a legislative duty to allow Amtrak’s trains on their tracks, but they do not have any legal obligation to allow their railroads to other private railway providers. Moreover, private railways possibly have to pay more than Amtrak to operate on the property of freight railroads, so it is difficult for other private companies to compete with Amtrak without additional support, which makes it further more challenging to privatize

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