P.C.: Could the "Northeast Corridor" have been abandoned in the 1970s?

[Go4theGusto]

The "Northeast Corridor" is the name given to the high-speed electrified intercity rail line of the former Pennsylvania Railroad (now owned and operated by Amtrak) between Boston and Washington, D.C. It is the only true HSR route in the United States, and as such is something of a treasured national asset.

What better way to commemorate this venerable piece of infrastructure than to create a dystopian timeline where it's killed off?

Let's say that a more conservative Congress in 1970 fails to pass the law creating Amtrak. This would put the burden of subsidizing the collapsing passenger railroad industry entirely on the states themselves. The Northeast Corridor ITTL would still be (privately) owned and operated by the Penn Central Transportation Company.

I could see the affected states (MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, MD) coming up with some sort of program to try and subsidize Penn Central passenger service, but it's worth noting that the Penn Central was a horrifically mismanaged basket-case, and I'm not sure if they could do an adequate job of keeping the trains running (particularly as their passenger fleet would consist of ancient GG1 locomotives and the mechanically troubled Metroliner EMU sets). With all of this in mind, I do not believe that such an arrangement would have been very long for this world without any federal aid, and we've successfully created a situation where the future of the Northeast Corridor is rather bleak.

It seems that the final hope for the rail line at this point would be renewed calls for federal intervention on behalf of the passenger rail industry in response to the "oil crises" of that decade. Would it still be possible for conservatives in congress and/or lawmakers in the pockets of competitor industries to squash these renewed efforts, and if they're successful, could we possibly have seen a complete cessation of rail service on the Northeast Corridor?

In that event, what would become of the property?

 

[Dan1988]

I could see the affected states (MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, MD) coming up with some sort of program to try and subsidize Penn Central passenger service,

In fact, that was the main purpose of the MBTA when it was founded on top of Boston's old MTA in 1964, as a mechanism to allow New York Central, the NYNH&H (both later components of Penn Central), and the Boston and Maine to continue commuter rail service. Now, if you granted RI and CT some foresight, as well as MA for statewide service in general rather than just pushing RDCs around Boston and suburbs (with and without locos), then you'd have an extended form of the MBTA commuter rail service gone regional, at least for southern New England. Bonus points, too, if somehow, for ambitions' sake, the Boston and Maine gets on board (even more so if the creation of Guilford Transportation Industries can be avoided), so NEC-like rail service could be extended into NH and ME - by the 1970s the only passenger rail service the Boston and Maine was doing was commuter rail service subsidized by the Commonwealth.

 

[jerseyguy]

Is it plausible for the US government to privatize Amtrak at some point after its creation? I think that would improve the quality of service and reduce fairs, but privatization could fill some people's definition of abandonment.