And thus the spectacle of slow cross-country trains that should have been allowed to die when Amtrak took over from the freight railroads in 1971 but continue to roll at the cost of vast subsidies with little or no public benefit.
"We are taking further tough action to roll back the unsustainable cost increases of the past few years and are maintaining a relentless focus on improving productivity, " said Tom Albanese, chief executive of Rio Tinto.