The federal government founded the National Rail Passenger Corporation Amtrak in 1970 to prevent the imminent extinction of passenger railroads in the U.S.
Unable to compete with airlines, the commercial railroads had been eliminating most of their passenger service and concentrating on freight.
Railroad passenger-miles traveled in a single year had declined from a height of 95.7 billion in 1944 to 10.8 billion in 1970.
Operating with government subsidies, Amtrak has since continued to transport passengers along a limited number of the old commercial routes.