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You're not wrong. The northeast system is absolutely viable--bankrolled mostly by business travelers who get a lot of value out of being plopped down in the middle of Manhattan or D.C. at the end of the trip. The underlying rail is viable for commuter lines too. Otherwise it's a boondoggle and diverts money that could be better used elsewhere.

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It's hard to say whether the long distance trains are viable as a transportation service, because they're also in the "land cruise" business and oddly enough that part seems even less profitable. It's the source of a lot of the expenses, especially for things like food service. Amtrak has actually tried cutting the diner on one of the Florida trains and dropping sleeper prices by $100, and is making considerably more money on that train, so there's still some potential to get close to 100% cost recovery on LD service if Amtrak gets out of running the land cruise business, which it seems reluctant to do because of tradition.

I'm not sure that works long term. Even budget airlines offer meals and long haul flights, and Amtrak long distance routes are often 15+ hours long.

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