I recently took this route, I enjoyed it because I have a weird bucket list and this was on it (and I like trains) but I have to agree. I know it's not a profitable route and the NE corridor makes most of their money but I consider infrastructure to be a symbol of national pride. What does it say about the US as a country when our trains are unreliable and dirty, our roads are full of potholes, and quality public transport outside a few cities is basically nonexistent? I compare it to my experience living in Germany/Shanghai and it's just totally opposite, the experience on the train on this route (Dec 2018) was closer to train rides I've taken in Ukraine/Romania/Hungary (nothing against these places, I'm writing this from Odessa and love it here) than the train rides in much of W. EU