# Amtrak **Amtrak** (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) is the government corporation that runs the nation's intercity passenger rail — most prominently the Northeast Corridor — created in 1971 when private railroads exited passenger service. It is federally subsidized and governed by a presidentially appointed board. For the KB, Amtrak is a long-running **subsidy-and-privatization** battleground: recurring proposals to cut its funding, privatize the profitable Northeast Corridor, or eliminate long-distance routes, set against the politics of infrastructure spending and the [[Department of Transportation]] priorities of the moment. ## See Also - [[Government Corporations Hub]] - [[Department of Transportation]] - [[Federal Agencies]]