That$$s not true! Amanda wanted to bang the glass or run inside and set these people straight. How could they believe those things? Yet, she glumly stayed in the room, looking through the two$-$way mirror. Twenty minutes later, she thought it was ending, but Sanchez, the project coordinator, told her differently. $$We$$ll have the video and transcript ready within a week, Amanda.$$ She thought I could not wait. Three hours later, the images and misconceptions were still vivid as she was going to bed.

Amanda thought about the tape all week. When it arrived, she watched it immediately. One participant said, $$Trains are so much slower than planes. Time is money for me$.$ Speaking of that, when are we going to be done?$$ The moderator ignored his question; instead, she asked if he ever considered train travel. He laughed derisively and said, $$It$$s old technology, like a desktop computer.$$

Even more disheartening was the response from a man, probably in his early twenties, who said, $$I didn$$t know that trains carried anything but freight.$$ It got better.

One man said, $$Every time I watch the news, there$$s a train wreck. Planes are so much safer.$$

Another participant said, $$I take the train occasionally, but it does not offer frequent flier miles. I$$m being paid for my time, and the company pays for the flight, so time and money are not really an issue. But I get the frequent flier miles. Last year, my husband and I used my miles to go on a trip to New York City during Christmas time. I saved over $950$ dollars.$$ The focus group tape of business travelers was disappointing but enlightening.

Amanda has been the marketing director for Rapid Travel Savings $($RTS$)$ since its privatization seven months ago. After $45$ years and $32$ billion dollars, the government privatized Amtrak; Amtrak was formed in $1971,$ the remnants of the once formidable private railroads that had been replaced by airplanes, cars, and buses on the interstate highway system. Privatization had brought a retrenchment in services and an infusion of cash for capital expenditures and promotion. RTS focuses on the profitable Northeast corridor between Boston and D$.$C$.$ and potentially profitable routes between close cities like Milwaukee $($Wisconsin$)$ to Chicago $($Illinois$),$ Charlotte to Raleigh $($North Carolina$),$ New York City to Albany $($New York$),$ Tampa to Miami $($Florida$),$ San Diego to Los Angeles $($California$).$ These routes provide quicker and cheaper travel than airplanes and thus are ideal for business travelers. Although the actual airplane flight is shorter between these cities than the train ride, the flight includes check$-$in time $($many carriers now demand passengers arrive at least $75$ minutes before the flight departs$)$ and transportation to and from the airports $($airports are notorious for automobile traffic jams$).$ Moreover, given the vicissitudes of weather, many flights are delayed or canceled.

In comparison, the train ticket can be purchased almost up to departure, and most depots are located within the heart of the city, convenient for business travelers. For these short hops, the flight is usually on a small commuter plane, which lacks the comfort of the larger planes. The train is as safe, if not safer, than commuter planes. For most short inter$-$city routes $($e$.$g$.,$ Milwaukee to Chicago$),$ the train departs every hour between $7$ a$.$m$.$ and $7$ p$.$m$.$ No single airline can match this frequency. Amanda thought she had a marketer$$s dream: a cheaper and quicker product than the competition.

She also thought she could market the product to leisure travelers. For example, travelers flying out of Raleigh instead of Charlotte could save $68$ percent on a flight to New York. If RTS could get Charlottonians to take the train up to Raleigh and then provide transportation to the airport $($shuttle buses included in the fare$),$ it could entice leisure travelers. Even with the train and shuttle ride, the Raleigh fare was $43$ percent cheaper than the Charlotte flight, although two and a half hours longer. These savings exist between many cities that RTS services.