Another important item in this train equation that is not being discussed is the quality of the trains that the passengers ride inside. I was in Zurich this past July and rode a train to Basel (a little over an hour) and kind of did not want to get off. It wasn't really a scenic train but a commuter one, like the Downeaster. Now it wasn't so much the beautiful scenery going by, but the newness of it with different configurations of seating. The seats had a nice color scheme, and the surface was soft but not bulbous like the Downeaster's. It had varying interior floor heights with one section of windows that allowed more viewing space from lower to higher. I can't find photos of it online, though I didn't spend much time doing a search, but I know I wasn't dreaming. I wish I had taken pictures, but my Swiss friend and I were too busy talking to all the friendly people. I felt like I was in a scene from a movie. Use those trains on the Downeaster line with an embellished food car, maybe extend the service to Rockland, and a lot more people are going to ride the train. It could be the Downeaster Coastal Express, a la, The Orient Express (ha). Charge passengers more for the better view seats with QR code food delivery (for tourists and VIP's), and now you have a service that can perhaps break even instead of its high deficit operation. Food and drink are key in experiences today, especially with travel and entertainment. I've seen people sitting in comfortable seating areas (drinking and eating) at several sports stadiums around the U.S. recently, ignoring the live action through the open windows, and instead watching the game on a television screen! (Not VIP suites but more of a VIP area.) And it's not cheap to sit there (up to $400 a ticket). In fact, I got an invite to Minute Maid Park to see the last game of the World Series and a notable VIP bar was charging up to $9,000 a ticket! Crazy. There would still be business class on the train, but an additional kind of VIP one too, so three classes of travel. If people want to pay it, let them. The irony here is, the more you spend on the train the better the chances to make a profit.