[jdasdf]

The companies that own the railways are in the business of making money, not in the business of screwing Amtrak.

I'm sure they would be more than happy to prioritize Amtrak trains over their cargo customers if they are suitably compensated for the trouble.

If Amtrak isn't willing or able to compensate them for it... Then clearly it's not that important.

[protomyth]

Also, the whole scheduling of cargo trains has big dollar penalties for delays in loading, unloading, and not arriving on time. Its amazing how detailed folks get about trains showing up. Cargo rail has a lot of moving parts that need to coordinate to keep the goods flowing.