I'm amazed at the way people start talking like they know something about about a highly detailed subject just because they read a news report. The freight network in the USA is 140,000 miles long and there are 630 different companies running it. The rail system when paired with trucks and barges moves 61 tons of goods per citizen every year, but no one even notices it until there is an accident, and then people who can't tell a tank car from a gondola car are suddenly experts.

I'm a frequent Amtrak rider, and even though they have a monopoly on interstate rail, after years and years the government run passenger service still can't make a profit and is almost always late. There have been 71 Amtrak serious crashes and derailments since 1971 with deaths or at least 20 people injured. There was an accident last June in Missouri that killed 4 and injured 150 when the Southwest Chief derailed. In 2015 there were 8 killed and 185 injured in Philadelphia when the Northeast Regional derailed because of "operator error".