Within a few years, autonomous vehicles will be at the point where they can drop their "driver" off at their destination, then find a charge station and charge, returning back to a nearby parking spot to wait for their drivers return. Worst case in the meantime, it might take 15 or 20 minutes to get a full charge. 20…

I disagree with the premise of the story. In his inaugural speech, President Trump talked about investing in our infrastructure, and specifically mentioned updating our railroads. I think it’s likely, therefore, that funding to Amtrak directly as well as to it’s infrastructure will expand beyond it’s current levels.