Taking an Amtrak train? Chances are you’re going to be late in arriving.

Why? Because Amtrak doesn’t own much of the tracks it runs on, the freight lines do. And this is despite a law that gives passenger trains something called schedule preference.

But there’s an ironic twist.

The freight lines also argue that Amtrak delays their trains at a huge financial cost, and they bill Amtrak.

Last year, Amtrak paid the freight lines $248 million, a huge contributing factor to Amtrak’s $705 million annual operating deficit.

And Amtrak is still late.

Translation: for the moment, with the exception of trains like the Acela on the Northeast Corridor, if you’re riding Amtrak, at least bring a book… you might be able to finish it.