Amtrak has a recurring PR problem. Despite its resurgence in popularity over the past decade — particularly along the Northeast Corridor and California’s Capitol Corridor — it has a persistently hard time being taken seriously. It’s outdated, its inefficient, it eats through cash, most of which comes from the government. And most of all, it’s just plain unimpressive, particularly when reports are flooding in from Asia and Europe with tales of gorgeous new bullet trains and astounding travel times (9 hour trips cut to 2.5!).

Now the little rail system that could is facing an even bigger challenge: High speed rail is coming to the U.S. in full force, and is rubbing salt in the fact that our national rail provider has virtually no clue how to design, build, and operate a modern HSR system. A slew of foreign companies, all smelling blood in the water and cash in the till, are already hovering in wait, poised for the opportunity to nab big HSR contracts. Still, as the Transport Politic reports, the folks at Amtrak are giving HSR the old college try, forming an official High Speed Rail department and rushing to do an “internal reorganization that prioritizes the development and implementation of high-speed rail service in the United States.” They’ve even pledged to do feasibility studies to figure out how/whether service between Washington and Boston can get up to 220 mph.

The big prize in the near horizon, of course, is Florida, where the Tampa-Orlando line is the first major projects slotted to begin construction. And, as Transport Politic points out, the French rail company SNCF and Japan’s JR Central have already been pushing for contracts.

So does Amtrak really have a chance here? Many foreign companies have been building and operating HSR trains for decades, and have demonstrated that they could sweep in and get this done with little fuss or fanfare. Amtrak, meanwhile, carries the albatross of being a government-owned corporation (and we know how efficient those tend to be). Granted, they do have a hefty incentive to get their act together quickly — money. As Yonah Freemark notes:

Amtrak’s enthusiasm in running services at high speeds reflects the fact that fast train operations make a lot of money — as long as capital costs aren’t included in the equation. With most new American rail lines expected to be funded through grants rather than bonds, and with limited involvement thus far with the private sector, it appears that operations will not be expected to cover back-payments on construction loans, leaving profit potential for companies like Amtrak.

Image: Nirmaltv.com