Brief History:

Officially the railroad's name is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.  The common name, "Amtrak", is a combination of the words "American" and "Track".  Currently, Amtrak operates over 22,000 track miles, of which it owns 730.  Most of those 730 miles, comprise the Northeast Corridor (NEC).  Amtrak officially began service on May 1, 1971 when Clocker #235 departed New York's Penn Station at 12:05am bound for Philadelphia.

www.amtrak.com