Some members of Congress want to see private companies develop a high-speed rail link between New York and Washington. 

The proposal is part of legislation on long-term funding for Amtrak that was introduced last week. 

But Amtrak's chief executive, Alex Kummant, says the tens of billions of dollars that would be needed for such a project could be better spent elsewhere. He says building a rail link between Washington and Atlanta and improving service in the Midwest and other regions would be a better use of the money. 

Amtrak already has some trains that make the Washington-New York trip in two and a half hours. The bill in Congress would ask private companies for proposals for a service that would make the trip in under two hours. 

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The bills are H.R. 6003 and H.R. 6004.

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