Everywhere else in the woe world, train doors open at the same level as the platform, allowing passengers to quickly step or roll on and off the cars. Amtrak doors open two feet above the platform, like the steamers in old movies. When a fat old person boards, station personable have to fetch a little plastic stepstool and delegate two employees to assist that person on or off the train as she teeters like a circus elephant on that tiny stool. Wheelchair passengers require a crane.
This single factor means a dwell time of several minutes at every minor stop. After a few statins, unanticipated extra dwell time means tha the train falls out of its contracted time slot on the line, after which it has to be sidelined for every single freight train to pass by. Because of this, some trains are routinely twelve hours late.