It’s hard to believe, but Amtrak’s Acela is old. Way back in the year 2000, the U.S. government did something that would become an unusual occurrence in the new millennium: launch an infrastructure success. Yet this victory isn’t the triumph that it could have been — and it may even turn into defeat.

Last month, Amtrak, the federally owned railway, ordered new trains for the Acela route — because the trains Acela riders still think of as “new” will soon be two decades old. The trains, plus some station improvements to go with them, will cost $2.45 billion.