The study criteria stated that the new routes should link large and small communities, advance socio-economic well-being of rural areas, enhance connectivity for long-distance trains and reflect public input and local and state support for passenger trains. One outcome of that criteria is circuitous routes through small communities instead of larger cities such as Amarillo instead of Oklahoma City or Shreveport instead of Houston. Larger cities provide more riders and are a key destination for riders in smaller cities.
Instead, a section of the Southwest Chief should be split off in Kansas City for St. Paul. An another section should be split off in Albuquerque, running south to join the Sunset Limited route to Tucson and then splitting off to serve Phoenix. The track south of Albuquerque has few freight trains with along a relatively straight track but requires a signal system for faster speeds. Improvements could be shared with a state sponsored train (s) to El Paso. A small railroad owns about 50 miles of the route and significant improvements would be required. Between Deming and Tucson, the train would use Union Pacific double track main line.
▪ Dallas/Fort Worth - New York
This route would follow the Pennsylvanian's route to Pittsburgh and then serve Columbus, Indianapolis and St. Louis, which was served by the National Limited until 1979. In St. Louis, it would turn southwest to Springfield (MO), Tulsa and Oklahoma before turning south to Fort Worth and Dallas.
▪ Houston - New York
This route runs via the west side of the Appalachian Mountains via Roanoke, Bristol and Chattanooga, turning south to Atlanta. It would then run to Montgomery, Mobile and New Orleans before using the Sunset Limited route to Houston. This route is slow, indirect and is unlikely to attract many passengers. It also would require substantial start up costs as large portions of the route do not host any passenger trains. It would be better served with state sponsored trains such as Virginia's planned extension to Bristol and the Chicago - Miami's Chattanooga to Atlanta route.
Instead, the Crescent should be extended from New Orleans to Houston and San Antonio, replacing the Sunset Limited which would be rerouted to Chicago to replace the Texas Eagle.
▪ Seattle - Denver
Like the Los Angeles - Denver route, this route restores the Pioneer that last operated in 1997. Whereas the Pioneer operated as a section of the California Zephyr, this route would operate independently.
To reduce start up capital costs, this route should operate as a section of the California Zephyr, operating via Wyoming to Ogden and then to Portland and Seattle. Passengers traveling to Salt Lake City and Provo could connect via the Front Runner commuter train. Operating via Wyoming would allow for more reasonable arrival and departures times from Seattle.
▪ San Antonio - Minneapolis/St. Paul
This route follows the historic Twin Star Rocket route. Starting in Minneapolis, it would run south to Des Moines, Kansas City, Tulsa, Dallas and San Antonio.
To reduce capital costs and serve cities with higher potential ridership potential, this train should run via Wichita and Oklahoma City, allowing it to use the Southwest Chief and Heartland Flyer's track and stations. Rather than terminating San Antonio, it should terminate in Houston. Tulsa and San Antonio could be served by state-sponsored trains. One way to restore service along part of this route more quickly is to extend the Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Newton where it would pick up a coach and sleeper car from the Southwest Chief.
▪ San Francisco - Dallas/Fort Worth
This route proposed to connect the tech hub of the San Francisco Bay area with Dallas, serving Phoenix and Tucson in between. It would use the San Joaquin route from Oakland to Bakersfield, run over the busy Tehachapi pass to Barstow, following the Southwest Chief's track to Cadiz where it would use the small Arizona and California Railroad. This line would require some track upgrades and potentially a signal system. Using existing signalized freight track in Phoenix and Tucson, it would follow the Sunset Limited route to El Paso and then split to serve Midland and Abilene before arriving in Dallas. This route would take two nights and would likely draw substantial ridership and revenue.
To further boost revenue and ridership, a section for Los Angeles should be split off the train in Barstow. Once the track west of Phoenix is restored, the split could be moved there for a faster trip.
▪ Detroit - New Orleans
This route never had direct passenger service. However, the Pan-American ran between Cincinnati, Nashville, Mobile and New Orleans until 1971. The route would follow only short sections of existing passenger routes, substantially increasing start up costs. Some portions of the route would be shared with other new long distance trains though which would reduce costs.
Rather than terminate in Detroit, this train should terminate in New York City, serving Pittsburgh and Philadelphia along the way. Detroit should have a section that splits from this train in Springfield.
▪ Denver - Minneapolis/St. Paul
One of the study's challenges is the weight placed on unserved areas and smaller cities. The circuitous Denver to Minneapolis route is a perfect example. Rather than serve Des Moines and Omaha, it proposes to serve Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Despite being the largest beneficiary of the route, South Dakota officials have stated they are not interested in passenger trains.
Instead, adding a section of the California Zephyr between St. Paul, MN and Chadron, IA should be the priority. It only requires a short track connection in Chadron as well as a siding and station. Those same tracks could also be used for a future Southwest Chief section. As demand grows, a dedicated train could run on the same route.
▪ Seattle - Chicago
Last served in 1979, the North Coast Hiawatha formerly ran between Chicago and Seattle via souther Montana. It would serve the most populated parts of North Dakota and Montana and also share the line with the Empire Builder between Fargo and Chicago and between Sandpoint, ID and Pasco, WA. The Empire Builder's direct line to Seattle via the Stevens Pass reportedly lacks capacity for additional passenger trains. As such, the FRA proposes to run it via the lightly trafficked but less direct Stampede Pass.
One way to more quickly restore partial service is to move the Empire Builder's Portland section split from Spokane, WA to Williston, ND. The Seattle section would run from Williston to Billings and Missoula before returning to its existing route in Sandpoint. The section could drop off a coach and a sleeper car in Spokane for the Portland section to pick up, maintaining Seattle's connection to northern Montana. As funding allows, the split could eventually move to Fargo, restoring service across central North Dakota. Restoring most of the North Coast Hiawatha's route as a section of the Empire Builder would substantially reduce start up cost and negate the expensive restoration of the Stampede Pass route for passenger trains.
▪ Dallas/Fort Worth - Atlanta
This route would follow the existing Crescent's route from Atlanta to Meridian and then use an existing freight route to Marshall. There, it would then follow the Texas Eagle route to Fort Worth. The train would operate overnight, leaving Atlanta in the evening and arriving in Fort Worth the following morning.
Unlike many of the proposed routes, this one already generated significant interest from stakeholders including one of the freight railroads. That plan would operate this route as a section of the Crescent, splitting in Meridian, and operate during the day. This plan would substantially reduce start up costs and compliment a future dedicated overnight train.
▪ El Paso - Billings
This route is challenged by having small cities at each end and very little demand for an end to end trip, lacking nonstop flights between its end points that every other proposed route has. While Denver would be a key draw for both cities and there is demand for a Denver to Albuquerque service, this train would likely have the lowest ridership and revenue of the study. Furthermore, track geometry and track conditions would likely make any train slow and expensive to restore.
Instead, this route should be served by two separate night trains, both originating in Denver. A day train may also be feasible between Denver and Billings which would enable an El Paso to Billings through trip via a connecting train.
This study will aid in planning for restoration of lost long distance trains and development of new ones. Its results will likely be used to develop competitive grant applications for the $66 billion in funding for passenger trains. However, the long lead time to acquire new railcars and upgrade track and stations will erode support for the program. The incoming administration will likely try to claw back some of the passenger train funding too. Therefore, finding cheaper and faster ways to augment existing long distance service and serve some of the study's communities is essential.
The FRA also does not appear to have factored in freight train volumes and existing service, going from breadth instead of depth. High volumes of freight trains delay passenger trains and require extensive mitigations such as multiple passing sidings or even an additional track, increasing the cost of starting the service. New routes also require new stations, crew training and servicing facilities. More detailed information about individual routes start on slide 81.
▪ Chicago - Miami
This route last ran in 1979 as the Floridian, doomed by slow, dilapidated track and the rise of cheap flights to Florida. Since then, track qualify has improved. The new route includes several cities that the Floridian skipped, notably Atlanta and Indianapolis which should improve its popularity and would likely be among best performing new long distance trains in this study.
This route last ran in 1979 as the Floridian, doomed by slow, dilapidated track and the rise of cheap flights to Florida. Since then, track qualify has improved. The new route includes several cities that the Floridian skipped, notably Atlanta and Indianapolis which should improve its popularity and would likely be among best performing new long distance trains in this study.
To improve ridership and revenue and increase connectivity, this train should have a section that splits off in Nashville to run to St. Louis and potentially Kansas City.
▪ Dallas/Fort Worth - Miami
Fast-growing north Texas has never had a direct train to Florida. Starting in Fort Worth, the train would go to Shreveport and then run via Louisiana bayous to New Orleans. It would then follow the former Sunset Limited route to Jacksonville but use the Florida East Coast Railroad's coastal route to get to Miami, bypassing Orlando.
Instead of serving Shreveport, this route should serve Houston and use the Sunset Limited's route into New Orleans. Rather than serve Florida's east coast, this route should serve Orlando, following the same route as the Silver Meteor. Including these two cities will substantially increase ridership and revenue and reduce capital cost to start this train.
▪ Denver - Houston
This route was last operated in 1967 as the Texas Zephyr. Linking Denver and Colorado Springs with fast-growing Dallas and Houston, this route is among the most promising in the study. However, the FRA missed an opportunity to serve larger cities during daylight hours and use track with existing passenger trains. For example, the FRA proposes to serve Amarillo in the middle of the night but could instead serve Wichita and Oklahoma City during the day. Both cities are have much larger populations and have much higher demand for Dallas and Denver trips (approximately one million airline passengers per year compared to 0.25 million in Amarillo). Amtrak also operates two trains on 553 miles of this route, reducing the capital cost to start the service.
▪ Los Angeles - Denver
This route restores the Desert Wind which last ran in 1997 and extends it to Denver via Wyoming. While the Desert Wind operated as a section of the California Zephyr, splitting in in Salt Lake City, the study proposes a dedicated service.
Fast-growing north Texas has never had a direct train to Florida. Starting in Fort Worth, the train would go to Shreveport and then run via Louisiana bayous to New Orleans. It would then follow the former Sunset Limited route to Jacksonville but use the Florida East Coast Railroad's coastal route to get to Miami, bypassing Orlando.
Instead of serving Shreveport, this route should serve Houston and use the Sunset Limited's route into New Orleans. Rather than serve Florida's east coast, this route should serve Orlando, following the same route as the Silver Meteor. Including these two cities will substantially increase ridership and revenue and reduce capital cost to start this train.
▪ Denver - Houston
This route was last operated in 1967 as the Texas Zephyr. Linking Denver and Colorado Springs with fast-growing Dallas and Houston, this route is among the most promising in the study. However, the FRA missed an opportunity to serve larger cities during daylight hours and use track with existing passenger trains. For example, the FRA proposes to serve Amarillo in the middle of the night but could instead serve Wichita and Oklahoma City during the day. Both cities are have much larger populations and have much higher demand for Dallas and Denver trips (approximately one million airline passengers per year compared to 0.25 million in Amarillo). Amtrak also operates two trains on 553 miles of this route, reducing the capital cost to start the service.
▪ Los Angeles - Denver
This route restores the Desert Wind which last ran in 1997 and extends it to Denver via Wyoming. While the Desert Wind operated as a section of the California Zephyr, splitting in in Salt Lake City, the study proposes a dedicated service.
Running the train all the way to Chicago as a section of the California Zephyr will increase revenue and reduce the start up capital cost. Like the Desert Wind, it should split in Salt Lake City to provide adequate departure and arrival times into Las Vegas.
▪ Phoenix - Minneapolis/St. Paul
Both cities have solid demand to travel between them. However, the FRA's route proposes a less direct route to serve Sioux Falls and Omaha and then uses BNSF's busy Southern Transcon route to serve Wichita and Amarillo. The train would then have to make 30-mile reverse move to serve Albuquerque and to access Phoenix, use BNSF's curvy and slow Phoenix Subdivision.
Both cities have solid demand to travel between them. However, the FRA's route proposes a less direct route to serve Sioux Falls and Omaha and then uses BNSF's busy Southern Transcon route to serve Wichita and Amarillo. The train would then have to make 30-mile reverse move to serve Albuquerque and to access Phoenix, use BNSF's curvy and slow Phoenix Subdivision.
Instead, a section of the Southwest Chief should be split off in Kansas City for St. Paul. An another section should be split off in Albuquerque, running south to join the Sunset Limited route to Tucson and then splitting off to serve Phoenix. The track south of Albuquerque has few freight trains with along a relatively straight track but requires a signal system for faster speeds. Improvements could be shared with a state sponsored train (s) to El Paso. A small railroad owns about 50 miles of the route and significant improvements would be required. Between Deming and Tucson, the train would use Union Pacific double track main line.
▪ Dallas/Fort Worth - New York
This route would follow the Pennsylvanian's route to Pittsburgh and then serve Columbus, Indianapolis and St. Louis, which was served by the National Limited until 1979. In St. Louis, it would turn southwest to Springfield (MO), Tulsa and Oklahoma before turning south to Fort Worth and Dallas.
One way to reduce start up capital cost is to split the Cardinal in Indianapolis, running the new section to St. Louis. It would then follow the Texas Eagle's route to Dallas and Fort Worth substantially reducing start up cost compared to the St. Louis-Oklahoma City route and also provide a more direct service. The Cardinal section would eventually be replaced by a dedicated train from New York City to Pittsburgh, Columbus and Indianapolis.
Alternatively, the train could run to Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville and Memphis, crossing the Mississippi to reconnect with the Texas Eagle route in Little Rock. While this route would also have a high start up cost, it has much higher revenue potential than the St. Louis-Oklahoma City route. That route may be better served by state sponsored daytime trains.
▪ Houston - New York
This route runs via the west side of the Appalachian Mountains via Roanoke, Bristol and Chattanooga, turning south to Atlanta. It would then run to Montgomery, Mobile and New Orleans before using the Sunset Limited route to Houston. This route is slow, indirect and is unlikely to attract many passengers. It also would require substantial start up costs as large portions of the route do not host any passenger trains. It would be better served with state sponsored trains such as Virginia's planned extension to Bristol and the Chicago - Miami's Chattanooga to Atlanta route.
Instead, the Crescent should be extended from New Orleans to Houston and San Antonio, replacing the Sunset Limited which would be rerouted to Chicago to replace the Texas Eagle.
▪ Seattle - Denver
Like the Los Angeles - Denver route, this route restores the Pioneer that last operated in 1997. Whereas the Pioneer operated as a section of the California Zephyr, this route would operate independently.
To reduce start up capital costs, this route should operate as a section of the California Zephyr, operating via Wyoming to Ogden and then to Portland and Seattle. Passengers traveling to Salt Lake City and Provo could connect via the Front Runner commuter train. Operating via Wyoming would allow for more reasonable arrival and departures times from Seattle.
▪ San Antonio - Minneapolis/St. Paul
This route follows the historic Twin Star Rocket route. Starting in Minneapolis, it would run south to Des Moines, Kansas City, Tulsa, Dallas and San Antonio.
To reduce capital costs and serve cities with higher potential ridership potential, this train should run via Wichita and Oklahoma City, allowing it to use the Southwest Chief and Heartland Flyer's track and stations. Rather than terminating San Antonio, it should terminate in Houston. Tulsa and San Antonio could be served by state-sponsored trains. One way to restore service along part of this route more quickly is to extend the Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Newton where it would pick up a coach and sleeper car from the Southwest Chief.
▪ San Francisco - Dallas/Fort Worth
This route proposed to connect the tech hub of the San Francisco Bay area with Dallas, serving Phoenix and Tucson in between. It would use the San Joaquin route from Oakland to Bakersfield, run over the busy Tehachapi pass to Barstow, following the Southwest Chief's track to Cadiz where it would use the small Arizona and California Railroad. This line would require some track upgrades and potentially a signal system. Using existing signalized freight track in Phoenix and Tucson, it would follow the Sunset Limited route to El Paso and then split to serve Midland and Abilene before arriving in Dallas. This route would take two nights and would likely draw substantial ridership and revenue.
To further boost revenue and ridership, a section for Los Angeles should be split off the train in Barstow. Once the track west of Phoenix is restored, the split could be moved there for a faster trip.
▪ Detroit - New Orleans
This route never had direct passenger service. However, the Pan-American ran between Cincinnati, Nashville, Mobile and New Orleans until 1971. The route would follow only short sections of existing passenger routes, substantially increasing start up costs. Some portions of the route would be shared with other new long distance trains though which would reduce costs.
Rather than terminate in Detroit, this train should terminate in New York City, serving Pittsburgh and Philadelphia along the way. Detroit should have a section that splits from this train in Springfield.
▪ Denver - Minneapolis/St. Paul
One of the study's challenges is the weight placed on unserved areas and smaller cities. The circuitous Denver to Minneapolis route is a perfect example. Rather than serve Des Moines and Omaha, it proposes to serve Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Despite being the largest beneficiary of the route, South Dakota officials have stated they are not interested in passenger trains.
Instead, adding a section of the California Zephyr between St. Paul, MN and Chadron, IA should be the priority. It only requires a short track connection in Chadron as well as a siding and station. Those same tracks could also be used for a future Southwest Chief section. As demand grows, a dedicated train could run on the same route.
▪ Seattle - Chicago
Last served in 1979, the North Coast Hiawatha formerly ran between Chicago and Seattle via souther Montana. It would serve the most populated parts of North Dakota and Montana and also share the line with the Empire Builder between Fargo and Chicago and between Sandpoint, ID and Pasco, WA. The Empire Builder's direct line to Seattle via the Stevens Pass reportedly lacks capacity for additional passenger trains. As such, the FRA proposes to run it via the lightly trafficked but less direct Stampede Pass.
One way to more quickly restore partial service is to move the Empire Builder's Portland section split from Spokane, WA to Williston, ND. The Seattle section would run from Williston to Billings and Missoula before returning to its existing route in Sandpoint. The section could drop off a coach and a sleeper car in Spokane for the Portland section to pick up, maintaining Seattle's connection to northern Montana. As funding allows, the split could eventually move to Fargo, restoring service across central North Dakota. Restoring most of the North Coast Hiawatha's route as a section of the Empire Builder would substantially reduce start up cost and negate the expensive restoration of the Stampede Pass route for passenger trains.
▪ Dallas/Fort Worth - Atlanta
This route would follow the existing Crescent's route from Atlanta to Meridian and then use an existing freight route to Marshall. There, it would then follow the Texas Eagle route to Fort Worth. The train would operate overnight, leaving Atlanta in the evening and arriving in Fort Worth the following morning.
Unlike many of the proposed routes, this one already generated significant interest from stakeholders including one of the freight railroads. That plan would operate this route as a section of the Crescent, splitting in Meridian, and operate during the day. This plan would substantially reduce start up costs and compliment a future dedicated overnight train.
▪ El Paso - Billings
This route is challenged by having small cities at each end and very little demand for an end to end trip, lacking nonstop flights between its end points that every other proposed route has. While Denver would be a key draw for both cities and there is demand for a Denver to Albuquerque service, this train would likely have the lowest ridership and revenue of the study. Furthermore, track geometry and track conditions would likely make any train slow and expensive to restore.
Instead, this route should be served by two separate night trains, both originating in Denver. A day train may also be feasible between Denver and Billings which would enable an El Paso to Billings through trip via a connecting train.
This study will aid in planning for restoration of lost long distance trains and development of new ones. Its results will likely be used to develop competitive grant applications for the $66 billion in funding for passenger trains. However, the long lead time to acquire new railcars and upgrade track and stations will erode support for the program. The incoming administration will likely try to claw back some of the passenger train funding too. Therefore, finding cheaper and faster ways to augment existing long distance service and serve some of the study's communities is essential.
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