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Empire Builder moved to a more southerly route?

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[quote]As for the train having "two engines across the northern tier", this is incorrect.  The train has only one engine consisting of two locomotives.[/quote]Mark, it's been years since the EB was pulled by F7's.  [quote]FY 2006 Loss per Seat-mile (cents)5.5 Empire Builder[/quote]Thank you for acknowledging that the EB is a money loser, probably due to the fact that it travel's through sparsely populated territory.  Who knows, if the EB actually passed through Montana's more populous cities, it might come close to breaking even![quote]So, those who flippantly suggest that the Empire Builder should be rerouted based on population statistics that are unsupported by actual ridership figures really just don't "Get it." [/quote]You are suggesting ridership would go down if EB was routed through more populous territory.  I am suggesting EB ridership would increase if rerouted through more populous territory.  Logic backs my ascertion, emotion backs yours.[quote]Those patronizing the Empire Builder in Shelby and Havre are not from Butte and Bozeman, but rather from Great Falls, Lethbridge, and throughout the Golden Triangle. [/quote]Last time I looked, Great Falls is closer to Helena than to Shelby or Havre.  Rerouting via MRL would make it more convient for GF folks as well as those from Butte, Bozeman, Helena, et al.  As for Lethbridgians, hey it's bad enough we subsidize Americans using Amtrak, we don't need to subsidize Canadians as well.[quote]....case in point: Whitefish vs. Flagstaff.[/quote]You're saying Amtrak ridership at Flagstaff should be higher than that at Whitefish due to the higher population base, but it's not which *proves* something.  Yet you acknowledge that Arizona has better flight connections than Montana cities, so doesn't that explain Amtrak's relatively low ridership numbers in Flagstaff?[quote]Dave/Futuremodal started the thread and has said on numerous occasions that he sees no value in Amtrak, so why does he care?  Probably because the Empire Builder is well-patronized and that people along the route do see great value in the service, so therein is some kind of threat. [/quote]What would that alleged "threat" be?  Please explain yourself when you make such nonsensical statements.The reason I care about rerouting the EB to more populous areas is simply a desire to see my tax dollars derive better value, or in this case less of a negative value.  On a larger scale, I believe it is impossible to judge the value of passenger rail travel in the US as it relates to today's transportation scene if said passenger rail is an uninspired federally run entity stuck using 1930's logistics.  My objection to Amtrak isn't that the feds are enforcing a niche example of open access (whether you acknowledge it or not), it's that they are running it instead of supporting private enterprise running it.  The tax dollars spent for Amtrak would be better served if the money was used to support private passenger rail ventures getting established, and then see if it is possible for such enterprises to achieve self sustainment.And if a private firm was charged with running a Northern Tier passenger train service, you can bet your subsidized bottom dollar they'd route it through the most populous/least travel competitive client base.
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