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<P mce_keep="true">I sent a somewhat similar proposal to Alex Kummant approximately two years ago.  I also included a schedule for the proposed changes.  </P> <P mce_keep="true">My proposal recommended discontinuing the Sunset Limited and implementing the following changes:</P> <UL> <LI> <DIV mce_keep="true">Run the Texas Eagle to Los Angeles via Fort Worth, Abilene, Midland/Odessa and El Paso. From El Paso the train would follow the route of the Sunset Limited. This would bring service to west Texas cities with a combined population of more than 350,000, whereas the Sunset serves southwest Texas cities with a combined population of approximately 45,000. Buses could provide connecting service to Del Rio from San Antonio and to Alpine from Midland/Odessa.</DIV></LI> <LI> <DIV mce_keep="true">Extend the Heartland Flyer from Fort Worth to San Antonio. Change the schedule to provide for convenient connections with the Eagle in Fort Worth. This would also necessitate a change in the schedule of the Eagle, with an earlier departure time from Chicago. </DIV></LI> <LI> <DIV mce_keep="true">Extend the City of New Orleans from the Crescent City to San Antonio, thereby providing a daily day train from NO to SA. Or run a daily coach only train from NO to San Antonio if extending the City of New Orleans would not be practicable. </DIV></LI></UL> <P mce_keep="true">One advantage of my proposal would be better service for west Texas, as well as more convenient train times in Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Memphis, Tucson and Phoenix, offset by less convenient times in Little Rock and El Paso, although the LIttle Rock times would not be much worse than the current situation.  Also, these changes would require little if any new equipment.  The equipment devoted to the Sunset would be freed up for use on the extended Texas Eagle and City of New Orleans.    </P> <P mce_keep="true">The biggest disadvantage would be discontinuance of no change service between LA and NO, although I am not sure how many passengers would be inconvenienced.  Through passengers would have to go via Fort Worth and stay over night in SA.  This, by the way, is the case for through passengers between points west of SA and Eagle points north of SA.    </P> <P mce_keep="true">Amtrak's Vice President of Operations sent me a nice reply, stating in a nutshell that Amtrak was looking at a variety of schedule changes in Texas.  I took his reply to mean that it was not going to do anything.</P> <P mce_keep="true">I subsequently learned that similar proposals have been made from a variety of sources for years.  To date they have fallen on deaf ears; Amtrak is a government bureaucracy that is very slow to change.  In its defense, every time it wants to make a significant service change, it faces a political firestorm.   </P>
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