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[quote user="Avianwatcher"] Amtrak is ready to go and make the Texas Eagle a daily.  You can read the entire plan at the Amtrak site,  the problem is the GREED on the part of U.P.   I use the train on a regular basis from LA to Dallas r/t and the sleeping cars are always full and the chair cars seem full as well.  If UP would cooperate they could have the daily in operation with in 6 weeks!  [/quote] Interestingly, the Texas Eagle has gone from being one of the biggest dogs amongst the long distance trains to one of its better performers.  In FY10 it had an average load factor of 69.5%, which was the highest load factor for any of the long distance trains.  It even beat out the Auto Train.  Moreover, the Eagle's loss per passenger mile (17.7 cents) was the third best for the long distance trains, following 16.0 cents for the Empire Builder and 10.2 cents for the Auto Train.   The improvements for the Eagle can be attributed largely to the improved schedule performance, I suspect.  For years it had been amongst the worst of the long distance trains for on-time arrivals. Whether it would cost $750 million to make the improvements necessary to operate the Eagle daily is unknown to those of us who don't have access to UP's books.  I suspect UP management adopted the high side estimate from its cost accountants.  But I would not attribute it to corporate greed.  UP's management has an obligation to protect the interest of its key stakeholders, including the investors, whilst considering its public image.  It is, after all, a business that must earn a return for its investors.  The same cannot be said for Amtrak.
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