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Joe Boardman at the Midwest HSR Association

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[quote user="daveklepper"] The present skelatal long distance service does serve most rural communities, in that a three hour auto journey can bring 90% of the rural population to a train station.   [/quote] Whether the long distance trains serve 90 per cent of the rural population within a three hour auto journey is debatable.  I have never seen any hard data to support this assertion.  I suspect that if one backs out the corridors that are served by numerous trains, with one long distance train thrown in for good measure, i.e. St. Louis to Chicago, the numbers would be different. The Rio Grande Valley in Texas (Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen, Pharr, etc.) is a major population center.  From Brownsville to San Antonio, which is the closest Amtrak station, the driving time, according to Google Maps, is 4 hours, 11 minutes. Its slightly less or more depending on the Valley starting point. To Houston it is 5 hours 25 minutes, and it is 6 hours, 10 minutes to Del Rio.  SA is where one would get the Texas Eagle northbound.  The best place for the west bound Sunset Limited is probably Del Rio whilst the best place for the eastbound limited is Houston. Number 22 leaves San Antonio at 7:00 a.m.  Thus, if someone from Harlingen wanted to take it, they would have to leave Harlingen around 2:00 a.m. to get to San Antonio in time to park and get on the train.  Or if they arrive in SA on Number 21, it would be nearly 3:00 a.m. before they got home.  Of course, they could plan on an overnight stay in SA before getting on the train or after getting off of it.  That could add another $160 to $300 to their travel tab. People in Lubbock or Amarillo would need approximately 5 hours to get to Albuquerque or Lamy, NM to catch the Southwest Limited. They would need approximately 4 hours to get to Fort Worth to catch the Eagle or Heartland Flyer.  These are not isolated examples, especially in the western part of the United States. Also, if a person can ride in a car or connecting bus for three hours, why can they not stay in the car or on the bus for the remainder of their journey.  Most trips in Texas, irrespective of the mode, are under 250 to 300 miles.
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