Where would you want Amtrak to go?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

Since I live in central Arkansas I would like to see Amtrak start a route east and west with Little Rock a part of it. This "middle line" would connect the East Coast and West Coast and save passengers time by not having to go either all the way to Chicago or El Paso to catch a connecting train.

I second the above quote. [:D] [:D] [:D]

[oltmannd]

Personally, I'd just like a daylight Atlanta to the northeast train. That is something I would use a couple of times a year.

[Anonymous]

Extend the Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City through Wichita, Kansas to meet the Southwest Chiefs at Newton, Kansas. Closing this 157-mile gap would give those of us in the "real" midwest great connections for business travel, especially in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. No extra equipment would be needed, as the train could head north after its 5:30 P.M. Oklahoma City arrival, have plenty of time to meet the Chiefs, then return to OKC for the 8:30 A.M. trip to Ft. Worth. A round-trip plane ticket to Dallas from Wichita is $574.00...for a turboprop! Fare on an extended "Flyer" should be in the range of $100.00 Now if we could get a link to Denver...?

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by smalling_60626

Ever since 1971, I've resented the fact that Amtrak took off the last thread of service on the (New York) Washington-Birmingham (New Orleans) route. Denied service to Roanoke, Bristol and Knoxville; also ended any real-life connection to the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo."

That line was Southern Rwy Washington-Lynchburg, VA; N&W Lynchburg to Bristol VA/TN, then Southern again Bristol-Birmingham (and points South). It was fun watching varnish in southwestern Virginia in the Sixties: a mixture of N&W, Southern, and occasional thru rolling stock; also some trains used N&W motive power but at least one (Birmingham Special) was Southern all the way through -- E unit and helper, I believe.

I like this one. It fits in well with the I-81 corridor study now under way. If it pans out, there will be Fed and State money to improve the route and you might even be able to make it a viable passenger route again.

[conrailman]

Is BNSF still thinking to Sale the Raton Pass and moving Amtrak train 3&4 to the Southern Route Main Line?

[Anonymous]

Asheville, NC I understand that this is the most requested off system location that Amtrak reservation agents are asked for.

[Anonymous]

I would like to have a daily from Dallas to Houston, the two biggest closest cities in America that don't have a direct pasenger rail link. SHAME ON AMTRAK! True Texas rail fans demand the link NOW!

IF THE SECOND LARGEST STATE IN POPULATION CAN BE SO IGNORED BY AMTRAK, one wonders whether Amtrak is worth saving!

[AntonioFP45]

Medium Distance: Florida to Atlanta: Route with excellent potential.

Long Distance: Restore Florida to Chicago (by way of Atlanta).

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

QUOTE: Originally posted by donclark

I would like to have a daily from Dallas to Houston, the two biggest closest cities in America that don't have a direct pasenger rail link. SHAME ON AMTRAK! True Texas rail fans demand the link NOW!

IF THE SECOND LARGEST STATE IN POPULATION CAN BE SO IGNORED BY AMTRAK, one wonders whether Amtrak is worth saving!

Take a look at a current Southwest Airlines timetable to find out why Amtrak no longer provides service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.

[Anonymous]

......into the eternal abyss of a distant memory of a fleeting glimpse, a dream within a forgotton dream[zzz].....

BUT........

If one were to rephrase the question into one that references a return of private rail passenger services (heck, I'll take subsidized private passenger services over Amtrak anyday!)......

ditto on the Seattle-Salt Lake (prefer Vancouver - Portland - Salt Lake) and LA - Salt Lake ideas; also a Spokane - Denver service via Missoula, Billings, and Casper, with a separate section through Alliance to Omaha; Calgary - Salt Lake; Denver - Albuquerque - El Paso; and Calgary - Spokane (via the Crow) - Bend (via the Dechutes) - Sacramento (via Bieber).

[krtraveler]

NOTES: This expansion plan assumes that most of the high-speed corridors are already in place. All trains to run daily unless otherwise noted.

This is so lengthy that it’s Part 1

Transcontinental
Crescent Star: Daily NY-Atlanta (Peachtree or Suburban)-Fort Worth; extend to Los Angeles by way of Abilene, train to operate Ft. Worth-LA on days the Sunset Limited doesn’t, so El Paso-LA gets daily serice

National Chief: DC-Tucson/LA via Cincy, STL, KC, Phoenix; trains to split/join at Flagstaff

Desert Wind: Toronto-Chicago-LA via Port Huron, SLC, Las Vegas

International: Toronto-Chicago-SJ via Detroit, Ogden, Reno

NY-Pitt-Chicago-SF/LA; NY-Chi to operate on old Broadway Limited route, Chicago-LA on SW Chief route; trains to split/join at Barstow, Barstow-SF via the Tehachapi Pass and Bakersfield

Midwest-South
Gulfland: Chicago-Mobile; No local passengers Chi-Ind

Twin Star Rocket: St. Paul-Fort Worth-San Antonio

Panama Limited: St. Louis-New Orleans

Aztec Eagle: Chicago-Kansas City-OKC-FW-SA-Laredo-Monterrey

Norfolk-Richmond (Main St.)-Charlottesville-Cincinnati-Chicago

Midwest-Florida
South Wind: Chicago-Cincinnati-Atlanta (Five Points)-JAX-STP/MIA; No local passengers Chi-Ind; trains to split in Jacksonville; St. Pete section to serve Gainesville and skip Tampa, Miami section operates via Daytona Beach and FEC

Southland: Detroit-Cincinnati-Atlanta (Five Points)-JAX-Tampa; No local passengers Detroit-Toledo, Wyandotte (or Dearborn and DTW) stop(s) skipped; Florida service includes Orlando

Palmland: Cleveland-Cincinnati-Atlanta (Five Points)-JAX-St. Pete; No local passengers Cleveland-Cincy, limited stops on 3C corridor; Florida service has train turning towards FL west coast after Waldo to serve Gainesville (also applies to South Wind)

Floridian: Chicago-Nashville-Birmingham-JAX-Tampa/Miami; No local passengers Chi-Ind; Tampa section via Orlando, Miami section via Ocala and Dade City

[Wdlgln005]

My first two trains back would be the Pioneer & Desert Wind.
A daytime Chicago- Quad Cities- Des Moines- Omaha Rocket.
The Hummingbird would fly Cincinnatti- Louisville-Nashville-Mobile-New Orleans.
The Cardinal would have a St Louis. & Kansas City connection
The Georgian would fly Chicago-Louisville-Nashville-Atlanta & Jacksonville.
a new River Cities would connect New Orleans-Memphis with St Louis & St Paul (Great River Train)
A new true transcon to connect LA-Dallas-Memphis-Nashville-Knoxville-via Bristol VA to Richmond & Washington.

Amtrak would be required to offer some service to all 48 lower states. New partnership with Via & Mexico would create true NAFTA passenger trains. Homeland Security would find a way to screen passengers as the board the train. There would be no need to bother Via passengers travelling thru Maine.

[Train Guy 3]

Norfolk - Lynchburg - where ever. I just need an east-west line in my area.

[Anonymous]

I think we'd all probably be better off if Amtrak would just go away.

Old Timer

[Anonymous]

I would like to see Amtrak go from Salt Lake City to Portland on the UP line and I would also like to see Amtrak go from Belen, NM to Galveston, TX on the BNSF (Santa Fe) line and finally I would like to see an Amtrak go from Oklahoma City, to Topeka on the BNSF (Santa Fe), finally I would like to see an Amtrak go from Oklahoma City to St. Louis on the BNSF (BN/Frisco) line.

QUOTE: Originally posted by SchemerBob

If money was no option, where would you want Amtrak to go, besides the current routes?

[Junctionfan]

How about a super long train called the Trans Coastal Limited. New York to Los Angelas with stops only in Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City and Las Vegas.

Also, the State of Texas; a train that goes Chicago-St.Louis-Little Rock-Dallas-Fort Worth-Austin-San Antonio-Houston.

[Anonymous]

For strickly selfish reasons, I would like to see Amtrak service from Tulsa to St. Louis which would make the connection to Chicago for me. My family and I enjoy taking the train to visit my home town but we have to drive from Oklahoma to St Louis to pick up the train. I enjoy only needing to drive half the distance but none of the distance would be better

CW

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan



Also, the State of Texas; a train that goes Chicago-St.Louis-Little Rock-Dallas-Fort Worth-Austin-San Antonio-Houston.

The Texas Eagle already service most of those cities, Houston is the opposite direction and Amtrak ended service to Houston by the Texas Eagle.

[Anonymous]

I would say. Chicago to Miami name the train the South Wind followed by Kansas City to New York name the train the National limited or Spirit of St. Loius Then Chicago-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia-New York call that train the Broadway Limited then somehow include service to Wyoming.

[andrechapelon]

Personally, I'd like to see the following:

A train that runs 12 hours behind the Coast Starlight so that a trip to LA could be done overnight from the SF Bay Area with a connection made to a morning San Diegan in LA.

San Joaquin service all the way to LA, with one train split at Bakersfield to connect to the Southwest Chief in Barstow.

Nor'easter service extended to Bangor, ME.

Andre

[Junctionfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan



Also, the State of Texas; a train that goes Chicago-St.Louis-Little Rock-Dallas-Fort Worth-Austin-San Antonio-Houston.

The Texas Eagle already service most of those cities, Houston is the opposite direction and Amtrak ended service to Houston by the Texas Eagle.

It's annoying that if I want to take the train to see a friend of mine in Houston, I have to get of at Longview and Greyhound the rest of the way. Why wouldn't a major city like Houston not get served by the Texas Eagle?

[krtraveler]

Here is Part 2

Northeast-Midwest
Twilight Limited: Boston (South)-Chicago via Niagara Falls and Detroit

St. Louis-DC/NY via Cincy, Columbus, Pitt; Trains to split/join in Harrisburg

St. Louis-DC via Cincy, Athens (OH), Cumberland, Rockville

Manhattan Limited: NY-Pittsburgh-Cleveland-Chicago

Northeast-South
Texas Chief: Boston (South)-Chicago-KC-Oklahoma City-Fort Worth-Dallas-Houston; creation of this route and the Twilight Limited would eliminate the need for connecting trains on the Lake Shore Limited, making that route NY-Chicago only

Northeast-Florida
NY-DC-Charlottesville-Charlotte-Columbia-Jacksonville-Dade City-St. Petersburg/Miami; refer to South Wind for Florida routing information

Boston (South)-DC-Richmond (Staples Mill)-Raleigh-Charlotte-Columbia-Jacksonville-Daytona Beach-Miami; Petersburg-Raleigh route would use the old Seaboard line, which is being rebuilt for SEHSR service, Silver Star would also use this route

New NY-Tampa Route via Fayetteville

West-South
Caprock Express: Denver-Pueblo-Amarillo-Fort Worth

Texas Zephyr: Salt Lake City-Denver-Pueblo-Ft. Worth-Dallas-Houston-New Orleans

West-West Coast
Desert Zephyr: Vancouver (BC)-Portland-SLC-Las Vegas-LA; since the DZ would operate in the same time frame as the current Vancouver-Seattle route, Cascades service would be readjusted to provide evening SEA-VAC and morning VAC-SEA services

North Coast Hiawatha: Chicago-Twin Cities-Bismarck-Butte-Spokane-Portland/Seattle; Chi-MSP via Empire Builder route or old Lake Country Limited route; Minneapolis to have its own stop

Olympian: Minneapolis-Aberdeen-Butte-Spokane-Seattle-Portland; no local passengers Seattle-Portland, may also skip some stops along the Cascade Corridor

Pioneer: Seattle-Portland-Boise-Ogden-Denver-Chicago; no local passengers Seattle-Portland, some Cascade Corridor stops will be skipped

[AlcoRS11Nut]

any of the old UP stream/domeliners.

[Anonymous]

OK, here goes:

1. Additional frequencies NY to Chicago via the Water Level Route

2. Additional frequencies from Boston to Rensselaer via the B&A

3. Extension of servixce into Maine farther than Portland (perhaps to Bangor)

4. Additional NY to Florida service including expanded Auto train service

5. Coast to Coast Auto train service

6. Increased service frequencies or expansions elsewhere as it make sense to bring back useful connections to all major metro areas and towns to truly bring rail service to the people.

7. Extra efforts to bring necessary competitive connections to other modes on line (or bring the lines to the other modes) and provide such services as car rental, taxi and local services to depots.

8. Others such as Chicago to Florida Auto train and midwestern and southern services as feasible to increase service to growing markets.

LC

[jeaton]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Old Timer

I think we'd all probably be better off if Amtrak would just go away.

Old Timer

Grrrrrrrr

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal

......into the eternal abyss of a distant memory of a fleeting glimpse, a dream within a forgotton dream[zzz].....

BUT........

If one were to rephrase the question into one that references a return of private rail passenger services (heck, I'll take subsidized private passenger services over Amtrak anyday!)......

ditto on the Seattle-Salt Lake (prefer Vancouver - Portland - Salt Lake) and LA - Salt Lake ideas; also a Spokane - Denver service via Missoula, Billings, and Casper, with a separate section through Alliance to Omaha; Calgary - Salt Lake; Denver - Albuquerque - El Paso; and Calgary - Spokane (via the Crow) - Bend (via the Dechutes) - Sacramento (via Bieber).

Please enlighten me as to any real difference between Amtrak and a government subsidized "private"[%-)]operation.

[vsmith]

Only one on my list, L.A. to Las Vegas, as it is now its a 5 hour drive that usually takes 7 hours or a 40 minute flight that takes up to 3 hours so they look up your [censored] with an X-ray machine.

[ndbprr]

Well I guess I am the curmudgeon because if I told you where I thought Amtrak should go and how they should get there I would be banned for life from these boards!

[jeaton]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ndbprr

Well I guess I am the curmudgeon because if I told you where I thought Amtrak should go and how they should get there I would be banned for life from these boards!

You still get a "grrrrrr" from me.

[Junctionfan]

How about a Las Vegas to Atlantic City train called Sin Cities Limited?