We have Simon Calder, a well known travel writer here in the UK, who publishes tips once a week. This popped up today:
" In Amtrak data analysed by MailOnline, it was revealed that Sanderson, an area in Terrell County, Texas, with a population of only around 700 people, received 247 passengers at its station in 2023
Despite its low passenger use, the station got a $3m makeover in 2021, with a new open-air shelter, concrete platform and walkways to make the station more accessible.
The station is served six times a week, westbound and eastbound, by the long-distance Sunset Limited train that runs from New Orleans to San Antonio, then to Los Angeles for a 48-hour-long journey, as well as the 32-hour Texas Eagle, which departs from Chicago on its way to Los Angeles.
While only a small town, Sanderson has come to be known as the “Cactus Capital of Texas”, and is also an important livestock grazing center.
There has been a train stop at Sanderson since the 1880s, and despite its modern reconstruction over the years, the station is still without wifi or toilets.
Next on the list of the quietest stations is Montgomery, West Virginia, which only saw 266 passengers use the station in 2023 in this small community located next to the Kanawha River.
The station is served by the long-distance Cardinal train, which departs three days a week between New York and Chicago for a 26-and-a-half-hour journey.
Four stops down are Alderson, West Virginia, which the MailOnline’s data analysis has identified as the third least-used station in the US, with 399 passengers.
Fourth is Thurmond, West Virginia, which is only a stop away from Montogmery, serving only 466 passengers last year.
Changing states, the fifth-quietest station in the country can be found in Rensselaer, Indiana. While the town is much larger than the other stops on the list and close to Chicago in the neighbouring state, the station only received 509 passengers in 2023."
