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What is the latest news (if any) on the restoration of daily service? It's been a while since I've heard anything

Brian, Just for Kicks and Cheerios, here is a run down of the telephone conversation I had with the girl at Amtrak that I had previously posted on another group: I called Amtrak on Saturday (Oct 10th) and told them that I wanted to go from Elkhart, IN to Ottumwa, IA leaving Elkhart on Oct...

Brian, What happened was, I tried to make a reservation for late October going west from Elkhart, IN to Ottumwa, IA and was told by the girl on reservation desk that the WB CL departs Elkhart on Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays and the WB CZ departs Chicago on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays...

Neroden, As I stated in an earlier post, for ANYONE living along the Capital Limited Route and wanting to go west over any portion of the California Zephyr route, those two trains only connect ONE DAY a week at Chicago. This is beyond stupid. It' also incredible that they'd do this on the eve...

Lonestar, I too have wondered about the host railroads dragging their feet on any restored daily service. Remember that a few years ago Amtrak "studied" converting trains 1 & 2 The Sunset Limited to daily service. Union Pacific made such high demands that Amtrak quickly and quietly scuttled...

So, group, what is the latest news on this three times a week service? I was trying to scan through the posts on our forum and nothing jumped out at me. Realistically, what are the chances that daily service WILL return? Slim to none? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I tried to book...

You know, I feel like I have been watching the same movie over and over again since about 1970. It seems like Democrats talk very highly of rail when they are out of power but then when they get into power, the talk of rail just seems to quietly go away. It seems that they want to scrape every...

Well, I live in northern Indiana, not Norman, OK, but I still get scared sometimes. It makes you feel so small and so helpless. A year ago from last February we were awakened in the middle of the night to roaring wind and the pulsating of continuous sheet lightning which looked like some kind...

Well, I’m no record breaker by any means but I had a nice trip back in the summer of ’89. I was going to get married so I figured this might be my chance and perhaps last chance to take a trip like that. I was living in northern Indiana and in mid-May I boarded the westbound Broadway Limited...

I did not care for Anderson from the word “go”. I thought he did some really dumb things or at least tried to. He was barely in there when he announced that Amtrak passenger equipment would be converted to standard “airline” type seating. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet and hopefully it...

Yes, I have always thought that the stretch of road between Denver and Fraser was the high point of the whole cross-country trip. I prefer to view this westbound. In the summer if the eastbound CZ is running a bit late it’s liable to get dark before you can see the whole thing and in the...

Well, I'm not so sure about that. I think if you'd try to put it back on the *EXACT* same route it ran on before it was discontinued in 1978 then, well, yes, you might have an issue. But surely another good route could be found that's in good condition. What is the primary routing for...

Actually, I didn’t do this myself (take the train from Elkhart to Florida that is). My neighbors did it and from what I understand they enjoyed it pretty well. But if you get a sleeper, it does add a second night on the road which is a little salty. A re-instated Floridian could probably do...

Neroden, I wasn’t going to get into this discussion on the PCE at first because I argued about this at length a couple of years ago on both the TRAINS Magazine forum and the old Milwaukee Road Historical Association’s Yahoo! e-group. But since you’ve delved into it (it’s kinda OT for Amtrak) I...

One thing I’ve wondered about, although the five hours of running time from Indy to Chicago might stretch the patience of a lot of potential riders, it seems like much of that time gets soaked up on CNR tracks between Chicago and Dyer, IN. Once you’re south of Dyer, the train rolls pretty good...

As an afterthought to my above post, there has been another thread running lately concerning the demise of the Hoosier State. A new Floridian, if it ran on that line, could also provide daily service in the Indianapolis-Chicago corridor. It is my understanding that the track south of Indy to...

The one train that would be at the top of my list is not pre-Amtrak but from the Amtrak era itself: The Floridian, discontinued during the “Carter cuts” of 1978. Other than air travel, there is a real public transportation void between Chicago and the Upper Midwest and Florida. I have known...

You know, one thing I really believe that may have been lost in all this controversy over state funding, is that some of this could very well be Amtrak’s fault. A few years ago there was an experiment whereby Iowa Pacific (I.P.) became involved and provided the equipment and some onboard...

Well, I would most certainly support a daily Cardinal *IF* Amtrak has enough sleeping car and dining car equipment. Only thing is, to service Indy and the other towns alone, the train originates in the Northeast so it is more likely to run late westbound. However, I have boarded it a number of...

Amtrak has stated that they have to have $3 million per year from the state to operate this train. However, one thing that might not have been brought out in this thread, doesn’t Amtrak use the Hoosier State often as a “hospital train” to pull equipment back and forth from Beach Grove? I...