New Southern Belle

[jiml]

In my opinion, it would be best to reinstate the Pioneer and the Desert Wind. The cities served by these trains have gotten a lot bigger since they were discontinued.

The Pioneer would be a section of the Zephyr, and would leave Denver to serve Cheyenne, Boise, Portland, and Seattle.

The Desert Wind would also be a section of the Zephyr, and would leave Salt Lake City to serve Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

It's not like they don't have an historical reference to follow.

I know places like Columbus, OH, rank high on the list of large cities not served by Amtrak, but wonder where Metropolitan Las Vegas is on that list.

 

[hlcteacher]

would LOVE to see these back!!!!!

 

[bms]

It's not like they don't have an historical reference to follow.

I know places like Columbus, OH, rank high on the list of large cities not served by Amtrak, but wonder where Metropolitan Las Vegas is on that list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_cities_in_U.S._lacking_inter-city_rail_service
Las Vegas ranks first on the list, followed by Columbus, Nashville, and Louisville. If you don't count Maricopa as serving Phoenix (and I don't), then Phoenix would easily be #1.

Al those cities are proposed to gain regional service on the "Amtrak Connects US" map released last month, but that map doesn't show any new long-distance services. It seems that the 750-mile rule for state subsidies is effectively preventing any new long-distance services from even being considered.