The observation from battalion51 is a good one: that the viable parts of the route have to be isolated from those in meltdown. Inserting a one-day delay at either new Orleans or San Antonio sounds like a good way to implement it. What would the ridership be if the Sunset Limited were to run everyday?
Embarking on a public campaign would not work, because nobody cares about the Sunset Limited in the larger scheme of things.
I remain confused on the UP issues; perhaps someone can help me with them.
First, the number of UP freight trains backed up and sitting on sidings all over the country is obvious to anyone who looks. I’ve heard there is a massive shortage of crews.
Second, I understand that UP recently purchased the Southern Pacific complete with an enormous infrastructure renewal project, which is taking years to complete.
Third, every time I overhear radio conversations between Amtrak engineers conversing with UP dispatchers (which are apparently far away in Omaha) while stranded on UP tracks somewhere, I hear no evidence that UP is trying to make life miserable for Amtrak passengers. Instead, I hear only discussions about how best to accommodate Amtrak’s needs without completely ruining UP’s freight business. It appears to me that the problems with UP are only a manifestation of the more general problems with the U.S. infrastructure. UP seems to be at some kind of basic disadvantage.
