Quote:
Originally Posted by Beta_Magellan
Although I don’t have time at the moment to look up anything exact, in the 1970s Amtrak did try the whole multiple-trains-per-day strategy on existing long distance lines it got them nowhere—costs grew quicker than ridership. The travel times for rail along those corridors is simply not competitive, and increased frequency does not make up for the fact that a plane will be quicker. Any Amtrak reorganization will mean either getting rid of long-distance trains or having passengers pay luxury cruise prices for them (there might be a niche for a few overnight services for passengers who prefer sleeping in transit to plane + hotel, but overnight trains are still fairly expensive to run).
There’s also an opportunity cost with running more trains along existing Amtrak long-distance routes—a fast train takes up line capacity that can be used by slower, more profitable freights.
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The only place where long distance trains seems to be viable is out west. Those trains, particularly the Empire Builder, are destinations in and of themselves. You arrive in Chicago and depart from Seattle a couple of days later. You basically spend the entire time on board a train taking in some of the scenery along the way. I believe traffic on the Empire Builder has increased rather sharply if I'm not mistaken...
I think other notable trains are the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief, which take you through the Moffat Tunnel and through Loveland Pass, which also can be quite scenic...
But yeah, pax traffic might be increasing along these corridors, but they surely as heck do not warrant multiple trains. I think the overnight trains out east need to be revamped somewhat. I believe those are the big money losers for Amtrak, especially the Silver Meteor IMO. You have that running along with the NE Regional and Acela service. Altho, in other parts of the region, you do have the long-distance trains serving some sort of connection purpose between smaller towns to the larger cities (altho, how many people actually board those trains?)...