Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study

The Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study was created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to be completed by the Federal Railroad Administration. Its purpose is to evaluate the restoration and addition of discontinued and new long-distance passenger services in the United States, as well as the efficacy of upgrading of tri-weekly long-distance services to daily operation.

The study was completed in 2025. It identified over a dozen routes that were good candidates for reactivation or creation, which would provide rail service to an additional 39 million people. Highlights included restoring service to South Dakota and Wyoming, which are currently have no passenger rail service whatsoever; service from Seattle to Denver that would connect Idaho population centers; turning Dallas/Fort Worth into a rail hub with six new routes; increased service in the south and Florida; providing daily and non-overnight boarding times to benefit rural routes; service to currently unserved state capitols and population centers in Montana and North Dakota; and service to Phoenix, which is currently the largest American city without rail service.

History

In November 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Section 22214 of the law orders the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to study the restoration of all long-distance Amtrak routes that had been discontinued, daily service on non-daily trains (the Cardinal and Sunset Limited), and the possibility of new long-distance routes—particularly those that were discontinued upon the formation of Amtrak. The criteria for new routes under consideration is that they "link and serve large and small communities as part of a regional rail network", "advance the economic and social well-being of rural areas of the United States", "provide enhanced connectivity for the national long-distance passenger rail system", and "reflect public engagement and local and regional support for restored passenger rail service". Work on the Long-Distance Service Study began in September 2022.

In April 2023, the FRA released information that they had successfully held a series of six working group meetings during the previous February where they met with stakeholders and worked to review the study's requirements and to evaluate discontinued services. Included in the regional reports was information about current LD routes trip origin-destination pairs, as well as similar information for proposed routes. Materials from the meetings indicated that the FRA was studying 18 discontinued long-distance Amtrak routes, as well as four that were discontinued on Amtrak's creation in 1971: the City of Miami, George Washington, Pan-American, and San Francisco Chief.

In August 2023, the FRA released their second round of meeting materials, followed by the release of the FRA's interim report to congress describing their current progress in the study in November.

In February 2024, the FRA released its third round of meeting materials which included a preferred draft network of fifteen new long-distance routes. The plan would increase the coverage of the long-distance Amtrak network by 23,200 route miles, reaching an additional 45 million population, 61 metropolitan statistical areas, 24 congressional districts, twelve National Park Service sites, and two states (Wyoming and South Dakota). Another round of public input took place before the final set of actions are recommended to Congress in January 2025.

Long-Distance Service Study draft preferred routes
Designation Route Miles (km) Duration Historic analog
Chicago–Miami Chicago – Indianapolis – Louisville – Nashville – Chattanooga – Atlanta – Macon – Jacksonville – Orlando – Miami 1,529 (2,461) 36 hr Floridian
Dallas/Fort Worth–Miami Dallas–Fort Worth – Shreveport – Baton Rouge – New Orleans – Mobile – Pensacola – Tallahassee – Jacksonville – Miami 1,498 (2,411) 36 hr
Denver–Houston Denver – Colorado Springs – Trinidad – Amarillo – Dallas–Fort Worth – Bryan – Houston 1,096 (1,764) 26 hr Texas Zephyr
Los Angeles–Denver Los Angeles – Barstow – Las Vegas – Salt Lake City – Cheyenne – Denver 1,440 (2,320) 33 hr Desert Wind
Phoenix–Minneapolis/St. Paul Phoenix – Flagstaff – Albuquerque – Amarillo – Wichita – Kansas City – Omaha – Sioux Falls – Minneapolis–Saint Paul 2,186 (3,518) 48 hr
Dallas/Fort Worth–New York Dallas–Fort Worth – Oklahoma City – Tulsa – Springfield – St. Louis – Indianapolis – Cincinnati – Columbus – Pittsburgh – Philadelphia – New York City 1,854 (2,984) 45 hr National Limited
Houston–New York Houston – New Orleans – Mobile – Montgomery – Atlanta – Chattanooga – Lynchburg – Washington, D.C. – Philadelphia – New York City 1,840 (2,960) 44 hr Southerner
Seattle–Denver Seattle – Portland – Boise – Pocatello – Salt Lake City – Grand Junction – Denver 1,671 (2,689) 40 hr Pioneer
San Antonio–Minneapolis/St. Paull San Antonio – Dallas–Fort Worth – Tulsa – Kansas City – Des Moines – Minneapolis–Saint Paul 1,572 (2,530) 32 hr Twin Star Rocket
San Francisco–Dallas/Fort Worth San Francisco – Bakersfield – Barstow – Phoenix – Tucson – El Paso – Midland – Dallas–Fort Worth 1,911 (3,075) 43 hr
Detroit–New Orleans Detroit – Columbus – Cincinnati – Louisville – Nashville – Birmingham – Montgomery – Mobile – New Orleans 1,246 (2,005) 29 hr Pan-American
Denver–Minneapolis/St. Paul Denver – Cheyenne – Rapid City – Pierre – Sioux Falls – Minneapolis–Saint Paul 1,136 (1,828) 26 hr
Seattle–Chicago Seattle – Yakima – Spokane – Sandpoint – Helena – Billings – Bismarck – Fargo – Minneapolis–Saint Paul – Milwaukee – Chicago 2,096 (3,373) 50 hr North Coast Hiawatha
Dallas/Fort Worth–Atlanta Dallas–Fort Worth – Shreveport – Jackson – Meridian – Birmingham – Atlanta 870 (1,400) 22 hr
El Paso–Billings El Paso – Las Cruces – Albuquerque – Trinidad – Colorado Springs – Denver – Cheyenne – Casper – Billings 1,393 (2,242) 31 hr Shoshone

Notes

  1. ↑ Not all stops are listed. Italics indicate cities lacking rail service at the time of the study.

References

  1. 1 2 "Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study". Federal Railroad Administration. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Johnston, Bob (November 1, 2022). "FRA launches passenger long-distance study site". Trains. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Worrell, Carolina (November 2, 2022). "FRA Kicks Off Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study". Railway Age. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Alan, David (November 15, 2021). "What's in the Infrastructure Package for Passenger Rail? (Updated)". Railway Age. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  5. ↑ "FRA Holds Stakeholder Meetings to Study the Restoration and Expansion of Amtrak Long-Distance Passenger Rail Services". Federal Railroad Administration. April 6, 2024. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  6. ↑ Johnston, Bob (April 2, 2023). "FRA look at Amtrak long-distance service yields wealth of data". Trains. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ Regional Working Group Meeting 1 2023, p. 68
  8. ↑ Regional Working Group Meeting 1 2023, p. 67
  9. ↑ Vantuono, William (August 14, 2023). "Welcome to Amtrak Study Hall (UPDATED Aug. 14 with Additional Commentary)". Railway Age. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study Interim Report to Congress" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. November 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  11. ↑ Alan, David (February 21, 2024). "FRA L-D Study Suggests Restored Routes". Railway Age. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ Johnston, Bob (February 27, 2024). "FRA releases long-distance study interim report, invites comments". Trains. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Regional Working Group Meeting 3 2024, p. 101
  14. ↑ Regional Working Group Meeting 3 2024, p. 97
  15. 1 2 Regional Working Group Meeting 3 2024, p. 100
  16. ↑ Regional Working Group Meeting 3 2024, p. 110
  17. ↑ Regional Working Group Meeting 3 2024, p. 162
  18. ↑ "Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study Report to Congress January 2025" (PDF). fralongdistancerailstudy.org/. Federal Railroad Administration. January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  19. 1 2 Nielsen, Rob (February 24, 2024). "New details of ongoing study add to hopes for restored Amtrak service in Ogden". Standard-Examiner. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  20. 1 2 Mayer, Eric (February 19, 2024). "South Dakota makes updated proposed passenger rail map". KELO. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 Branson, Carina (February 24, 2024). "FRA study: More Amtrak routes could be passing through Kansas". KSN-TV. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  22. 1 2 Seamer, Cooper (February 22, 2024). "Advocates: Proposed Amtrak service a big first step for South Dakota". Dakota News Now. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Lattimer, Dustin (February 27, 2024). "Passenger rail study could bring Amtrak to the Four States". KSNF/KODE. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  24. ↑ Harris, Shelbie (November 12, 2022). "Support growing to put Amtrak Pioneer Route back on track". Idaho State Journal. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  25. 1 2 Kidston, Martin (April 7, 2023). "Big Sky Passenger Rail hopeful as long-distance study advances". Missoula Current. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  26. ↑ Louder, Tyler (February 22, 2024). "Railroad experts weigh in on South Dakotas inclusion on updated passenger rail map". KELO. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  27. ↑ Underwood, Jack (February 26, 2024). "Amtrak line proposed in the Panhandle". Star-Herald. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  28. ↑ Kidston, Martin (December 23, 2022). "Federal Railroad Admin to Big Sky Passenger Rail: Stay engaged as study moves forward". Missoula Current. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  29. ↑ Eggert, Amanda (December 18, 2023). "What's next in the push to restore southern Montana's passenger rail service". Montana Free Press. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  30. 1 2 Eggert, Amanda (February 21, 2024). "Long-distance rail route through southern Montana garners another nod from feds". Montana Free Press. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.

Sources