(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . A Bold Expansion Proposal for Amtrak Long Distance Routes [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-18 I wholeheartedly support the FRA’s entire list of “Preferred Routes” because it represents the first major expansion of Amtrak’s Long Distance intercity passenger trains since the beginning in May 1971; however, I have three major areas of concern. 1. Route Structure. All 15 “Preferred Routes” should be approved by the FRA and fully funded by Congress for equipment purchases, major infrastructure improvements, and operations provided that the new routes supplement the existing 13 Long Distance routes and do not replace them. I am tired of zero-sum political games in regard to Amtrak plus frequent Republican attempts to kill the entire passenger rail system, especially while continuing to expand our bloated highway system. By my count, I recognize 13 (not 15) Long Distance routes because I consider the existing New York City to Florida trains as two routes regardless of multiple frequencies along part of these routes, and there are some trains that do not travel the entire length. Of the 15 “Preferred Routes” in the FRA study, 6 of these can be considered as restorations of routes discontinued in 1979, the mid-to-late 1990s, and early 2000s for political/budgetary reasons. These are: Seattle – Chicago via Billings. Restoration of the North Coast Hiawatha. Chicago - Miami via Louisville and Atlanta. Restoration and partial reroute of the Floridian. Dallas/Fort Worth - Miami via Shreveport, New Orleans, Mobile, and Jacksonville. Restoration and western expansion of the Gulf Wind/temporary eastern leg of the Sunset Limited. Dallas/Fort Worth - New York via Oklahoma City, Tulsa, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. Restoration and southwestern extension of the Spirit of St Louis/National Limited. Seattle - Denver via Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Grand Junction. Partial restoration of the Pioneer. I would prefer that this route be extended east to Kansas City and St. Louis. Los Angeles - Denver via Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Cheyenne. Partial restoration of the Desert Wind. I would prefer that this route bypass Denver and extend east from Cheyenne on the old Union Pacific to Omaha and further east on the old C&NW to Chicago. The other 9 routes are: Dallas/Fort Worth — Atlanta via Longview, Shreveport, Jackson, Meridian, and Birmingham. New Orleans — Detroit via Mobile, Birmingham, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo. Houston — Denver via Dallas, Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, Amarillo, Trinidad, and Colorado Springs. San Antonio — Minneapolis via Austin, Dallas, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Des Moines. El Paso — Billings via Albuquerque, Trinidad, Colorado Springs, Denver, Cheyenne, and Casper. Denver — Minneapolis via Cheyenne, Rapid City, Pierre, and Sioux Falls. Phoenix — Minneapolis via Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Kansas City, Omaha, and Sioux Falls. San Francisco — Dallas/Fort Worth via Merced, Bakersfield, Phoenix, El Paso, and Midland. Houston — New York via New Orleans, Mobile, Montgomery, Atlanta, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Roanoke, and Washington DC I approve of 10 of the 15 routes “as is” and with some minor expansion or reroute of at least 4 or more and only the Houston to NYC route in need of a major reroute. The Houston to NYC route should go via Nacogdoches, Shreveport, Jackson, Meridian, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Roanoke, Hagerstown, Harrisburg, Reading, Allentown, Bethlehem, and on to New York City to better serve the Mid-South and the Appalachian valley between the major ridges. In addition to the existing 13 Long Distance routes and 15 “Preferred Routes” of the FRA study, Amtrak needs an additional 12 to 15 more Long Distance routes to create a truly national system. starting with the restoration of the Houston — Chicago Texas Chief/Lone Star and New York — Chicago Broadway Limited routes. Many broadly defined long distance corridors need two or more routes that connect the same endpoints but serve different intermediate cities and towns. 2. Service. Settling for only one daily service and the existing average speed of 43 mph is unacceptable. All existing, restored, and new Amtrak Long Distance routes must have at least 4 trains a day each way with morning, afternoon, evening, and midnight departures from both endpoints and an average system speed of at least 60mph including station stops, steep mountain grades, and sprints across the flat plains. In order for railways to provide sufficient passenger service that is frequent and convenient enough for travelers to not be totally dependent on cars, the railway system must have expanded track capacity (additional passing sidings and double track) and signal improvements to handle the extra traffic safely and swiftly and be grade separated from highways as much as possible. Electrification can reduce noise and local air pollution, and if the power is generated from wind and solar sources, it can greatly reduce our greenhouse emissions as well as be sustainable. That means Amtrak must be provided funding for major infrastructure improvements as well as buying passenger railcars and operating them. 3. Implementation Timeline. A 15-year timeline to plan, build, and restart passenger service on our existing national rail network is unacceptable. The expanded Long Distance national network can and should be fully operational within 10 years if we make it a national priority. President Biden should declare a National Emergency on account of the Climate Crisis that is largely caused by human activities, especially large-scale automobile use, the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, and sub-urban sprawl. Biden should proclaim a national priority to reduce our car dependency and greenhouse gas emissions by upgrading our existing nationwide rail systems for both passenger and freight transport and electrifying the majority of our mainline rail system and urban mass transit systems. Improving rail lines that have been in service for a century or more should not require a lengthy Environmental Impact Statement, especially if we declare a National Emergency on Climate Change of which an extensive passenger and freight switch from highway to rail transport can play a major mitigating factor. Americans are not inspired by small government programs except at the local level, but we support big ones if they are bold enough to catch our imagination and benefit communities across our entire nation. The FRA’s “Preferred Routes” not only connects major cities at the endpoints of each route but also connects the big cities with medium and small towns and the towns with each other. The FRA study and community meetings emphasized the need to reconnect rural America and made special note of colleges and universities, medical centers, Native American tribal areas, and historically underserved communities. President Biden’s recent State of the Union address loudly defended the need to preserve our democratic process, the Rule of Law, and Human Rights for all American citizens and residents and the need to support our European and Pacific friends and allies. He also talked about economic opportunity and the challenge of Climate Change. Candidate (and hopefully reelected) President Biden should announce a major nationwide passenger rail expansion and electrification program to initially create jobs and but more importantly, to expand domestic mobility while reducing car dependency and greenhouse gas emissions. Biden needs to pull a really big rabbit out of his hat in order to inspire American voters to support a number of programs that will benefit our nation was well as to direct attention away from his ill-advised support for the Israeli invasion of Gaza. President Biden is well known for his support for Amtrak and has sharply increased appropriations for the passenger train network as a small part of his overall infrastructure program, but this gets little attention outside of the rail press. There is not enough time in this session of Congress, especially with the Republicans in chaotic control of the House, to pass an even greater Amtrak expansion bill, but he can begin to lay the public groundwork for a decade-long, comprehensive plan to propel Amtrak from being a token system and political football to a truly national rail system that benefits all regions of our country. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/18/1957097/-A-Bold-Expansion-Proposal-for-Amtrak-Long-Distance-Routes?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/