Amtrak to Louisville

"IF" Cardinal could become daily then Louisville - Cincinnati and / or IND could become workable without much above rail costs. Now as to revenues ???

But throw in Amtrak's faulty allocated costs formulas == forget it.

Corridor ID: Courier-Journal

Amtrak could be making a return to Louisville. Here's what we know

Amtrak could be making a return to Louisville.

On Friday, President Joe Biden announced $8.2 billion in funding for high-speed rail and a nationwide pipeline of railroad projects.

Louisville could receive up to $500,000 in the future for a rail project that would ultimately connect the metro area to Chicago. The Louisville selection would be part of the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development, Corridor ID, program.
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There are rumors of some sort of a Louisville-Indianapolis trial/demonstration service.

I don't see how half-mil gets much of anything considering the Hoosier State doesn't run anymore and the overall state of the railroad Chicago to Indy isn't all that conducive to corridor service. We've discussed this to no end around here.

Not even worth considering until Cardinal becomes daily. Even then a sleeper will not be available for at least 8 years.

I think Virginia shows the way forward, and this ain't it. Build a strong corridor, build lateral lines from it. Strengthen those into corridors, repeat.

The Cardinal is not a backbone to attach arms and legs to. The Cardinal is barely anything. If building the Cardinal corridor itself in Indiana is out of reach for now, then Amtrak should focus elsewhere.

The path to service through Indiana is probably by strengthening the Chicago Hub to the point that Indiana wants to be built into it. The 3rd Minneapolis train and a fast southern entrance to Chicago that facilitates more Michigan service would be sidelong steps forward for Indiana service.

Thinking about Louisville now is a recipe for failure.

Anecdotally, Louisville is an exodus magnet city for people fleeing from Chicago....

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ryanwc wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2024 5:31 pm I think Virginia shows the way forward, and this ain't it. Build a strong corridor, build lateral lines from it. Strengthen those into corridors, repeat.

The Cardinal is not a backbone to attach arms and legs to. The Cardinal is barely anything. If building the Cardinal corridor itself in Indiana is out of reach for now, then Amtrak should focus elsewhere.

The path to service through Indiana is probably by strengthening the Chicago Hub to the point that Indiana wants to be built into it. The 3rd Minneapolis train and a fast southern entrance to Chicago that facilitates more Michigan service would be sidelong steps forward for Indiana service.

Thinking about Louisville now is a recipe for failure.

Maybe so. But it does appear there’s at least some ideas of upgrading the Chicago to Indianapolis corridor for more trains.

ryanwc wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2024 5:31 pm I think Virginia shows the way forward, and this ain't it. Build a strong corridor, build lateral lines from it. Strengthen those into corridors, repeat.

The Cardinal is not a backbone to attach arms and legs to. The Cardinal is barely anything. If building the Cardinal corridor itself in Indiana is out of reach for now, then Amtrak should focus elsewhere.

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Thinking about Louisville now is a recipe for failure.

Couldn't agree more with these statements. For many reasons, the Chicago-Indianapolis corridor isn't. Trying to attach wings to a fllightless bird isn't a good idea at all. If they could get the Chicago-Indy corridor figured out, which will take time and lots of money, a strong 2x/day version of the Cardinal to Cinci (and no further) would be a great backbone to run Louisville and perhaps even Columbus trains from. Now you're covering purdue, indiana u, Ohio state U, U of Cinci, Miami U, Wright Patterson AFB, all kinds of pro sports teams and conference centers...