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  • Amtrak Sunset East Reactivation Proposal (Including City of New Orleans Extension)

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1613839  by Ken W2KB
 
STrRedWolf wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:16 am
bostontrainguy wrote: Wed Jan 18, 2023 9:35 am And to throw an unlikely twist into the pot, a CONO with autoracks could make a new AutoTrain from the midwest to Sanford but that's another story. I know it would be a two night journey but the thousands of snow-birds want their cars down in Florida and it would take two or three days for many of them to drive the distance anyway so it isn't that unreasonable. The midwest is the second largest market for snowbirds going to and coming from Florida.
I wouldn't touch CONO's current schedule nor extend it with a possible massive delay. New Orleans is a terminal.

Instead:
  • Rename the current AutoTrain as the Atlantic AutoTrain
  • Make the Sunset East portion the Gulf Wind as a separate train (actual train, so reuse the name)
  • Make a direct Chicago-Sanford AutoTrain and name it the Dixie AutoTrain (based on previous train names)
  • Make a Chicago-Miami LD train and name it the City of Miami... um, no, use the Royal Palm instead.
Having a Dixie AutoTrain and a Royal Palm along this stretch would be better and connect a lot of cities including Nashville.

But we're getting off-track here and we should be talking about the Gulf Wind instead.
Ummm. Not Dixie: "Dixie has also been a problematic label, carrying with it the ugly remnants of slavery and the exploitation of Black people. " https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/27/us/dixie ... index.html
 #1613842  by STrRedWolf
 
Ken W2KB wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 1:49 pm Ummm. Not Dixie: "Dixie has also been a problematic label, carrying with it the ugly remnants of slavery and the exploitation of Black people. " https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/27/us/dixie ... index.html
Fair point... although, with a routing through Nashville, maybe call it the Country AutoTrain instead.

Anyway, back to the Gulf Coast.
 #1613846  by Gilbert B Norman
 
The Midwest Auto Train once flopped, it is simply too long a ride for "non-fans" and those who simply wish to transport their Bennie-Caddy-Lex "down below" rather than rent some "wind up toy" @ $100da.

Again, I've been there enough times to know "arewethereyetitis" becomes quite endemic if AT isn't there by High Noon.

Now IF somehow Amtrak wished to establish additional "Auto Train Service", I suggest they start, using existing trains with Galesburg-Irondale (10mi E of Denver), Galesburg-La Junta, and Albuquerque-San Bernardino.

Galesburg is on I-74 and is not only a reasonable drive from Chicago, also from Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and even Minneapolis. The fixed facilities would have two trains to serve and not just one.

Irondale is an existing BNSF yard/intermodal facility. For those who Denver is not a destination, just hop on the Interstate there and avoid the congestion of where you don't want to go.

Why not "all the way on the Santa Fe"? An auto can get "over the hill" more expediently than a train. "Why burn up our gas when the customer can burn up his"?

San Bernardino provides a "Gateway" to the entire LA Basin. If there is more room at Colton, then terminate there.
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