(The following column by Richard Straub appeared on the Marion Star website on December 27, 2009. Mr. Straub, a board member of All Aboard Ohio, is an avid traveler and Marion resident.)
MARION, Ohio — The Orlando, Fla., to New Orleans, La., segment of the Sunset Limited has been gone since hurricane Katrina damaged the rails of CSX Transportation, the train’s host, in 2005. But after four years of inaction, politicians and various community groups in three states have begun pressing for the train’s return. The southeast is the only part of the continental United States that lacks and east-west Amtrak line. Several routes run through Florida but they go in a north-south direction.
The damaged tracks have been repaired and CSX says it has no objections. Low ridership before Katrina has Amtrak hesitating to restart this service. In 2004, this route carried 96,246 passengers, but the following year, 2005, only 81,000 people rode this train.
Amtrak is looking to consider a restart of the Pioneer route. Pocatello, Idaho, and Cheyenne, Wyo., is having Amtrak evaluate whether to restart service on three discontinued routes. One of those lines includes the former Pioneer Route that operated between Salt Lake City, Utah and Seattle, Wash., with stops in the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Oregon. Amtrak has started a search for a consultant as step in possible restoring the Pioneer Route. I don’t know why they should spend money for a consultant when cities along this route have requested service. In the spring of this year, the city council of Pocatello voted on a resolution pertaining to the support of returning Amtrak’s Pioneer. A city council member said students from both local universities could be a viable source of future ticket holders. He also said that Jackson and Yellowstone tourists, along with those wishing to ski, could use this transportation. Winter travel in the northwest is difficult. The addition of a passenger train will make winter travel in the northwest not only safer but more convenient. The resolution passed unanimously.
The city of Cheyenne, Wyo., is also interested in restoring the old Pioneer line. The Cheyenne mayor, the economic development group called Cheyenne Leads and the Cheyenne Area Convention and Visitors Bureau say they would prefer to see passenger trains downtown at the city’s historic Union Pacific Depot. Amtrak’s Pioneer did not actually stop in Cheyenne, but at an out of the way station on the prairie six miles southwest of town.
The Pioneer began service in June 1977 and was discontinued in May 1997. The train ran three times a week, which was a mistake. People want to ride the train daily.
The Passenger Rail Improvement Act of 2008 instructs Amtrak to examine the feasibility of restoring service to a number of discontinued long distance routes including the Pioneer. Amtrak had announced it would complete the study vy Oct. 16. We don’t have any later information on that study at this time.
Traveling with a family on the train is much easier than the stresses of car travel. There are activities for children on the train. Some trains have a game room for the kids, movies are shown, and the sightseer lounge car is a very popular place for the whole family. The snack car and diner will enhance their train experience.
I would recommend that a first experience on the train be a short trip. A train ride from Toledo to Chicago and return would be an excellent start and can be accomplished in one long day. The Capitol Ltd. leaves Toledo at 5:10 a.m. and arrives in Chicago four hours later. The evening train leaves Chicago at 7 p.m. central time, and arrives back in Toledo at 11:55 p.m. This gives you about 10 hours in downtown Chicago with plenty of time to see the Sears Tower, John Hancock building, Michigan Avenue shopping district, Grant Park, the Center for Science and Industry – which is all free – and have breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant only one block from Union Station. They are only open for breakfast and lunch but an excellent way to start your day in Chicago.
After the Chicago experience, I would suggest an overnight trip to Denver, Colo. There is plenty to see and do in the Denver area and public transportation is available or one could rent a car to go to the Air Force Museum, Pike’s Peak and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs area south of Denver, or Rocky Mountain National Park just a few miles west of Denver. This trip would be on the California Zephyr, which leaves Chicago in early afternoon with arrival in Denver around 8 a.m. the next morning.
This will give you an opportunity to enjoy a fine dinner in the diner in the evening, and if you so choose, a sleeper. However, with only one night, the coach seats do recline and are very comfortable. This trip will enable you to stop in St. Louis, cross the Mississippi River, cross Iowa and Kansas during the night. Some other suggested trips will be in a later article.