In the closing moments of the Biden Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration released its Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study Final Report, the purpose of which was to evaluate the restoration of daily intercity rail passenger service along any Amtrak long-distance (LD) routes that, as of the date of enactment of the IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021), were either discontinued or operate fewer than seven days a week. The legislation (IIJA Section 22214) stated that FRA may also evaluate potential new Amtrak LD routes, with specific attention provided to routes in service as of April 1971, Amtrak’s start-up, but subsequently were discontinued.
For potential new routes, IIJA directed FRA to consider whether new Amtrak LD routes would 1) “link and serve large and small communities as part of a regional rail network,” 2) “advance the economic and social well-being of rural areas of the United States,” 3) “provide enhanced connectivity to the national LD passenger rail system,” and 4) “reflect public engagement and local and regional support for restored passenger rail service.”
FRA said it used these considerations “to guide the Study’s analyses and select preferred route options for LD service restoration, enhancement, and expansion.” The agency conducted the Study from 2022 to 2024, completing the required analyses and conducting 24 regional working group meetings with stakeholders in 21 cities across the country. The Study, FRA noted, “received more than 50,000 stakeholder and public comments that indicated overwhelming support for LD services or passenger rail in general.” The Final Report and Appendices (download both below) “create a foundation for further planning of potential future long-distance services by developing or identifying 1) selected preferred route options for service restoration, enhancement, or expansion, 2) a prioritized inventory of certain capital project types, 3) estimated costs and public benefits, 4) recommendations for methods by which Amtrak could work with local communities and organizations to develop activities and programs to continuously improve public use of intercity passenger rail service along each route, and 5) potential federal and non-federal funding sources.”
“The network of selected preferred route options, if implemented, could provide passenger rail access to 39 million people that don’t currently have access to passenger rail, including 7 million people in rural communities,” FRA said. ”The network of selected preferred route options, which could serve 34 states, could also increase access to key destinations. FRA received comments from people across the country who would use these route options to visit family, connect to higher education and job opportunities, get medical treatment, see national parks, and travel to and from military bases and installations. Travelers with disabilities, travelers who are unable to drive, and travelers who are concerned about affordability also submitted comments supporting the network of selected preferred route options.”
The Final Report, FRA stated, “also recommends consideration of a new LD committee made up of key stakeholders from across the country (including host railroads, states and communities served by Amtrak LD routes, Amtrak, and FRA) that could serve as a forum for feedback and discussion related to current Amtrak LD service.”
Interestingly, FRA pointed out, “Based on IIJA requirements, the Study focused solely on new or restored Amtrak LD services and daily service on the two Amtrak long-distance routes that currently operate with less than daily frequencies (Cardinal and Sunset Limited). It does not include recommendations for restoration or enhancement of state-supported service, the Northeast Corridor (NEC), high-speed rail, or other types of passenger rail service. Beyond the required analyses of the Cardinal and Sunset Limited, this study does not consider service changes to existing Amtrak long-distance routes.” FRA explained that the Study is separate from other FRA programs, such as the Corridor Identification and Development Program.
“The selected preferred route options identified in this Study are conceptual,” FRA said. “They are not final recommendations for service, and would require additional review, resources and stakeholder collaboration … to refine projects, costs, funding sources and other key items needed for implementation. These additional analyses may identify different alignments and variations of the selected preferred route options. The Final Report recognizes the significant challenges in implementing the selected preferred route options, including, but not limited to, funding and governance of Amtrak LD service. Currently, there is no sustained financial support or program to construct or operate the selected preferred route options identified in the Final Report, although some of them may be eligible for additional planning funds through FRA’s Corridor Identification and Development Program.”
The Rail Passengers Association (RPA) said it “welcomed FRA’s long-awaited report to Congress … More than two years in the making, the report confirms a preliminary group of 15 routes worth moving on for additional study, with Houston to New York City topping the FRA priority list. Next highest was a Chicago-Miami connection that fulfills a lot of calls for restoring the Floridian. Apart from a daily Cardinal and Sunset, FRA’s report will assume the North Coast Hiawatha relaunch as a priority because it has already been advanced into the next development stage in FRA’s Corridor ID program.
“This report is exciting, bold, and potentially transformational,” said RPAPresident Jim Mathews. “Just as we said in the summer when the preliminary draft of the report was complete, we think FRA’s study is a great start, despite gaps in some of the analysis and recommendations. We need to do everything we can to ensure that Congress embraces its conclusions and sets the stage for multi-year commitments to growth. [However], the recommendations could take far too long to deliver real gains to Americans who have been waiting patiently for decades to see improvements. We need more short-term, practical route investments to show how it can be done quickly and well. That means doing a few routes now where it can make sense, along the lines of bringing back the Broadway Limited or connecting New Orleans to St. Louis.”
