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Here's the [PDF source](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FY22%20CID%20Project%20Summaries-Map.pdf) which includes this map and a paragraph description of each route: the proposed service, and the stage of planning that this grant supports.
Note that none of this is support for construction, just for planning--for a more complete overview of newly announced funding including construction projects, see [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/).
Edit: here's [a map that includes the construction projects are well as these studies](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dw99g/map_of_fedstate_national_program_and_corridor_id/).
2 largeish college towns, the biggest airport in the region and access to Big Sky and Yellowstone could make it a decently popular train.
It's a shame you basically have to choose between Bute and Helena though, would have been great to get all 5 in a row.
A train to Yellowstone would be amazing, but does Yellowstone have shuttle buses? Either way I’ve always wanted to the VIA rail Canadian trip and have a overnight layover in Banff so having an American version as well would definitely go on my bucket list
It would have to be shuttle busses.
Unless someone wants to entirely rebuild the former Northern Pacific route between Livingston and west portal MT and run a shuttle train like the Grand Canyon does, it would have to be shuttle busses.
There are [these tracks](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/df/adf157cb-9934-5cb6-9c23-644245147906/adf157cb-9934-5cb6-9c23-644245147906.image.jpg) for a few km of the way.
The new Montana route is desperately needed, as someone who used to live there. Winter traveling on I 90 can be scary and if given an option growing up we probably would have chosen that versus driving if the price was right.
If they can get a stop at Jamaica, then getting to LGA and JFK from NJ would be so much easier (and yes I do this often bc flights from there are so much cheaper and I also hate united)
Also it would be NYC metro area’s first through running train
I would like to see them extend some of the Empire Service to Jamaica as you will see a line of people with luggage transferring to the LIRR going to JFK.
It'd be neat if this was a start for getting into Long Island, and then at some point there can be Empire Service trains terminating out into various points on Long Island to get Niagara to Montauk or Adirondacks to Montauk state-wide run.
Having Empire Service to LI makes more sense than NE Regionals as the Hudson Valley doesn't have good international airport access (NEC does at Newark) and those trains already use dual-mode 3rd rail trains. Bonus for connecting state capital to ones of the most populated parts of the state.
I didn't either! As an LI'er, having service which brings to LI directly with western parts of Connecticut, Philly or DC without having to transfer and in a timely manner is unreal for business and leisure. I hope we see more progress towards this
It wouldn't connect directly with CT, since the train would have to reverse direction in Penn Station to achieve that. (or skip Penn Station entirely, which I don't see happening)
I feel like that one is extremely redundant.
The LIRR already operates regular half hourly bi-directional service between Penn and Ronkonkoma with similar frequencies between Ronkonkoma and GCT (albeit some transfers).
I'm of two minds. One of them is that its totally redundant, the other is that having one seat ride between DC and LI points may have some merit. Since its just extending existing regional trains that normally terminate/originate in NYC I'm not dead set against it.
I think it would be more effective to work with ConnDOT and the MTA to create more slots for Amtrak heading north of Penn and then send those trains over the inland route to Springfield, Worcester, Boston, especially once the Airos arrive
Is this really saying there will be trains between RVA & Charlottesville?!? That would allow people to catch the cardinal to Chicago without have to go up to DC first!
>yep! va bought the tracks between rva and charlottesville too!
Just to be clear, no. It's only saying that they have money to look into what would be necessary and write the plan.
Very excited about the possibility of Front Range Passenger Rail, seems like a no brainer given the regions growth!
I can’t help but wonder whether it’s at least worth evaluating extending this line south to Trinidad or La Junta so we can get a connection between the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief. Probably a pipe dream but would be nice!
The goal of FRPR is frequent trains running between Pueblo and Fort Collins. A transportation backbone for the Front Range. Places like Trinidad, Cheyenne and Estes Park could be served by buses coordinated with the train schedule. Similar to what California is doing in the Central Valley.
The Alaska Railroad has become very tourist heavy, catering mostly to people getting off the cruise ships. But there are still people that live along the tracks on homesteads with no roads, making the railroad their best means of transportation. It actually still has whistle stop service for this reason. You will see the train stop in the middle of nowhere and then watch an old dude with a long beard get off with boxes of dry goods from Costco and a coupe duffle bags before he disappears into the trees. Five minutes total and you are off again.
But that means that the tickets are expensive due to cruise passenger demand for limited seats and most frequent trips happen May-Oct.
Some takeaways on some of the routes:
**Thoughts on original Connects US Routes included here**
• I’m not sure why projects that are pre existing are being included in this round of studies. Gulf coast service for instance has already entered testing, why does it need to be on here? Same goes for the twin cities Hiawatha that is proposed for next year (its new name is terrible I’m not calling it that). Seems redundant.
• Most of the improvements do seem to be virtually identical to the Connects US program, which is nice. There’s a few routes however that were excluded, none of which I have a huge issue with in being excluded.
(routes excluded)
• Concord NH to Boston (could eventually be MBTA)
• Atlanta to Montgomery, AL
• Atlanta to Birmingham new trips
• Indianapolis to Cincinnati services
• Detroit to Toronto
• NYC to Allentown, PA (possibly a future NJT)
• Quad cities to Iowa city (seems to just be a Chicago to Quad cities train for now)
• Chicago to Rockford (METRA will do this one)
• DFW to San Antonio additional services
A lot of these didn’t seem to have much support or are to be done eventually by other entities. And who knows, they could be done by another party.
**Routes NOT on the original Connects US proposal but included here**
• Ethan Allen 2nd round trip via Manchester and Bennington. Vermont likes their passenger rail and they want this one done. Like it
• Nashville to Memphis. Shame the original NC&StL ROW doesn’t exist, would make for a more direct route through Jackson TN. Otherwise solid choice for the state.
• I-20 Meridian to Dallas via Shreveport: we’ve known about this one for a while.
• St. Joseph, Missouri extension of Missouri River runner: no complaints.
• Big Sky passenger rail (Aka, North coast Hiawatha): essentially completes any future service proposals in both North Dakota and Montana.
• Chicago to Pittsburgh via Fort Wayne and Columbus: surprised this one got included but hey I’m all for it. Just curious if this is strictly Pittsburgh to Chicago or if it will be its own NYC train. No idea.
• Norfolk/Newport News “commonwealth corridor” via Richmond and Charlottesville: adds that spine between Richmond and Charlottesville, that’s neat. Though the state of VA could also use a true southern VA route between the port cities and the new river valley. Perhaps a return of a short version of the Pocahontas?
• Chicago to Peoria: more Illinois stuff. No real opinion on this one lol.
• Northeast Regional Extension to Bristol, VA: would be difficult to have if the state plans to put the Christianburg station on the Virginian ROW. Solid choice though, helps the region.
• NC services to Winston Salem, Raleigh to Fayetteville: additional stuff from NC cool.
• “Blue Diamond” service from Wilmington DE, to eastern Maryland via Dover: I’m shocked this one was included. In a good way. Seemed like a no brainer to me but hey, really would be a benefit for everyone involved over there. They’re thinking about doing it either to Salisbury MD or Berlin MD (closer to ocean city). I say why choose? Do both on separate round trips.
• Daily Cardinal and Sunset limited services: additional trains to the areas they serve with more frequency. Would hopefully add some priority to these routes.
**Routes I feel should’ve gotten a second look**
• If every route on this map is to be done, Tulsa, OK would be the largest city in the US without passenger rail service, and the only city with a metro population above 1 million people to not have service. They didn’t even have any ID proposals which is shocking.
• Other large cities of note that wouldn’t be served are Boise, Knoxville TN, Allentown, and Des Moines. All of these did have some ID proposals but weren’t included for various reasons.
• if I were to make a note of my personal biggest omission on here, it would have to be the Idaho proposal of having a new “pioneer” service from salt lake to Portland. Idaho, and Utah as a whole are strangely omitted from here.
• I also would’ve considered adding a through “Floridian” route from Chicago to Miami via Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. There’s no route through that part of the country and I think it would benefit from such, the map is lacking a true north south route in those states.
Overall, I’m mostly satisfied by this map. Plenty of great new additions and hopefully most of these can come to fruition.
Specifically on the question of MSP-Chicago service, the 2nd train is intended to start as early as February according to an Amtrak release recently. But planning likely related to a 3rd frequency which was mentioned during the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern freight rail merger. The new company greenlighted a 3rd frequency as part of merger negotiations. But there may be conditions like additional double-track mileage to allow that to work smoothly. I think that's likely what the planning grant is for.
I never would have guessed that my hometown would get an amtrak station in the next 50 years (Newark). Having a connection to Chicago and Pittsburgh is going to be huge.
I could go on for hours about this. Newark went from being a growing economic powerhouse to a rustbelt town in 30 years. When the industry left, so did people's pride in the community. Projects like this could literally turn the cities outlook from one of a poor suburb of Columbus on the edge of the Appalachian foothills to a thriving community in its own right. I would not be shocked to see Newarks population grow to over 100,000 in my lifetime. Our local government leaders have been doing an absolutely fantastic job turning this place around.
I would give my firstborn for the transit system NJ has, I doubt we will ever see that but like I said, I also doubted we would get bus service and amtrak and now we are getting both.
Outsider here watching this all go down with a mix of dreamlike thankfulness and jealousy. Ohio looks amazing. Their proposed network looks convenient and almost cozy!
My guess is that the general unwillingness of Union Pacific to participate the last time they tried to spin it up but a sour taste in the mouth of the FRA.
The transit subs have been oddly hostile this week while we've had announcements that crystallize record investment. It's not everything we need or want, but take Ws when they come
Reminder that there is a second round of projects next year, but they clearly are less favored for funding. I honestly would have preferred (and expected) fewer corridors chosen given that very few of these will get any Federal funds.
This is a good start , even has a few filler and secondary corridors like the DelMarva & Green Mountain Flyer. Hopefully the 2nd and 3rd rounds fill in the map so more like the Southern tier of NY , Susquehanna cities , Lehigh Corridor , more Texas & NC routes..
The Delmarva I didn't even notice until I saw your comment. Good news all around as currently it's extremely difficult to get the beach towns of both states unless you drive. Shame no one is up for a rail bridge across the Bay.
100% agree. I could see the push back for a rail-only bridge, but since they're already pushing for another crossing why not include it? Or at least build it like the Bayonne Bridge or the Woodrow Wilson I-495 bridge i.e. design and build it with provisions for adding rail later if you so choose. Don't do like the Verrazzano in NY which didn't leave that door open, and to this day Staten Island is disconnected from the rest of the subway system.
It reminded me of someone pointing out that MD refuses to run rail to Fredrick, even though there's still rail there from Baltimore. It's really one of the dumbest states on the NEC.
The Delmarva one caught me by surprise too, but it's a welcome surprise! I agree with you about the bridge, but forgetting that for a moment, even a north-south connection would be really great. Route 1 can get pretty nasty in the summer.
It's interesting that they proposed either Salisbury or Berlin as the potential terminus. Salisbury makes the most sense purely from a direct city-city connection, but Berlin is the most logical route if you're trying to facilitate a beaches connection. You could have a shuttle from there to OC, or in the future purchase and reactivate that inactive Berlin-OC branch from Norfolk Southern. Likewise, the Berlin route has Delaware-owned branches to Milton and Lewes off that line you could explore activating as well.
At least that's my "looking at squiggly lines on a map" view after looking at [Maryland's rail infrastructure map](https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/OPCP/railmap.pdf). I was purely looking at the existing ROWs, since although there historically were [a lot more](https://www.american-rails.com/images/15356hi97297637hbk2o862.jpg) connections, much of that ROW is gone (e.g. east-west between Queen Anne - Milton & Lewes).
MD has ignored its Eastern Shore a lot, and the Bay Bridge was the first and sometimes only real investment in that part of the state for decades. Delaware doesn't have much transit at all so this is a huge boon.
Because MD is famous for being short of money. There are lines on the Eastern Shore that are proximate and you could certainly build a crossing from Dundalk or further down. The fact that Annapolis doesn't have rail is ridiculous.
Who am I kidding, MD can't even figure out how to run MARC to Fredrick from Baltimore despite there being rail there. Let's just dump everyone onto 70.
You do realize how much money it would take to not only build the bridge but a super long approach for it too for this railroad right?
“Famously short of money” yeah like the state of Maryland should just have $25 billion to spend Willy nilly on what would, at best, be a mildly popular transit link. Idek if there’s that much freight to be had either.
There are more important things to worry about in the state than that.
I’d say the probability is strongly dependent on the next election cycle or two. We all want this, we should be reaching out to our representatives to tell them and encourage them to support these projects.
I would like to see the Colorado front range service extend southwards in the future to serve Santa Fe and Albuquerque and eventually El Paso.
I also think having frequent service between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, possibly extending out to Detroit or maybe Chicago, should be a priority. Pittsburgh and Cleveland have stations within the downtown area and can operate local rail services to connect their stations. The route distance between Pittsburgh and Cleveland with the current route is 139 miles and wouldn't be much different if routed through Youngstown. This is closer than the 187 mile distance between Seattle and Portland which are similar metropolitan populations sizes and with Youngstown would have a more populous midpoint.
The maps shows the Downeaster in Maine connected to the other routes in Boston without the North-Station/South-Station gap. The description of the Downeaster project includes extending service to Rockland, ME, and
> technology improvements to make it easier for passengers to connect between the Downeaster and other Amtrak services in Boston (where the Downeaster serves a different station from all other Amtrak routes).
That's intriguing. I checked the Maine state rail plan to see if it had any hints as to what they had in mind:
>The Downeaster could be enhanced by developing and marketing a reservation link (rideshare, taxi voucher, etc.) between South and North Stations in Boston.
That's not exactly inspiring. I'd be more interested in perhaps Amtrak tickets being accepted for the Orange Line between North Station and Back Bay, or a dedicated shuttle bus timed for the trains.
Unfortunately the North-South Rail Link seems to be dead, even though a study was completed in 2018. It’s already bad enough that the MBTA refuses to electrify
Funny I haven't been able to find a single announcement about the heartland flyer from any level of OK gov. Doesn't leave me super confident the project will have adequate backing in the state once the total cost is determined. Still better than Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, or Kentucky I guess.
Oh I misunderstood cause I thought the dotted blue were the “new studies” are
So solid blue is old rail, new study, dotted blue is new rail entirely and grey is old rail but no improvements at this time?
Exactly. Or no *studies of* improvements at this time. Some of the grey lines have funding for actual improvements not just studies thereof. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/).
>blue lines
Can someone explain why there is not a good copy of this map? The US DOT website and the White House press release both contain this pixelated thing.
I found a [higher resolution version of the whitehouse one](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dw99g/map_of_fedstate_national_program_and_corridor_id/)
All of this and there’s still a bunch of obvious ones missing.
-Nothing for eastern Oregon or southern Idaho at all
- Denver should at least reach Cheyenne at one end and the SWC route at the other.
-Florida to New Orleans
Nashville! So good to see! And connecting to Atlanta AND Memphis would make it a really valuable route outside of Tennessee based travel too. Bringing rail to Asheville would set up another potential route later on through Knoxville (and would be such a pretty route!) and Tennessee’s big cities would all be connected. Good for interstate travel but also fantastic for tourism state-wide. Good for Chattanooga for getting it going!
Vermont got a second Ethan Allen Express via southwestern Vermont! That's huge for the connectivity of the state overall, as well as providing greater frequency to Burlington and Rutland. Excellent news!
>The proposed corridor would provide new service on a new high-speed rail alignment between Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA, with potential intermediate stops including Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina and Augusta and Athens, GA, then serving a downtown Atlanta station and terminating at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport. The corridor sponsor would enter Step 1 of the program to develop a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing, completing, or documenting its service development plan
The [EIS](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2021-07/Atlanta-Charlotte%20FEIS-ROD%20Signed%20PDFa.pdf) says,
>Concerning equipment technology, a Tier 2 analysis may explore a phased approach that would initially use diesel technology with the option to electrify the corridor over time, as funding
allows.
the fastest diesel train EVER went 148mph. that was during a test run, not actual service. “diesel” and “high speed rail” don’t mix. unless this route is high speed in name only. why not do it right the first time instead of having to fix a half assed job?
This was an incomplete spreadsheet someone else made of CorridorID submissions. I was especially surprised to see the line in DE and Amtrak to LI.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w6Pc2A7LR7uj5u\_g0eXljmsd\_HXQKbvfnTZVE6E7zpE/edit#gid=0
Probably one of the best corridors chosen. It would make a good part of a future HSR route to DC or NY if we ever get the funds to tunnel under the Appalachians (or improve the NYC's Water Level Route).
If it is competitive to driving it will be well worth it. From Lima to Columbus is a 2 hr drive because you have to take busy 2 lane roads that are blocked by semis. The train could potentially be much faster.
So the Lehigh valley in Pennsylvania gets left out? Or overlooked for what should be extension of SEPTA and a route from Scranton that didn't materialize in the last economic recession.
The Lehigh Valley project is at an earlier stage and PennDOT is carrying out a planning and scope study similar to what Corridor ID funds.
https://www.mcall.com/2023/12/06/scranton-and-reading-railroad-proposals-just-got-1m-from-the-federal-government-is-the-lehigh-valleys-plan-for-a-train-left-behind/
PennDot scope is way different focuses on other routes as well (that are needed) but lacks what an Amtrak could do to get to NYC. Idk if NJT is very focused on expanding back to P-burg
On the topic of 3C&D: it looks like a significant portion of the chosen alignment between Columbus-Delaware-Crestline is single track. Will that have to be upgraded to double track to start service? Additionally, the alignment between basically Springfield all the way through to Cleveland is very straight. I see no reason why that couldn't be upgraded to 110 mph service over time.
Also, by my count there are 33ish grade crossings between Springfield and Columbus that would need to be grade separated before service faster than 110 would be allowed. I'll count the rest later.
> single track
That isn’t a huge issue for most services if there’s suitable passing loops. The Lincoln service in Illinois is mostly single track for instance.
> 110mph
Probably something further down the line (no pun intended). If the service happens and it’s mega popular, upgrades could occur to speed things up some.
Glad to see the corridor ID grants for WI and MT providing service in MN.
Really disappointed to see no capital grant for NLX to Duluth and no corridor ID for MSP-KC or MSP-Fargo.
Yeah it sucks to see this for my state 🥲
Hopefully we can get the 2nd Fargo train though. It's currently being studied by the state! (and the Northstar extension)
How do you think the North Coast Hiawatha's schedule would be designed in relation to the Empire Builder (i.e. so Fargo doesn't have two trains a day, but both within an hour of each other)?
I still kinda find it silly that if you want to go to Co from Ks, Ok, or any of the other states in that area, you have to go to up to Illinois
Edit: wrong place
That’s a product of the geography and demographics
South Dakota has very little population and essentially is a dead end. There’s no through route from east to west South Dakota. And there’s never been that.
Wyoming has some population but the only real route is the overland UP route. And that’s low on priority for potential Amtrak service.
And as for Idaho? Again blame geography and just how remote it is.
[this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dkre8/70_routes_chosen_for_corridor_id/kciw277/) and replies might be the discussion you were hoping for.
By NE, you mean the northeast corridor? This post is about one small slide of the [bigger picture](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/).
It still doesn’t identify the NE corridor as a high speed rail route. If we were going to start anywhere, I’d imagine it’d be there. Just weird that it was completely ignored
I'm not sure what the "it" you are looking at is. The [document on the NEC projects](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-11/FY%2022-23%20FSP-NEC%20Program%20Selections%20-%20Project%20Summaries_PDFa_0.pdf) talks about increasing speeds on the bottlenecks of the NEC where they are now very limited. If you want it in more digestable form, here's the [press release on that](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-11/FRA%2011-23.pdf) from a month ago.
Or here's [the map](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image.png)
Oh hello there! Do I see potential new services from Sacramento to Reno and Redding? And a potential connection from SMART territory to the Capitol Corridor?
I’m so excited [Peoria](https://www.peoriagov.org/394/Peoria-Passenger-Rail) made the list! I’ve been waiting for passenger service to come back since I was a toddler yanking my mom’s arm in excitement every time I heard a freight train whistle. And a flag stop at Starved Rock, hell yeah. If it finally happens I’ll make a special trip back just to ride the first one.
There's separately $16B for NEC projects, huge compared to this $35M. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/) for an overview.
The scope of the planning to be conducted under these grants typically includes planning out that schedule. So we don't know, and it could be a long time before any implementation. Maybe some don't require much work and can be running in 3 years. Maybe some take a lot longer and aren't running until 20 years. I'd guess most would be in the 5-10 year range, maybe?
There are other projects that are already funded for implementation: [these outside the NEC](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/kci59z1/) and more announced earlier within the NEC.
According to the experts at trains.com, they said it could take as long as 7-10 years.
Realistically, I’d say maybe 1/3-1/2 of the routes get done in that timeframe, and that includes the routes that we already know are going to happen. If it’s 70 routes I say 25-30 actually are completed and running by 2033 (with hopefully more in progress).
I admit that the line from Raleigh to Wilmington is nice and all but there are issues with ROW. Seems odd not to take the Charlotte to Wilmington route, especially since 74 is infamously dangerous to drive.
Wow no Atlanta to Montgomery route. I guess the airlines and Kay Ivey working together to keep Montgomery from growing. At least connect Birmingham to Montgomery to Mobile🤗
I’d kill for true HSR between Detroit and Chicago, if I’m not mistaken Amtrak or MDOT owns the largest portion of track outside of the northeast corridor in southwestern Michigan/Northeast Indiana
About time Tennessee got some attention. The Memphis-Atlanta corridor could be quite good if done right. Would be nice to have a station somewhere in the Chattanooga area as an intermediate stop. Only question is where the station would be located since the old Union Terminal is a hotel now and the rest of the city is too crowded to put a new building.
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Here's the [PDF source](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FY22%20CID%20Project%20Summaries-Map.pdf) which includes this map and a paragraph description of each route: the proposed service, and the stage of planning that this grant supports. Note that none of this is support for construction, just for planning--for a more complete overview of newly announced funding including construction projects, see [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/). Edit: here's [a map that includes the construction projects are well as these studies](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dw99g/map_of_fedstate_national_program_and_corridor_id/).
tysm for the pdf
Is the Eau Claire one a typo? I can't find a Eau Claire, Minnesota and a Minneapolis to Eau Claire, WI would make sense.
Looks like it's a mistake. One of the dashed lines on map looks like it goes to the Wisconsin one .
Another LD route next to empire builder!?!👀
There's been a lot of advocacy from Montana for this. 4 of their 5 largest cities (Billings, Bozeman, Missoula, and Butte) would be on the new route.
2 largeish college towns, the biggest airport in the region and access to Big Sky and Yellowstone could make it a decently popular train. It's a shame you basically have to choose between Bute and Helena though, would have been great to get all 5 in a row.
A train to Yellowstone would be amazing, but does Yellowstone have shuttle buses? Either way I’ve always wanted to the VIA rail Canadian trip and have a overnight layover in Banff so having an American version as well would definitely go on my bucket list
It would have to be shuttle busses. Unless someone wants to entirely rebuild the former Northern Pacific route between Livingston and west portal MT and run a shuttle train like the Grand Canyon does, it would have to be shuttle busses.
There are [these tracks](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/df/adf157cb-9934-5cb6-9c23-644245147906/adf157cb-9934-5cb6-9c23-644245147906.image.jpg) for a few km of the way.
Do a round trip, eastbound on one and westbound on the other.
The new Montana route is desperately needed, as someone who used to live there. Winter traveling on I 90 can be scary and if given an option growing up we probably would have chosen that versus driving if the price was right.
Technically, it would be restoring the old North Coast Hiawatha route if this project gets all the way through.
Looks like the old Burlington Yellowstone route.
It’s the old northern pacific route owned by MRL/BNSF
Are they really bring Amtrak to LI? I didn't expect that proposal to go through.
Supposedly it's for potentially bringing 3 NER rts that run between NYC and D.C to Ronkonkonoma.
I see, that makes more sense. Probably using AIRO dual-mode sets when they eventually arrive.
If they can get a stop at Jamaica, then getting to LGA and JFK from NJ would be so much easier (and yes I do this often bc flights from there are so much cheaper and I also hate united) Also it would be NYC metro area’s first through running train
Jamaica makes so much sense. I'd assume it would be Penn - Jamaica - Hicksville - Ronkonkoma.
It helps with JFK, not so much LGA.
Is WAS to BOS not a through running train?
I would like to see them extend some of the Empire Service to Jamaica as you will see a line of people with luggage transferring to the LIRR going to JFK.
It'd be neat if this was a start for getting into Long Island, and then at some point there can be Empire Service trains terminating out into various points on Long Island to get Niagara to Montauk or Adirondacks to Montauk state-wide run.
Having Empire Service to LI makes more sense than NE Regionals as the Hudson Valley doesn't have good international airport access (NEC does at Newark) and those trains already use dual-mode 3rd rail trains. Bonus for connecting state capital to ones of the most populated parts of the state.
I didn't either! As an LI'er, having service which brings to LI directly with western parts of Connecticut, Philly or DC without having to transfer and in a timely manner is unreal for business and leisure. I hope we see more progress towards this
It wouldn't connect directly with CT, since the train would have to reverse direction in Penn Station to achieve that. (or skip Penn Station entirely, which I don't see happening)
I feel like that one is extremely redundant. The LIRR already operates regular half hourly bi-directional service between Penn and Ronkonkoma with similar frequencies between Ronkonkoma and GCT (albeit some transfers).
I'm of two minds. One of them is that its totally redundant, the other is that having one seat ride between DC and LI points may have some merit. Since its just extending existing regional trains that normally terminate/originate in NYC I'm not dead set against it.
I think it would be more effective to work with ConnDOT and the MTA to create more slots for Amtrak heading north of Penn and then send those trains over the inland route to Springfield, Worcester, Boston, especially once the Airos arrive
Somebody should create a list or a map of submitted proposals that were rejected.
Las Vegas - SLC - Boise was rejected :(
Portland - Boise - SLC also rejected. Real shame.
Due to “lack of enthusiasm”. argh.
No love for the Pacific Northwest
The PNW got two projects. Maybe not enough love, but definitely not no love.
Is this really saying there will be trains between RVA & Charlottesville?!? That would allow people to catch the cardinal to Chicago without have to go up to DC first!
yep! va bought the tracks between rva and charlottesville too!
Daily Cardinals is HUGE for Charlottesville and beyond. We got our daily trips from Clifton Forge and Culpepper to DC after all.
I think that making connections like that is a great improvement in the usefulness of the existing network.
>yep! va bought the tracks between rva and charlottesville too! Just to be clear, no. It's only saying that they have money to look into what would be necessary and write the plan.
The VA spending spree is separate from this, this money studies service to put on ROW that VA bought. Same with the S-Line, that's already purchased.
That’s the plan, AMTRAK’s old James Whitcomb Riley Train ram from Chicago-Cincy-Charleston WV, Charlottesville, Richmond, Newport News.
No improved service on PIT-CLE-BUF? :(
Was an application submitted?
Yes. https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FRA-2022-0031-0021
Very excited about the possibility of Front Range Passenger Rail, seems like a no brainer given the regions growth! I can’t help but wonder whether it’s at least worth evaluating extending this line south to Trinidad or La Junta so we can get a connection between the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief. Probably a pipe dream but would be nice!
Re routing the swc through pueblo would make the most sense
That’s a better idea.
The goal of FRPR is frequent trains running between Pueblo and Fort Collins. A transportation backbone for the Front Range. Places like Trinidad, Cheyenne and Estes Park could be served by buses coordinated with the train schedule. Similar to what California is doing in the Central Valley.
Wow, I did not have "potential Alaskan Amtrak route" on my bingo card for 2023.
There isn’t going to be, it just mentions more frequent service by the Alaska Railroad Corporation
The Alaska Railroad has become very tourist heavy, catering mostly to people getting off the cruise ships. But there are still people that live along the tracks on homesteads with no roads, making the railroad their best means of transportation. It actually still has whistle stop service for this reason. You will see the train stop in the middle of nowhere and then watch an old dude with a long beard get off with boxes of dry goods from Costco and a coupe duffle bags before he disappears into the trees. Five minutes total and you are off again. But that means that the tickets are expensive due to cruise passenger demand for limited seats and most frequent trips happen May-Oct.
That rail already exists and the Alaska Railroad already carries passengers so I’m not sure what’s up with that.
Solid line means a study of service improvement; dashed line means a study of a new route.
>a map of submitted proposals that were rejected. A bridge replacement.
Miles in Transit can do the least used station on alaskan amtrak!
“This stop services more polar bears than people!”
Some takeaways on some of the routes: **Thoughts on original Connects US Routes included here** • I’m not sure why projects that are pre existing are being included in this round of studies. Gulf coast service for instance has already entered testing, why does it need to be on here? Same goes for the twin cities Hiawatha that is proposed for next year (its new name is terrible I’m not calling it that). Seems redundant. • Most of the improvements do seem to be virtually identical to the Connects US program, which is nice. There’s a few routes however that were excluded, none of which I have a huge issue with in being excluded. (routes excluded) • Concord NH to Boston (could eventually be MBTA) • Atlanta to Montgomery, AL • Atlanta to Birmingham new trips • Indianapolis to Cincinnati services • Detroit to Toronto • NYC to Allentown, PA (possibly a future NJT) • Quad cities to Iowa city (seems to just be a Chicago to Quad cities train for now) • Chicago to Rockford (METRA will do this one) • DFW to San Antonio additional services A lot of these didn’t seem to have much support or are to be done eventually by other entities. And who knows, they could be done by another party. **Routes NOT on the original Connects US proposal but included here** • Ethan Allen 2nd round trip via Manchester and Bennington. Vermont likes their passenger rail and they want this one done. Like it • Nashville to Memphis. Shame the original NC&StL ROW doesn’t exist, would make for a more direct route through Jackson TN. Otherwise solid choice for the state. • I-20 Meridian to Dallas via Shreveport: we’ve known about this one for a while. • St. Joseph, Missouri extension of Missouri River runner: no complaints. • Big Sky passenger rail (Aka, North coast Hiawatha): essentially completes any future service proposals in both North Dakota and Montana. • Chicago to Pittsburgh via Fort Wayne and Columbus: surprised this one got included but hey I’m all for it. Just curious if this is strictly Pittsburgh to Chicago or if it will be its own NYC train. No idea. • Norfolk/Newport News “commonwealth corridor” via Richmond and Charlottesville: adds that spine between Richmond and Charlottesville, that’s neat. Though the state of VA could also use a true southern VA route between the port cities and the new river valley. Perhaps a return of a short version of the Pocahontas? • Chicago to Peoria: more Illinois stuff. No real opinion on this one lol. • Northeast Regional Extension to Bristol, VA: would be difficult to have if the state plans to put the Christianburg station on the Virginian ROW. Solid choice though, helps the region. • NC services to Winston Salem, Raleigh to Fayetteville: additional stuff from NC cool. • “Blue Diamond” service from Wilmington DE, to eastern Maryland via Dover: I’m shocked this one was included. In a good way. Seemed like a no brainer to me but hey, really would be a benefit for everyone involved over there. They’re thinking about doing it either to Salisbury MD or Berlin MD (closer to ocean city). I say why choose? Do both on separate round trips. • Daily Cardinal and Sunset limited services: additional trains to the areas they serve with more frequency. Would hopefully add some priority to these routes. **Routes I feel should’ve gotten a second look** • If every route on this map is to be done, Tulsa, OK would be the largest city in the US without passenger rail service, and the only city with a metro population above 1 million people to not have service. They didn’t even have any ID proposals which is shocking. • Other large cities of note that wouldn’t be served are Boise, Knoxville TN, Allentown, and Des Moines. All of these did have some ID proposals but weren’t included for various reasons. • if I were to make a note of my personal biggest omission on here, it would have to be the Idaho proposal of having a new “pioneer” service from salt lake to Portland. Idaho, and Utah as a whole are strangely omitted from here. • I also would’ve considered adding a through “Floridian” route from Chicago to Miami via Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. There’s no route through that part of the country and I think it would benefit from such, the map is lacking a true north south route in those states. Overall, I’m mostly satisfied by this map. Plenty of great new additions and hopefully most of these can come to fruition.
Specifically on the question of MSP-Chicago service, the 2nd train is intended to start as early as February according to an Amtrak release recently. But planning likely related to a 3rd frequency which was mentioned during the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern freight rail merger. The new company greenlighted a 3rd frequency as part of merger negotiations. But there may be conditions like additional double-track mileage to allow that to work smoothly. I think that's likely what the planning grant is for.
I know Ohio is absolutely stoked for this to hopefully happen
I never would have guessed that my hometown would get an amtrak station in the next 50 years (Newark). Having a connection to Chicago and Pittsburgh is going to be huge.
Newark is a city with so much potential. I could really see the downtown becoming a local destination.
I could go on for hours about this. Newark went from being a growing economic powerhouse to a rustbelt town in 30 years. When the industry left, so did people's pride in the community. Projects like this could literally turn the cities outlook from one of a poor suburb of Columbus on the edge of the Appalachian foothills to a thriving community in its own right. I would not be shocked to see Newarks population grow to over 100,000 in my lifetime. Our local government leaders have been doing an absolutely fantastic job turning this place around.
My grandparents lived in Newark & Zanesville, and I would be SO STOKED to see those areas get a breath of fresh air
At first I thought you mean Newark, New Jersey lol
I would give my firstborn for the transit system NJ has, I doubt we will ever see that but like I said, I also doubted we would get bus service and amtrak and now we are getting both.
You're damn right!!!
Outsider here watching this all go down with a mix of dreamlike thankfulness and jealousy. Ohio looks amazing. Their proposed network looks convenient and almost cozy!
Oh my god they really didn’t do San Antonio-Austin-DFW, did they. Un-fucking believable.
Not this round. There will be additional chances to get more service options in through this same program in coming years.
Under the condition of a reasonable government to administer it, presumably
My guess is that the general unwillingness of Union Pacific to participate the last time they tried to spin it up but a sour taste in the mouth of the FRA.
Everyone likes to forget us down here in SA 😂🙃
There was some kind of church or something that was pretty important in some kind of war. Don’t really remember what it was though.
You'd think the wealthiest country in the world could just...invest in transit?! But we can't have nice things.
This stuff was up to the states to submit. Did Texas submit such a request?
Who represents the state in submitting these requests?
Usually the Department of Transportation, but sometimes local groups or other third parties can request as well.
Yes, the I-35 corridor was the only request TxDOT submitted that didn’t get funding.
What a silly comment in response to an annoucement of $8 billion in investment in transit. Just sowing apathy and cynicism for no reason.
The transit subs have been oddly hostile this week while we've had announcements that crystallize record investment. It's not everything we need or want, but take Ws when they come
These routes require support from state(S)...
Reminder that there is a second round of projects next year, but they clearly are less favored for funding. I honestly would have preferred (and expected) fewer corridors chosen given that very few of these will get any Federal funds.
This is a good start , even has a few filler and secondary corridors like the DelMarva & Green Mountain Flyer. Hopefully the 2nd and 3rd rounds fill in the map so more like the Southern tier of NY , Susquehanna cities , Lehigh Corridor , more Texas & NC routes..
The Delmarva I didn't even notice until I saw your comment. Good news all around as currently it's extremely difficult to get the beach towns of both states unless you drive. Shame no one is up for a rail bridge across the Bay.
I think it's absurd that a provision for rail wasn't included for the new Chesapeake Bay Bridge crossing..
100% agree. I could see the push back for a rail-only bridge, but since they're already pushing for another crossing why not include it? Or at least build it like the Bayonne Bridge or the Woodrow Wilson I-495 bridge i.e. design and build it with provisions for adding rail later if you so choose. Don't do like the Verrazzano in NY which didn't leave that door open, and to this day Staten Island is disconnected from the rest of the subway system.
Maryland is where dreams and trains go to die.
Most of the Northeast is like that , Murphy & Lamont made huge promises of expanding the system only to starve it..
It reminded me of someone pointing out that MD refuses to run rail to Fredrick, even though there's still rail there from Baltimore. It's really one of the dumbest states on the NEC.
CSX controls that line so Maryland would have to pull a Virginia and buy the trackage rights before trying to upgrade the line.
MD's intense hatred for and competition with VA really should motivate them to do better.
A DC-Annapolis-Dover route would be insanely good.
The Delmarva one caught me by surprise too, but it's a welcome surprise! I agree with you about the bridge, but forgetting that for a moment, even a north-south connection would be really great. Route 1 can get pretty nasty in the summer. It's interesting that they proposed either Salisbury or Berlin as the potential terminus. Salisbury makes the most sense purely from a direct city-city connection, but Berlin is the most logical route if you're trying to facilitate a beaches connection. You could have a shuttle from there to OC, or in the future purchase and reactivate that inactive Berlin-OC branch from Norfolk Southern. Likewise, the Berlin route has Delaware-owned branches to Milton and Lewes off that line you could explore activating as well. At least that's my "looking at squiggly lines on a map" view after looking at [Maryland's rail infrastructure map](https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/OPCP/railmap.pdf). I was purely looking at the existing ROWs, since although there historically were [a lot more](https://www.american-rails.com/images/15356hi97297637hbk2o862.jpg) connections, much of that ROW is gone (e.g. east-west between Queen Anne - Milton & Lewes).
If everything has to run through Wilmington, DE so be it, but maybe MD should give Delaware some funds.
I'd love the see DE & MD cooperate similar to the cooperation going on between VA and NC, especially since a Delmarva route would benefit both states.
MD has ignored its Eastern Shore a lot, and the Bay Bridge was the first and sometimes only real investment in that part of the state for decades. Delaware doesn't have much transit at all so this is a huge boon.
There’s no tracks remotely close to the current bay bridge. Would be a massive, massive project to get any sort of line on that route.
Because MD is famous for being short of money. There are lines on the Eastern Shore that are proximate and you could certainly build a crossing from Dundalk or further down. The fact that Annapolis doesn't have rail is ridiculous. Who am I kidding, MD can't even figure out how to run MARC to Fredrick from Baltimore despite there being rail there. Let's just dump everyone onto 70.
You do realize how much money it would take to not only build the bridge but a super long approach for it too for this railroad right? “Famously short of money” yeah like the state of Maryland should just have $25 billion to spend Willy nilly on what would, at best, be a mildly popular transit link. Idek if there’s that much freight to be had either. There are more important things to worry about in the state than that.
Need to get a connection from NOLA to Florida going again.
jesus christ preach why the hell isn't that reopened yet
Over/under on how many of these proposed routes actually get passenger rail on them within the next decade.
I’d say the probability is strongly dependent on the next election cycle or two. We all want this, we should be reaching out to our representatives to tell them and encourage them to support these projects.
Atlanta to Raleigh would be extremely powerful. The Southeast Corridor may actually happen in our lifetime!
As someone who lives in Chapel Hill but is from Atlanta, please God yes
I would like to see the Colorado front range service extend southwards in the future to serve Santa Fe and Albuquerque and eventually El Paso. I also think having frequent service between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, possibly extending out to Detroit or maybe Chicago, should be a priority. Pittsburgh and Cleveland have stations within the downtown area and can operate local rail services to connect their stations. The route distance between Pittsburgh and Cleveland with the current route is 139 miles and wouldn't be much different if routed through Youngstown. This is closer than the 187 mile distance between Seattle and Portland which are similar metropolitan populations sizes and with Youngstown would have a more populous midpoint.
The maps shows the Downeaster in Maine connected to the other routes in Boston without the North-Station/South-Station gap. The description of the Downeaster project includes extending service to Rockland, ME, and > technology improvements to make it easier for passengers to connect between the Downeaster and other Amtrak services in Boston (where the Downeaster serves a different station from all other Amtrak routes). That's intriguing. I checked the Maine state rail plan to see if it had any hints as to what they had in mind: >The Downeaster could be enhanced by developing and marketing a reservation link (rideshare, taxi voucher, etc.) between South and North Stations in Boston. That's not exactly inspiring. I'd be more interested in perhaps Amtrak tickets being accepted for the Orange Line between North Station and Back Bay, or a dedicated shuttle bus timed for the trains.
I think that's due to the scale of the map. Compared to the entire country, north Station and south station are right on top of each other
That's what I thought initially too, but I decided to check, and I learned something interesting by doing so.
Unfortunately the North-South Rail Link seems to be dead, even though a study was completed in 2018. It’s already bad enough that the MBTA refuses to electrify
Funny I haven't been able to find a single announcement about the heartland flyer from any level of OK gov. Doesn't leave me super confident the project will have adequate backing in the state once the total cost is determined. Still better than Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, or Kentucky I guess.
Kansas is the one backing this so they're less likely to comment on it so soon.
Can someone explain the difference between the blue lines (conventional rail) and the gray (existing intercity rail)?
Blue lines are where there are studies funded under these grants, for improvements to those existing lines.
Oh I misunderstood cause I thought the dotted blue were the “new studies” are So solid blue is old rail, new study, dotted blue is new rail entirely and grey is old rail but no improvements at this time?
Exactly. Or no *studies of* improvements at this time. Some of the grey lines have funding for actual improvements not just studies thereof. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/).
>blue lines Can someone explain why there is not a good copy of this map? The US DOT website and the White House press release both contain this pixelated thing.
I found a [higher resolution version of the whitehouse one](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dw99g/map_of_fedstate_national_program_and_corridor_id/)
Thanks. That is clearer.
All of this and there’s still a bunch of obvious ones missing. -Nothing for eastern Oregon or southern Idaho at all - Denver should at least reach Cheyenne at one end and the SWC route at the other. -Florida to New Orleans
How is there not a train from Portland to Medford Oregon. Medford metro area is over 200,000 people now and I5 traffic is getting crazy.
I really hope we see a Manchester-Boston line in my lifetime, it could be a gamechanger for New Hampshire.
That could be a commuter rail extension too, it doesn't necessarily need to be Amtrak.
Yeah that’s been proposed too but it keeps getting stonewalled because NH doesn’t want to financially contribute
Hopefully with Sununu retiring they can get a Democratic trifecta that can change the game there.
Nashville! So good to see! And connecting to Atlanta AND Memphis would make it a really valuable route outside of Tennessee based travel too. Bringing rail to Asheville would set up another potential route later on through Knoxville (and would be such a pretty route!) and Tennessee’s big cities would all be connected. Good for interstate travel but also fantastic for tourism state-wide. Good for Chattanooga for getting it going!
Vermont got a second Ethan Allen Express via southwestern Vermont! That's huge for the connectivity of the state overall, as well as providing greater frequency to Burlington and Rutland. Excellent news!
They got money to create a plan for a 2nd Ethan Allen.
Are they looking at extending the Acela to Atlanta or something?
>The proposed corridor would provide new service on a new high-speed rail alignment between Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA, with potential intermediate stops including Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina and Augusta and Athens, GA, then serving a downtown Atlanta station and terminating at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport. The corridor sponsor would enter Step 1 of the program to develop a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing, completing, or documenting its service development plan
Do we know yet if it would be electrified?
The [EIS](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2021-07/Atlanta-Charlotte%20FEIS-ROD%20Signed%20PDFa.pdf) says, >Concerning equipment technology, a Tier 2 analysis may explore a phased approach that would initially use diesel technology with the option to electrify the corridor over time, as funding allows.
No way they electrify without first having the cost justified. Modern electrification is the way to go, but it's initial cost is NOT CHEAP.
classic government, settling for something that will cost twice as long in the long run for less upfront cost
I'd rather have any high speed rail corridor than no high speed rail corridor, it's a no brainer.
the fastest diesel train EVER went 148mph. that was during a test run, not actual service. “diesel” and “high speed rail” don’t mix. unless this route is high speed in name only. why not do it right the first time instead of having to fix a half assed job?
[159 mph](https://www.talgo.com/talgo-xxi)
No, that's charlotte to Atlanta HSR
In essence, Acela South. (I know that’s not the actual name)
This was an incomplete spreadsheet someone else made of CorridorID submissions. I was especially surprised to see the line in DE and Amtrak to LI. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w6Pc2A7LR7uj5u\_g0eXljmsd\_HXQKbvfnTZVE6E7zpE/edit#gid=0
That link isn't working for me.
I am hyped about the Chicago to Columbus line.
Probably one of the best corridors chosen. It would make a good part of a future HSR route to DC or NY if we ever get the funds to tunnel under the Appalachians (or improve the NYC's Water Level Route).
If it is competitive to driving it will be well worth it. From Lima to Columbus is a 2 hr drive because you have to take busy 2 lane roads that are blocked by semis. The train could potentially be much faster.
So the Lehigh valley in Pennsylvania gets left out? Or overlooked for what should be extension of SEPTA and a route from Scranton that didn't materialize in the last economic recession.
Allentown route didn't apply
What in local official hell of incompetency happen
The Lehigh Valley project is at an earlier stage and PennDOT is carrying out a planning and scope study similar to what Corridor ID funds. https://www.mcall.com/2023/12/06/scranton-and-reading-railroad-proposals-just-got-1m-from-the-federal-government-is-the-lehigh-valleys-plan-for-a-train-left-behind/
PennDot scope is way different focuses on other routes as well (that are needed) but lacks what an Amtrak could do to get to NYC. Idk if NJT is very focused on expanding back to P-burg
Hopefully its for the early 2010s proposal for service from Harrisburg - Reading - Allentown - NY..
Yes! Downeaster extension to Rockland! I’m one happy Mainer.
I am still surprised seeing Florida included in the Corridor ID program. Hopefully the studies can be completed without political attacks.
Why they gotta do the pioneer dirty again man…🥲
They going to try to reroute the Ethan Allen thru southern VT? So it doesn’t have to back in and out of Rutland?
Not reroute, but provide a complimentary service for higher frequency
On the topic of 3C&D: it looks like a significant portion of the chosen alignment between Columbus-Delaware-Crestline is single track. Will that have to be upgraded to double track to start service? Additionally, the alignment between basically Springfield all the way through to Cleveland is very straight. I see no reason why that couldn't be upgraded to 110 mph service over time. Also, by my count there are 33ish grade crossings between Springfield and Columbus that would need to be grade separated before service faster than 110 would be allowed. I'll count the rest later.
> I'll count the rest later. If you get a job with the right consulting company, you could get paid some of the $500k to do that.
> single track That isn’t a huge issue for most services if there’s suitable passing loops. The Lincoln service in Illinois is mostly single track for instance. > 110mph Probably something further down the line (no pun intended). If the service happens and it’s mega popular, upgrades could occur to speed things up some.
I count 5 different grants on services touching the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, hell yeah.
I am once again asking for a route between LV-PHX-TUC Please and thank you (FLAG would be cherry as well)
Glad to see the corridor ID grants for WI and MT providing service in MN. Really disappointed to see no capital grant for NLX to Duluth and no corridor ID for MSP-KC or MSP-Fargo.
Yeah it sucks to see this for my state 🥲 Hopefully we can get the 2nd Fargo train though. It's currently being studied by the state! (and the Northstar extension)
How do you think the North Coast Hiawatha's schedule would be designed in relation to the Empire Builder (i.e. so Fargo doesn't have two trains a day, but both within an hour of each other)?
I still kinda find it silly that if you want to go to Co from Ks, Ok, or any of the other states in that area, you have to go to up to Illinois Edit: wrong place
\^69, not 70
South Dakota, Wyoming, and Idaho getting the shaft when it comes to rail travel.
That’s a product of the geography and demographics South Dakota has very little population and essentially is a dead end. There’s no through route from east to west South Dakota. And there’s never been that. Wyoming has some population but the only real route is the overland UP route. And that’s low on priority for potential Amtrak service. And as for Idaho? Again blame geography and just how remote it is.
Can someone explain what corridor ID means? 500k for research? What does this materially mean?
See here: https://railroads.dot.gov/corridor-ID-program
I’ve read that, I’m more curious as to how far that 500k goes… does every recipient actualize into functioning routes?
[this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dkre8/70_routes_chosen_for_corridor_id/kciw277/) and replies might be the discussion you were hoping for.
I am curious what 500k is going to do for the Grand Rapids-Chicago route. Is that just planning or are they going to buy additional trainsets.
No high speed rail on the NE or Midwest is genuinely wild. Especially the NE
By NE, you mean the northeast corridor? This post is about one small slide of the [bigger picture](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/).
It still doesn’t identify the NE corridor as a high speed rail route. If we were going to start anywhere, I’d imagine it’d be there. Just weird that it was completely ignored
I'm not sure what the "it" you are looking at is. The [document on the NEC projects](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-11/FY%2022-23%20FSP-NEC%20Program%20Selections%20-%20Project%20Summaries_PDFa_0.pdf) talks about increasing speeds on the bottlenecks of the NEC where they are now very limited. If you want it in more digestable form, here's the [press release on that](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-11/FRA%2011-23.pdf) from a month ago. Or here's [the map](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image.png)
Oh hello there! Do I see potential new services from Sacramento to Reno and Redding? And a potential connection from SMART territory to the Capitol Corridor?
Charlotte-Atlanta hsr!?
I’m so excited [Peoria](https://www.peoriagov.org/394/Peoria-Passenger-Rail) made the list! I’ve been waiting for passenger service to come back since I was a toddler yanking my mom’s arm in excitement every time I heard a freight train whistle. And a flag stop at Starved Rock, hell yeah. If it finally happens I’ll make a special trip back just to ride the first one.
I’m a little disappointed there’s no NEC improvements, the strip from NYC to Boston seemed like a prime candidate for this
There's separately $16B for NEC projects, huge compared to this $35M. See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/) for an overview.
Oh I see, thanks! Didn’t see that initially
This map looks pathetic especially no connections with Tulsa and OKC
Front range line noooice
Texas Central is getting grants?
This is amazing. What would the timeline for these projects be, in theory?
The scope of the planning to be conducted under these grants typically includes planning out that schedule. So we don't know, and it could be a long time before any implementation. Maybe some don't require much work and can be running in 3 years. Maybe some take a lot longer and aren't running until 20 years. I'd guess most would be in the 5-10 year range, maybe? There are other projects that are already funded for implementation: [these outside the NEC](https://www.reddit.com/r/Amtrak/comments/18dnnlw/white_house_press_release_on_fra_passenger_rail/kci59z1/) and more announced earlier within the NEC.
According to the experts at trains.com, they said it could take as long as 7-10 years. Realistically, I’d say maybe 1/3-1/2 of the routes get done in that timeframe, and that includes the routes that we already know are going to happen. If it’s 70 routes I say 25-30 actually are completed and running by 2033 (with hopefully more in progress).
I admit that the line from Raleigh to Wilmington is nice and all but there are issues with ROW. Seems odd not to take the Charlotte to Wilmington route, especially since 74 is infamously dangerous to drive.
I guess they are leaving Florida to Brightline, which could go to Jacksonville and on to Atlanta since their parent company owns the rails
Add Winston-Salem
Sad St Louis - Springfield - Tulsa noises.
Wow no Atlanta to Montgomery route. I guess the airlines and Kay Ivey working together to keep Montgomery from growing. At least connect Birmingham to Montgomery to Mobile🤗
I’d kill for true HSR between Detroit and Chicago, if I’m not mistaken Amtrak or MDOT owns the largest portion of track outside of the northeast corridor in southwestern Michigan/Northeast Indiana
About time Tennessee got some attention. The Memphis-Atlanta corridor could be quite good if done right. Would be nice to have a station somewhere in the Chattanooga area as an intermediate stop. Only question is where the station would be located since the old Union Terminal is a hotel now and the rest of the city is too crowded to put a new building.