by David Benton
I tend to agree with Ron, it would be a shame to lose the SWC route in full, but if they can keep the same train miles , it could actually draw more riders.
The SWC could be made a daylite service from L.A to Flagstaff , arriving late evening in Flagstaff. I would continue it overnite to ALB. Bus connections from there to Newton and Denver. Connect to The Zephyr in Denver, To a CHicago -OKC train at Newton.
This would allow either a bus or connecting train to Los Vegas, the original Desert Wind left Los Vegas at 7.am , few would be awake after a nite on the town.
My proviso would be that the buses would have to be Amtrak Thruways exclusively , no shared Greyhound service style replacements.
You could end up with a more useful hub and spoke service in the west, the drawback been that some of the spokes will be buses.
The SWC could be made a daylite service from L.A to Flagstaff , arriving late evening in Flagstaff. I would continue it overnite to ALB. Bus connections from there to Newton and Denver. Connect to The Zephyr in Denver, To a CHicago -OKC train at Newton.
This would allow either a bus or connecting train to Los Vegas, the original Desert Wind left Los Vegas at 7.am , few would be awake after a nite on the town.
My proviso would be that the buses would have to be Amtrak Thruways exclusively , no shared Greyhound service style replacements.
You could end up with a more useful hub and spoke service in the west, the drawback been that some of the spokes will be buses.
Moderator worldwide railfan , Rail travel & trip reports
The only train trips I regret are the ones I didn't take.
The only train trips I regret are the ones I didn't take.