FRA L-D Study Suggests Restored Routes

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which is looking toward adding more routes to the nation’s skeletal long-distance passenger train network, revealed the proposed new routes, many of which either ran before Amtrak was founded in 1971 or during Amtrak’s early days, or were discontinued at the time Amtrak took over intercity passenger trains, or even earlier.

The legislative considerations governing the study:
Serving Large and Small Communities.
Focus on Rural Communities.
Enhancing Connectivity.
Reflecting Public Engagement.

The list of routes just released constitutes the third phase of a four-phase program, the Route Identification phase. It is anticipated that the study group will suggest “Recommended Actions” during the coming spring. The FRA is accepting feedback at contactus@fralongdistancerailstudy.org., but only until March 8. All materials cited here can be found on the FRA study website. Read more.