Future of Amtrak service in Florida?

Local news reported that in the new appropriations(?) bill, Congress will be dictating to Amtrak to study the reintroduction of the Sunset Limited from Jacksonville to New Orleans by 2020.  The Sunset Limited was canceled after Hurricane Katrina damaged the tracks through Mississippi.

I've wanted to take it to the West Coast for years and for it to be reinstated.  I guess I can wait a few more years.

Jan

I'll believe it when I see it.

Florida was a destination by rail when you had no other choice. The interstate system was late to come to Florida (for example, I-10 was still being built into the 70s) and now, it's easier to fly into Orlando or Miami, especially when you think most people coming into Florida come from much further away than 2-3 states. There's not much tourist-wise between the beaches of the Gulf and the Atlantic Coast south of Jacksonville (yeah, there's Saint Augustine, but not nearly as many go there as in generations past), so that's a long haul just to look at flat pine barrens and swamps. I know, because I was born and raised in that state and my parents still live in my childhood home in Leon County. Disney and Kennedy Space center is a really long haul through a bunch of nothing between...
The Sunset Limited died east of New Orleans for several reasons, and Katrina only played a small part. The main East of there is mostly single-track and looks like a heavy branch line and doesn't have any of the signalling upgrades mandated by Amtrak and the FRA. Nor does it look it's going to get that anytime soon. My wife and I visited my parents in the fall of 2011 for a week and our hotel was right alongside of the old SAL main. I heard ONE train the entire time. Weeds were growing over the tracks, as well. Things looked better when we went through there the next year, but I wouldn't bet Amtrak any time soon.
Even at the best of times, few took the service seriously. The train stopped in Tallahassee, for example, around 1 AM if memory serves. And that station is not in the best part of town! They also had no employees to speak of, with one 'hired volunteer' to man the station in the middle of the night (assuming it was even on time, delays of several hours were common). I don't recall rider stats, but few got on or off. Though both Florida State University and Florida A&M campuses each start just blocks from the station in each direction, hardly anyone from either school ever got on/off there. There was a huge fanfare when Amtrak service returned to North Florida, but ridership dropped off the face of the Earth right afterward. Frankly, I didn't blame Amtrak when they suspended the service indefinitely. The station still sits in Tallahassee, signage and all, just waiting for the day when people forget what a money pit that route really was...

Lee,

You are right,  The hurricane just made it easy.  Our nearest Amtrak station would be Crestview.  The station was small just like the town.  Service may not be restored to the town even if the Sunset Limited runs again.

Jan

I remember in the days before Amtrak, the Southern Pacific, in trying to discourage passenger travel so they could abandon the service, took not only the dinning car service but also sleeper service on the trains between Los Angeles and New Orleans.  Can you imagine, being stuck on a train for two days without any food nor any place to sleep?  The ICC was in charge at that time and they forced SP into bringing back some food service.

At the same time, many railroads had dropped their actual dining car service in favor of a bunch of coin operated vending machines.  It seems that maybe Amtrak is trying the same stunt down there in Florida

Paul Fischer

FEC is supportive to Amtrak but like any other company who wants to lose money year after year? The appeal of Amtrak's finances to FEC's CEO must not be that attractive for long term.

Amtrak did a test run on FEC tracks one time between 1996 and 2010, not sure what year, however an FEC freight engine lead the Amtrak train.

As for All Aboard Florida; many cities are trying to stop the train from running. Personally I feel that All Aboard Florida service is way overdue. Florida keeps growing and the roads can't handle all the cars plus there are many accidents on the roads everyday.

My concern is what about Ft. Meyers and Tampa? Would they get a connecting train? That would help take some more cars off the road.

Lee Fritz

Jan posted:

Lee,

You are right,  The hurricane just made it easy.  Our nearest Amtrak station would be Crestview.  The station was small just like the town.  Service may not be restored to the town even if the Sunset Limited runs again.

Jan, I am familiar with that Glorified flag-stop structure, but never saw a Amtrak train stopping there.

The Tallahassee depot, the nearest one to where I lived until 1998, is the oldest RR station in Florida as it was built before the Civil War. Amtrak only used a small portion of this and the platform and shelter was newly-built for the new Amtrak service, which lasted for what, just shy of 12 years?

As I'm sure you know, the Sunset Limited came through North Florida at odd times (and very rarely on time).

I was never able to see much on ridership to see exactly how much Amtrak was losing on the New Orleans/Jacksonville portion of the run.

At one time, you could by Amtrak swag from the Tallahassee depot if you happened to catch it when it was open (I knew the guy who ran the depot for a while, though) and I bought a Sunset Limited baseball cap, which I still have (but rarely wear anymore). Like many train fans in the area, I'd always intended to ride the train just for the experience but never did. I actually don't know anyone who ever rode it.

My wife and I, along with another couple, rode Amtrak from NYC back home to the Pacific NW in September (Metro to DC, Capitol Limited to Chicago, Empire Builder to Seattle, then the Cascades to the nearest station to our house). I'd never been on any Amtrak train for more than two hours before. It was a great experience and I was left wondering several times what a long-haul run on the Sunset Limited would have been like.

I can only assume it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun...