Lack of Des Moines-Osceola Bus

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Anderson

Engineer
Joined
Nov 16, 2010
Messages
10,427
Location
Virginia
I'm just wondering why there's no Thruway connection from Osceola to Des Moines, and why no connection was considered in the Zephyr PIP. As it stands, there's a decent amount of Des Moines traffic that comes and goes at Osceola (you often get 30 people boarding and disembarking...that's nothing to sneeze at), but there's no reliable link short of hiring a cab or calling a limousine (that is, a car-and-driver) service, which can get very expensive.

Des Moines is big enough that I would think they could sell close to a full bus worth of seats if there were one on offer (and even at less than that, bus operations can be cheap enough that you'd cover the bus cost with a low load factor). The main reason I can see this not being done is that the Zephyr is crowded enough as it is, and there's no good way to accommodate the extra ridership (i.e. this would wreak havoc with load factors).
 
Between Jefferson Bus Lines from DM to Osceola and Burlington Trailways from DM to Ottumwa you can make most, but not quite all of the coming/going connections, although it is certainly not as good as a thruway service. I do think a van type thruway could probably make a profit between Des Moines and Osceola, since it would wait no matter how late the train. Of course the best would be to have a train right to Des Moines. We were very close to this being a reality under the last governor but the current administration has been quite a bit cooler to even accepting federal funding to continue the CHI-Quad Cities line IL is paying for to continue through IA City and then to DM. I think that such a train could make nice connections with the CZ at Omaha early morning EB and late night WB- giving Des Moines travelers direct access to both CHI/East Coast destinations and DEN/West Coast.
 
coachseats said:
Between Jefferson Bus Lines from DM to Osceola and Burlington Trailways from DM to Ottumwa you can make most, but not quite all of the coming/going connections, although it is certainly not as good as a thruway service. I do think a van type thruway could probably make a profit between Des Moines and Osceola, since it would wait no matter how late the train. Of course the best would be to have a train right to Des Moines. We were very close to this being a reality under the last governor but the current administration has been quite a bit cooler to even accepting federal funding to continue the CHI-Quad Cities line IL is paying for to continue through IA City and then to DM. I think that such a train could make nice connections with the CZ at Omaha early morning EB and late night WB- giving Des Moines travelers direct access to both CHI/East Coast destinations and DEN/West Coast.
Click to expand...
Well, that assumes that the train is on time. Making the WB arrival on time in the winter can get a bit hairy, since every Christmas for the last three years, it's been a snowy wreck going out there. EB, it's an utter crapshot because of how long the route is (if your train gets delayed in Reno, you're probably up the creek, though at least then you have a few days to try and make arrangements).

Honestly, I think there's definitely a market for what you're saying on doing a Regional train to Omaha via Des Moines. Actually, I'm wondering if a Thruway from Davenport-Des Moines wouldn't also make sense in lieu of the rail connection for now (and acting as a stopgap for the next few years).
 
Anderson said:
Des Moines is big enough that I would think they could sell close to a full bus worth of seats if there were one on offer (and even at less than that, bus operations can be cheap enough that you'd cover the bus cost with a low load factor). The main reason I can see this not being done is that the Zephyr is crowded enough as it is, and there's no good way to accommodate the extra ridership (i.e. this would wreak havoc with load factors).
Click to expand...
I know that Chicago-Denver always sells out quickly, but I don't think that's a reason to not include a Thruway connection. If that were the case, I don't see why the PIP for the Crescent involves no less than 3 Thruway connections at Atlanta, which will mostly all help traffic north of Atlanta rather than south, and we all know that north of Atlanta is a huge capacity constraint for Amtrak.
 
johnny.menhennet said:
Anderson said:
Des Moines is big enough that I would think they could sell close to a full bus worth of seats if there were one on offer (and even at less than that, bus operations can be cheap enough that you'd cover the bus cost with a low load factor). The main reason I can see this not being done is that the Zephyr is crowded enough as it is, and there's no good way to accommodate the extra ridership (i.e. this would wreak havoc with load factors).
Click to expand...
I know that Chicago-Denver always sells out quickly, but I don't think that's a reason to not include a Thruway connection. If that were the case, I don't see why the PIP for the Crescent involves no less than 3 Thruway connections at Atlanta, which will mostly all help traffic north of Atlanta rather than south, and we all know that north of Atlanta is a huge capacity constraint for Amtrak.
Click to expand...
Yes, but Amtrak is planning to fiddle with equipment there as well (turning a few coaches at Atlanta, which will increase ATL-NYP capacity without needing new equipment). The same can be said with the Thruway suggestions for the Silver service: They have equipment. When it comes to Superliners, we're up against a hard cap for at least the next 3-5 years (based solely on order turnaround time), and probably closer to 6-8. On equipment alone, I'm yet again left wondering if Amtrak isn't going to have to return one of the Superliner trains to single-level service on equipment shortages alone.
 
You're absolutely right. If Amtrak wants to add any significant capacity to western Ld trains, they will have to make at least 1 single-level... My suggestion: Texas eagle/CoNO (since they share equipment)... There's not as much scenery and Amtrak's already making it a lower-class train by taking off a real diner, so you might as well. It's unfortunate that that's what it's come too
 
Anderson said:
Yes, but Amtrak is planning to fiddle with equipment there as well (turning a few coaches at Atlanta, which will increase ATL-NYP capacity without needing new equipment). The same can be said with the Thruway suggestions for the Silver service: They have equipment. When it comes to Superliners, we're up against a hard cap for at least the next 3-5 years (based solely on order turnaround time), and probably closer to 6-8. On equipment alone, I'm yet again left wondering if Amtrak isn't going to have to return one of the Superliner trains to single-level service on equipment shortages alone.
Click to expand...
NS is going to let them switch at Atlanta? There isn't a station track and they hold a busy mainline there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
zephyr17 said:
Anderson said:
Yes, but Amtrak is planning to fiddle with equipment there as well (turning a few coaches at Atlanta, which will increase ATL-NYP capacity without needing new equipment). The same can be said with the Thruway suggestions for the Silver service: They have equipment. When it comes to Superliners, we're up against a hard cap for at least the next 3-5 years (based solely on order turnaround time), and probably closer to 6-8. On equipment alone, I'm yet again left wondering if Amtrak isn't going to have to return one of the Superliner trains to single-level service on equipment shortages alone.
Click to expand...
NS is going to let them switch at Atlanta? There isn't a station track and they hold a busy mainline there.
Click to expand...
It's in the PIP for the Crescent...I think they're somehow able to pull a couple of cars off and move them.
 
Peter KG6LSE said:
As a Iowan and a past Ottumwa resident I too wish we had a few more "feeder" busses

EG as of now I am NOT able to ride the train as I am in Cedar falls now ..... :( ..

Peter
Click to expand...
Once Chicago-Dubuque service is started again, do you suppose that extending the ride via bus to Waterloo/Cedar Falls would float? On the downside is that they would arrive and depart in the "wee hours". On the plus side, both ways could be covered by one bus driver.
 
Going way back, prior to Amtrak, the CB&Q used to show Continental Trailways connections from their trains to Des Moines at Creston.....I don't believe there is any bus service on that route any longer. Jefferson used to have more schedules (4 a day) between Osceola and Des Moines than they do now. And Des Moines/Ottumwa was served by both Continental Trailways and Greyhound. Like passenger rail, long distance bus service is but a shadow of what it used to be...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top