In addition to the Sunset Limited beyond San Antonio, there are two other options for extensions, both within the Lone Star State: Brownsville via Corpus Christi [uP Corpus Christi and Brownsville Subs], and Laredo [uP Laredo Sub]. Both are in the State Rail Plan which has been around since 2005 or so, and revised along the way.
Yes...it is summarized in the PRIIA Section 210 FY10 Performance Improvement Plan
When someone finances it and subsidizes the operation.
I think the last round of negotiations (that we know of) were in 2011 and early 2012. The agreement that Amtrak reached with UP for shifting the SL schedule and not to ask UP for a daily SL for the next 2 years was signed and dated in February 2012. The two year period has obviously passed, so Amtrak presumably could ask UP to allow a daily SL, or more accurately, daily service over the SL route from NOL to LAX. Maybe Amtrak had had some discussions with UP, or maybe any proposals for daily service have been put on deep freeze in the latter portion of Boardman era. Don't know.
Unclear question.
The Hoosier State runs CHI-IND on the days the Cardinal doesn't. Could we run a similar train on portions of the SL on the days the SL doesn't run?
Even if Amtrak somehow had $750 million dollars available to spend it would have been an obscene waste of resources and dereliction of duty to hand it over to Union Pacific in exchange for a single schedule change for a single passenger route. That offer had no basis in reality and no relevance for doing any actual business. Looked more like an emotional outburst and intentional insult than anything else. So far as I can tell Union Pacific is unlikely to be a reasonable negotiating partner when it comes to new or improved passenger rail services on the long distance network. If you doubt me consider Union Pacific's insistence that long distance trains continue to be denied faster speeds over track that has undergone taxpayer funded improvements.
Who will pay for corridor service over portions of the SL route between New Orleans and San Antonio? Any such service would require state support, capital funding, and an operating subsidy. Louisiana is in the midst of a severe budget crisis thanks to former Gov. Jindal, the drop in oil prices, and is not a state with strong political support for passenger trains. While TX does chip for the Heartland Flyer, the Houston to San Antonio route is slow and getting state support would be a challenge.
The State of Indiana subsidizes the Hoosier State to run on the 4 days/week that the Cardinal does not run. There is nothing to stop an individual or collection of states and/or local governments from doing the same with the Sunset Limited. So the question then becomes which state or local government or collection of states and local governments do you feel is most likely to subsidize such a service (like Indiana does)?
