Fort Worth - Dallas - Atlanta, GA proposed route

Trains Magazine Passenger
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I have no idea. I can’t even interest anyone in my neighborhood in the route. Most of the folks here are resettled from Midwest. We have a chunk from Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans. Some interest in the Casinos in Shreveport but most would rather drive or take a bus than a once a day train. Of all the stops on the route Shreveport, LA would be the biggest draw depending on timing of train. The popularity of Dallas to Atlanta by air I think has more to do with Atlanta being a hub for Delta then Atlanta being a final destination.

My guess as I said before is it patches a hole in Amtraks reservations system when some of the other trains get full, this route opens up some new alternate routings…though most of them are dog leg routings, some people do not care.

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35 municipalities, 48 online counties, and many local and state organizations, businesses and politicians have joined the two heavy hitters: the Southern Rail Commission for the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and the I-20 Corridor Council for the state of Texas. The I-20 Corridor Council has Amtrak, TXDOT, Union Pacific, and the many local organizations behind it. The Southern Rail Commission has such notables as the governors of each state, several US senators and representatives, mayors, 6 appointed delegates from each state, state DOTs, and many others.

Together in 2015, they requested that Amtrak do a feasibility study. This confidential report can be found on i-20corridorcouncil.com It found that a daily train from Meridian, MS to Fort Worth, TX and back would result in 107,000 annual passengers and would have a positive cash flow, meaning that no payments were required by the states.

The 531 mile schedule westward was Meridian 3:18 pm CT, Jackson 5:01, Vicksburg 5:55, Monroe, Ruston, Shreveport 9:22, Marshall 10:31, Longview 10:58, Mineola.11:49, Dallas 1:22 am, Fort Worth 2:34 am. The schedule eastward was Fort Worth 11:00 pm CT, Dallas 11:57 pm, Mineola 1:32 am, Longview 2:21, Marshall 3:08, Shreveport 4:17, Ruston, Monroe, Vicksburg 7:19, Jackson 8:13, Meridian 10:16. Note that stops at Monroe and Ruston were added later in 2017.

In looking at the ‘City of New Orleans’ schedule, it would appear that that the dogleg Dallas to/from New Orleans could be good. The dogleg Dallas to/from Memphis would require a wait. The dogleg Atlanta to Memphis could be good, but the dogleg Memphis to Atlanta looks bad. Doglegs Little Rock to/from New Orleans/Atlanta also look bad. San Antonio/Oklahoma eastward requires a wait, and westward to San Antonio/Oklahoma requires lodg