Sunset Limited service was suspended between New Orleans and Jacksonville due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Amtrak plans to restore that service in the "near" future.
An interesting map. Montgomery service would be via the former A&WP/WofA, the route of the Crescent until about 1970 before it moved to an all SOU route via Birmingham. This is a busy CSX freight route, so there will be a lengthy fireworks show if negotiations commence. It looks like this train could also run north of Atlanta on the NS main, which is also very busy. Salisbury <=> Asheville service would be via the scenic "Loops" west of Old Fort on an NS route that carries minimal traffic today. This route last saw passenger service in 1975 with the Asheville Special operated by the SOU. There's been talk about restoring Asheville service for years. A dome will be an absolute must if this train hopes to attract ridership. One has to wonder where the equipment, motive power and staffing will come from to serve these routes, let alone the money for line enhancements like signaling, passing sidings and stations.
Wow. A lot of proposed new services. How many had Amtrak in the past, but lost it? I am surprised by the amount of time the Jacksonville-Mobile restoration has been dragging along. Railroad still objecting? Or other?
That's pretty interesting. Nashville to Atlanta and especially Chattanooga to Atlanta has been tossed around for quite sometime now. Wonder if it will really happen?
A good point, as is @BoxcabE50 's. I think some of the purpose in these announcements is to test public interest and generate voter support. But, yes, numerous routes have seen public "investment" and failure. Accolades are plentiful when services begin, but little is written when routes are dropped. The Gulf Breeze which briefly served Mongtomery via Birmingham and Mobile some years back is an example.
In June, 1996 Amtrak revived the Gulf Coast limited between New Orleans and Mobile. As I remember, it began with two cars. It became quite popular, so that by Christmas it was running five cars at 80-90% capacity. The week between Christmas and New Years CSX closed the section between New Orleans and Gulfport to repair the Rigolets Pass bridge. Amtrak stopped the train for that week. It restarted the day after New Years with five nearly empty cars. It was down to two nearly empty cars when Amtrak cancelled it in March. There had been no publicity or warning to the public of the closing which, I'm sure, both Amtrak and CSX were aware for many months before. New routes will be accepted and used. But, the public expects reliable service. Or it will be, Fool Me Once, Shame On You. Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me.
As I remember, Katrina was merely a convenient opportunity to suspend Sunset service east of NOL. Ridership was low between JAX and NOL for two reasons. The schedule was overnight in both directions, no views of Mobile Bay or the Gulf east of Pensacola. Also timekeeping was horrible because it was, and still is dark territory between Pensacola and JAX with only track warrants. However, CSX sold that section to the Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad in 2019. So, maybe FG&A will be glad to upgrade the line to passenger standards if Amtrak proposes reestablishing the Sunset, or extending the NOL/MOB train, considering the trackage right fees it would receive. <Fingers Crossed>
