By Justin Franz 

Billings to Denver, Portland to Boise, El Paso to Albuquerque. Those are just a few of the new routes found on a map recently produced by the Federal Railroad Administration of a dramatically expanded long-distance passenger train network. 

As part of 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the FRA was required to study the prospects of expanding Amtrak’s current long-distance network to cities that have either lost their service since the creation of Amtrak in 1971 or never had it to begin with. As part of that effort, the FRA hosted a series of workshops around the country this year, most recently in Cleveland, to gather input from stakeholders. During that meeting in Ohio, the FRA also shared a map of an “Enhanced Network.” 

The map shows the current long-distance network overlaid with potential new routes. Some of those routes are ones that Amtrak had early on but later lost, like the North Coast Hiawatha (the subject of a grassroots effort in Montana to revive) and the Pioneer. But some routes have never had service in the Amtrak era, such as between Billings and Denver, a route that was last served in the 1960s by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Shoshone.

Other notable city pairs that could be served by an expanded long-distance network include Flagstaff and Tucson, Ariz., Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and Atlanta and Savannah, Ga.

The FRA will eventually produce a report that is expected to suggest what would be the best routes to restore service and how those restorations might be achieved. Work is expected to continue on the effort through 2024. 

In a statement over the weekend, Amtrak officials said they are excited about the possibility of “strengthening and enhancing” its network, which is why the railroad is investing heavily in new locomotives and cars for the long-distance network. However, the railroad also said that a large expansion as suggested by the FRA’s map would require additional funding from the federal government. 

“We are an active participant in the FRA’s Long Distance Service Study process and look forward to seeing the results of the study,” said spokesperson Marc Magliari. “If the FRA’s study recommends expanding the long-distance network, it will require significant federal funding for infrastructure improvements, fleet and ongoing operating support. We stand ready to work with the FRA and Congress to identify available resources and to determine how to bring more trains to more people.”