Pioneer (train) - Possible Return

Possible Return

In accordance with the Passenger Rail Improvement Act of 2008 Amtrak evaluated the possibility of restoring service to the Pioneer and other discontinued long-distance routes. Amtrak considered four options for a restored Pioneer, all of which would have through service to Chicago via the California Zephyr:

According to the study the projected farebox recovery ratio was "significantly lower than the average fare box recovery for Amtrak long distance trains in FY2008 (51.8%). Fare box recovery for the two Seattle options (Options 1 and 2) is lower than all but one of Amtrak's 15 existing long distance routes, and the Portland options have a lower fare box recovery than any Amtrak long distance route." Amtrak projected lower ridership than in the mid-1990s owing to the proliferation of low-cost air travel between Seattle and Salt Lake City (particularly Southwest Airlines).

There are a least two caveats-differences--that would have to be made if the train were reinstated. One: Union Pacific has realigned the tracks at East Portland, at the east end of the Steel Bridge, so that there is no longer a direct connection between Union Station and UP's Sullivan's Gulch line, the Graham line along I-84. The train would have to do some extra switching and make a back-up move to access the route. Two: The track east of the Boise, Idaho, depot is out of service. Trains would have to bypass Boise, perhaps stopping at Nampa (for Boise passengers) and continuing on the present freight-only bypass.