HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Pioneer'' was an
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
long-distance
passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
that ran between
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
and Chicago via
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
,
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...
, and
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
. Operating from 1977 to 1997, the ''Pioneer'' was the last passenger rail route to serve Wyoming,
Southern Idaho Southern Idaho is a generic geographical term roughly analogous with the areas of the U.S. state of Idaho located in the Mountain Time Zone. It particularly refers to the combined areas of the Boise metropolitan area, the Magic Valley and Eastern ...
, or
Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...
. Rail advocates have been pushing for restoration of the ''Pioneer'', though in 2021 Amtrak omitted the route from its 15-year expansion vision.


History

In the 1960s, prior to the creation of Amtrak, two
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor " bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is ...
s provided service to Portland via Boise: the '' City of Portland'' (from Chicago) and the '' Portland Rose'' (from Kansas City). Amtrak did not retain either train in 1971—preferring the ''
Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great No ...
'' for Chicago–
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
service—with the result that train travel between the Pacific Northwest and Denver required either going west to California or east to Chicago. Amtrak sought to fill this gap in 1977 with the introduction of the ''Pioneer'' between Seattle and Salt Lake City. The all-coach train operated on a daily 24-hour schedule with connections available in
Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...
with the Chicago–
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
''
San Francisco Zephyr The ''San Francisco Zephyr'' was an Amtrak passenger train that ran between Chicago and Oakland from June 1972 to July 1983. History From the start of Amtrak in spring 1971 until summer 1972, Amtrak service between Chicago and Oakland was provi ...
''. Meal service was provided in an on-board cafe, one of the then-new
Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An i ...
dinettes. Coaches were reserved except between Portland and Seattle, where the ''Pioneer'' supplemented existing corridor service. In early 1977, Amtrak authorized approximately $500,000 to improve 13 stations along the route in
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
, and
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. ...
. Work included installation of passenger shelters, platforms and rehabilitation of existing stations. Regular service began on June 7. The ''Pioneer'' began exchanging a Seattle–Chicago
through coach In rail terminology, a through coach is a passenger car (coach) that is re-marshalled during the course of its journey. It begins the journey attached to one train, and arrives at its destination attached to another train. Through coaches save t ...
with the ''San Francisco Zephyr'' on April 26, 1981; this was supplemented by a through sleeping car on October 31, 1982. When the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from D ...
decided to join Amtrak in 1983, Amtrak renamed the ''San Francisco Zephyr'' to ''
California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overa ...
'', shifted it south to the Moffat Tunnel Route, and changed its interchange point with the ''Pioneer'' from Ogden to Salt Lake City, the ''Pioneer's'' terminus. On June 17, 1991, the ''Pioneer's'' terminus and ''California Zephyr'' interchange point was moved from Salt Lake City to Denver, its route was changed to use the Union Pacific's Overland Route in Wyoming (which had last seen service in 1983), and a bus was added between Salt Lake City and the ''Pioneer'' at Ogden. This change was made for two reasons: * The combined ''California Zephyr''/''Desert Wind''/''Pioneer'' consisted of 16 Superliner cars, the longest such train Amtrak had ever operated. Amtrak required at least four
EMD F40PH The EMD F40PH is a four-axle B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in several variants from 1975 to 1992. Intended for use on Amtrak's short-haul passenger routes, it became the backbone of Amtrak's d ...
locomotives to haul this behemoth between Chicago and the Moffat Tunnel Route between Denver and Salt Lake City. Splitting the ''Pioneer'' in Denver reduced the load along this segment. * The faster running time over the Overland Route allowed a more reasonable departure time from Seattle. The ''Pioneer'' was reduced to thrice-weekly on November 4, 1993.


Final months and demise

In January 1997, Amtrak announced that the ''Pioneer'' would end May 10, 1997, when a Congressionally-funded mandate to keep it operating expired. States affected were given until March 15 to submit funding proposals to keep the train operating. While visiting
Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...
on February 22, Amtrak President Thomas M. Downs said the ''Pioneer'' could be converted to a coach-only Chicago–Portland mail-and-express train operating on an all-Union Pacific routing through Iowa and Wyoming (but missing Ogden) if interested states could provide about $4.8 million to fund the existing operation through that October when the new train could start. By the March 15 deadline, state funding had not been secured even though the requested funding package had been reduced. Instead of seeking $4.8 million, Amtrak asked the Oregon legislature for $2.9 million in loan guarantees, which would have resulted in triweekly service between Portland and Salt Lake City through the October startup of a daily mixed train carrying express freight and passengers between Chicago and Portland via Omaha, Cheyenne, and Ogden. Oregon refused to provide the loan guarantees because it found Amtrak's collateral (ex- Santa Fe Hi-Level cars) unacceptable. On April 10, Union Pacific told Amtrak that the proposed express train would require $56 million in capital improvements. On May 10, 1997, the ''Pioneer'' made its last run, as did the ''
Desert Wind The ''Desert Wind'' was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran from 1979 to 1997. It operated from Chicago to Los Angeles as a section of the ''California Zephyr'', serving Los Angeles via Salt Lake City; Ogden, Utah; and Las Vegas. ...
''. It was reported in the December 1998 issue of ''
Trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often kno ...
'' that a Chicago–Portland replacement for the Pioneer via Omaha and Cheyenne had been postponed. The end of the ''Pioneer'' severed Wyoming from the national rail network, and also spelled the end of intercity rail service in the more populated portions of Idaho. To maintain service levels in the Seattle–Portland corridor, Amtrak instituted an additional corridor train between the two cities.


Equipment

The original all-coach ''Pioneer'' had
Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An i ...
coaches and a lounge. Amtrak added a
Heritage Fleet Amtrak's Heritage Fleet consisted of the rolling stock provided to it when it assumed passenger service on commercial railroads. The name was applied to a program begun in 1977 to convert the older, mainly streamlined, cars from steam heating t ...
sleeping car in 1978. With the start of through service with the ''San Francisco Zephyr'' in 1981 the ''Pioneer'' received bi-level Superliner coaches, but the single-level sleeping car and lounge remained until 1982, when the train went all-Superliner.


Proposed restoration

Supporters have advocated for the return of the ''Pioneer'' ever since its cancellation. In 2009, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said the route "should never have been closed in the first place." Senator
Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo previously served as the U.S. repre ...
of Idaho has also been credited as supporting the route's restoration for decades.


2009 study

In accordance with the
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (orinally , passed as division B of ) is a law that reauthorized Amtrak and authorized the United States Department of Transportation to provide grants for operating costs and capital expens ...
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 The farebox recovery ratio (also called fare recovery ratio, fare recovery rate or other terms) of a passenger transportation system is the fraction of operating expenses which are met by the fares paid by passengers. It is computed by dividing ...
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 Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...
).


Efforts in the 2020s

In 2020, local rail advocates started an informal Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Working Group focused on restarting the ''Pioneer'', ''
North Coast Hiawatha The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. Operating from 1971 to 1979, the train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's ''North Coast Limit ...
'', and other routes in the
Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyomin ...
. Partner organizations include the Rail Passengers Association and Transportation for America. The group calls on
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
to give it official status, create an interstate passenger rail commission, and allocate a percentage of new train funding to rural long-distance routes. This approach is modeled on the Gulf Coast Working Group and Southern Rail Commission, which are on track to restore Amtrak service between
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Mobile in 2022. On June 8, 2021, the
Boise City Council The Boise City Council is the governing body of the City of Boise, Idaho. The council is composed of six members elected at-large for four-year terms. Three of the six seats are elected in November every odd-numbered year. Regular council meetings ...
passed a resolution in support of restoring the ''Pioneer'', using similar language to the working group's. In March 2021, Amtrak released a 15-year "Amtrak Connects Us" expansion plan proposing over 30 new routes. The plan focuses on urban corridors, drawing some criticism for omitting long-distance routes, including the ''Pioneer''. Long-distance expansion is complicated by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008—which limits Amtrak routes longer than to only those that existed in 2008—such that an
Act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both hous ...
may be required to enable full restoration of the ''Pioneer''. In June 2021, Senator
Jon Tester Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressio ...
of
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colum ...
added an amendment to the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021 which would require the Department of Transportation (not Amtrak itself) to evaluate the restoration of discontinued long-distance routes including the ''Pioneer''. The bill passed the
Senate Commerce Committee The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...
with bipartisan support., and was later rolled into President Biden's
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and originally in the House as the INVEST in America ActH.R. 3684, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress ...
(IIJA), which was passed into law in November 2021. The report must be delivered to Congress within two years. The law also provides $2.4 billion in new funds to Amtrak's long-distance route network. On October 28, 2022, the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study was announced by the
Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...
. Its purpose is to evaluate the restoration and addition of discontinued and new long-distance passenger services, as well as the upgrading of tri-weekly long-distance services (the ''
Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...
'' and the ''
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
'') to daily operation. The criteria for either restoring or creating new long-distance routes are that they connect large and small communities as part of a "regional rail network", provide economic and social well-being for rural areas, provide "enhanced connectivity" for the existing long-distance passenger trains, and reflect the support and engagement of the locals and region for restored long-distance passenger service. These criteria include the ''Pioneer'', among other trains. The study will take place through 2023, and will engage with stakeholders, the rail companies, and communities as it "evaluates how to better connect people with long-distance rail services".


Boise–Salt Lake City route

In 2022, the IIJA enabled the
Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...
to launch the Corridor ID Program, a system to develop new passenger rail services. Under the program, regional officials have proposed a new train route between Boise and Salt Lake City. The ''Pioneer'' was the last train service between these cities, covering the route in about 7.5 hours in 1991. Development of this route is additional to the full ''Pioneer'' restoration study.


See also

* ''
North Coast Hiawatha The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. Operating from 1971 to 1979, the train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's ''North Coast Limit ...
'' * ''
Desert Wind The ''Desert Wind'' was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran from 1979 to 1997. It operated from Chicago to Los Angeles as a section of the ''California Zephyr'', serving Los Angeles via Salt Lake City; Ogden, Utah; and Las Vegas. ...
''


References


External links


Waiting for the Pioneer
Presentation prepared by advocates for 2008 study. {{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Night trains of the United States Transportation in Seattle Railway services introduced in 1977 Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Iowa Passenger rail transportation in Nebraska Passenger rail transportation in Colorado Passenger rail transportation in Wyoming Passenger rail transportation in Utah Passenger rail transportation in Idaho Passenger rail transportation in Oregon Passenger rail transportation in Washington (state) Railway services discontinued in 1997 Former long distance Amtrak routes Proposed Amtrak routes