Update: Amtrak’s West Coast-New Orleans Service

In my June 11th post, I wrote about the proposal to increase Amtrak service between Los Angeles and New Orleans from three days a week to a daily train in each direction.

(Doing so will involve two trains and probably creating a new one in a complicated arrangement. For details, scroll down to that earlier post.)

A reader asked if Amtrak’s Board of Directors had actually approved the idea and, if so, did that mean the ball was now in Union Pacific’s court. I was not sure and therefore turned to one of the best sources I know, Ross Capon, president of NARP, the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Ross has confirmed that — yes, indeed — the Amtrak board gave its approval to have their management open discussions with Union Pacific with that increase in service the ultimate goal.

This is really a good news/bad news kind of thing. Good news because, after years of lethargy, it actually appears that Amtrak is seriously considering an increase in service. Bad news because UP is notorious for its hostility to passenger trains, the tangible evidence of that being a fairly consistent lack of cooperation with Amtrak. I personally have experienced some egregious and lengthy delays caused by UP dispatchers which left Amtrak conductors grinding their teeth and caused serious inconvenience to passengers.

Still, all that notwithstanding, this is definitely a positive step. Keep those fingers crossed.