December 16, 2023 - TRA Commentary - 

Business is good! Texans took back to riding trains in 2023, showing a marked increase in ridership compared to 2022.

Some 41,000 more riders were aboard Amtrak's Texas Eagle in the fiscal year that ended September 30th, with a gain of 16.2%. While 294,439 total passengers sounds like a solid gain, the daily service between San Antonio and Chicago has been limited by a lack of serviceable passenger cars.

Most days this year the Texas Eagle ran with a total of only four cars. That consist now runs two coaches, a downgraded microwaved-meal food service cafe car and one sleeping car on the overnight service, a skeleton of its former self. This has resulted in potential passengers being turned away when the reservation-required trains run full. 

In pre-Covid days the popular Texas Eagle was made up of at least 9 cars. That covered a minimum of three coach cars, a lounge car where snacks could be purchased, a full-service dining car, two sleeping cars, a transition-sleeper and a full baggage car. The lack of seats and sleeping accommodations has led to "sold out" notices on Amtrak.com. The lone sleeping car is also shared by long-haul Amtrak employees occupying what could be revenue producing rooms. 

To add insult to injury, coach passengers can no longer purchase a full meal in the food service car, now being relegated to choose from a short list of sandwiches and offerings from a window in the Cross Country Cafe, as it is named. The train used to be popular for cyclists to check their bikes in the baggage car but that is no longer available either. The downgraded Texas Eagle has been described as Amtrak's third world train or it's red-headed stepchild, compared to other trains in the national system. Still, people want to ride. An advance-purchase coach ticket between Dallas and Austin can be had for under $20.

The tri-weekly Sunset Limited, which runs along the I-10 corridor from Los Angeles to New Orleans through Texas also saw a ridership gain, but not as dramatic. Passenger count was up 4.6% for the year, limited by service only three days a week and also by a lack of equipment. 

The Heartland Flyer, which is a partnered service of the Oklahoma and Texas Department of Transportation, saw a spike of 14.8% in ridership. The one daily round-trip from Fort Worth and Gainesville to Oklahoma City and intermediate stops jumped from 63,052 passengers in 2022 to 72,379 this year. The Texas Department of Transportation, which pays for part of its upkeep, does not promote the train to increase ridership even further.  

In all three cases the trains run with equipment that was manufactured before most millennials were born and is at its end of its life span. 

Individual Texas station made impressive gains in ridership, as reported in an earlier Texas Rail Advocates post. Dallas jumped from 23,202 passengers in 2022 to 41,321 in 2023. Fort Worth saw an increase from 22,378 to 39,651 and Austin went from 15,509 to 27,508 riders. 

What's urgently needed is for the Amtrak board and executives at its Washington headquarters is to decide how to spend federal money that has been allocated for new long-distance equipment, and not sit on their hands, as has been the case. A long-delayed Request For Proposals (RFP) is overdue. To add insult to injury, rows of Superliner cars are still sitting at the Amtrak Beech Grove Shops near Indianapolis, waiting to be repaired and returned to service. Insiders say that the cars are being stripped to keep others in service, further delaying repairs. 

Unless Amtrak issues a procurement contract for new equipment, the aging passenger cars will slowly be removed, leaving passengers in Texas and across the nation, with fewer seats, fewer sleeping cars and more microwaved-meals onboard.

Photo credit: Texas Rail Advocates / Austin, Texas Amtrak Station on 12.12.2023