After 12 years, will Amtrak route return to southern Idaho? Amtrak hires consultant to study the costs of restoring passenger service through Idaho Idaho Statesman, April 20, 2009 BY: ERIKA BOLSTAD

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Joel Slagg of Boise remembers the delight of a journey on Amtrak's old Pioneer route, nearly every mile of it.

"You go along the Snake River, and you climb up through the Blue Mountains of Oregon, between Baker City and Pendleton," said Slagg, a 65-year-old retiree and railroad enthusiast.

"The track is miles away from the highway, so you're seeing country you don't see at all from a car," he said. "Then you get the pleasure of the trip down the Columbia Gorge. It takes a little longer than the car, but on the other hand, you get to relax in a nice seat, get a meal in the dining car and look at beautiful scenery. It's a really nice way to travel."

If the Pioneer were to ever return? "I'd be on the first train, probably," Slagg said.

Statesman file An Amtrak train arrives at the Boise Depot on Dec. 27, 1983.

For the first time since the Chicago-to-Seattle train ended 12 years ago, there's hope for the return of the Pioneer. Amtrak has seen six continuous years of passenger growth, and with high gasoline prices and a decline in airline service to mid- and smaller-sized cities, there's renewed interest in passenger train service in rural America, including southern Idaho.

"We would sure like to see it happen," said David Johnson, vice president of the Washington D.C.-based National Association of Railroad Passengers. "The public opinion is certainly there, for more and better service to more Americans, in cities like Boise. It serves a lot of remote areas that have no other access to public transportation."

More importantly, though, rail travel is politically fashionable again. Vice President Joe Biden, known to train buffs as "Amtrak Joe" for his longtime Washington-to-Delaware commuter habit, announced a plan last week with the president to spend $8 billion on developing high-speed rail corridors.

That money, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is in addition to $1.3 billion for Amtrak's immediate maintenance needs that are in the same economic stimulus package.

Separate from the Recovery Act, Amtrak has hired a consultant to study how much it would cost to restore the Pioneer route, which in its heyday ran from Chicago to Seattle, with stops in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, southern Idaho, northern Oregon and western Washington. Amtrak also is looking at reviving the North Coast Hiawatha across southern Montana, and restoring service from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Fla.

"It's not only coming from the vice president's office, but there's strong push nationwide," said Sen. Mike Crapo, R- Idaho, who along with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was responsible for prodding Amtrak into studying the old Pioneer route. "Idaho is ready for this."

There are obstacles, most notably the cost of operating the line, said Ron Kerr, who oversees passenger and freight rails for the Idaho Transportation Department.

"We're not there yet," cautioned Kerr. The year before the Pioneer line stopped running, Amtrak estimates it lost $20 million. Some railroad experts, such as Johnson, said they believe that's because the train only ran a few times a week, and that restoring it to daily service could be more profitable - or at least put the train in position to lose less money.

There's also a growing recognition that passenger rail doesn't make a profit anywhere in the world, Johnson said, and will have to be considered a public service worthy of substantial public investment to be a success.

Plus, the White House focus on high-speed rail corridors might actually benefit Idaho, Crapo said.

Rather than considering the expense of the Pioneer as a single line, Amtrak has pledged to look at the route as part of an overall national rail system. And that means they'll be looking at getting people to those high-speed corridors from more traditional routes, such as the Pioneer, Crapo said.

"Idahoans would then have a viable option for travel in the Intermountain West," Crapo said. "It could be a meaningful part of accessing other transportation - they could use rail traffic to get to the hubs."

Until recently, Amtrak has long had a chronic shortage of equipment and a maintenance backlog that has made it nearly impossible to add a new route. Amtrak will be using some of the $1.3 billion in economic stimulus money to repair and return to service 70 damaged passenger cars.

Putting the extra cars back in service might actually help the case for the Pioneer, said Pat Lynch, an Arkansan who follows transportation news on his blog, Trains for America. More cars available might mean Amtrak actually has the equipment needed to add the Pioneer route, Lynch said.

Amtrak will submit its findings at the end of October. Its consultant, J.L. Patterson and Assoc. of Orange, Calif., will be looking at the conditions of the stations and tracks along the old route. Communities along the proposed route have to be supportive as well, said Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham.

"In this case, it's whether it makes good business sense for Amtrak, whether there's ridership," Graham said.

In Boise, the city is ready for the return of rail, said John Brunelle, who heads up economic development for the mayor's office. The city has owned the Boise Depot since 1996 and has reserved space in it for Amtrak to use if the Pioneer route ever returns. The depot also figures into the city's long-term vision for a commuter rail system connecting communities in Ada and Canyon counties.

The city also owns about 18 miles of track to the east of Boise, a line that branches off from the main line that the Pioneer would use.

That line, which was set to be abandoned by Union Pacific before the city bought it in 2000, was purchased so that the Pioneer would have a way to come into Downtown Boise if Amtrak ever restored the route.

The city of Boise is committed to rail, Brunelle said.

"We know we can't control it," he said, "but if we can raise our hands and cheer to get it back here, we'll do that."