Everything surrounding train travel is inherently slow, so it’s no surprise that a proposed route between New York City and Dallas has been more than 20 years in the making. But according to Travel and Leisure, it could actually happen in the near(ish) future.
Amtrak’s recently announced partnership with the Southern Rail Commission points to the possible extension of the I-20 Crescent line, which would add rail service between New York City, Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth. The recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created the opportunity to study possible expanded long-distance Amtrak service, in partnership with SRC.
“This has the potential to be the first new Amtrak service of its kind in more than 25 years and it would come in an area that has long been underserved by passenger rail,” said SRC Chairman Knox Ross. “Now that we have a way forward for new state-sponsored corridor service between New Orleans and Mobile, the I-20 route has been identified by the SRC as its next priority.”
So, what comes next? SRC and Amtrak apply for funding under the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership Program to prove a sufficient business case for the route. Should they succeed, Amtrak would partner with the SRC and others to seek federal capital and operating support to initiate the service.
Don’t expect to hop a train from Texas to New York anytime soon but, at the very least, we can hope it won’t be another 20 years until the I-20 route is finally complete.