List of major cities in U.S. lacking inter-city rail service

Several major cities and regional business centers in the continental United States lack Amtrak or some form of inter-city passenger rail service. Four of these metropolitan areas boast more than one million residents. However, some of these cities may be served by Thruway Motorcoach. Other than the service provided by the Alaska Railroad, there is no U.S. based passenger rail service outside of 46 of the contiguous states and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. There is no inter-city passenger rail service to the states of South Dakota or Wyoming. For purposes of this list, a city is considered served if it is within 30 miles of an Amtrak or other inter-city passenger rail station. A partial list of the cities with a population of over 100,000 that are not served by some form of inter-city rail service is as follows (in order by decreasing population of metropolitan area):[1][2]

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
City Metropolitan area population (2012 est.) Notes
Las Vegas, Nevada 2,000,759 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Desert Wind in 1997.
Columbus, Ohio 1,944,002 Lost service with the discontinuance of the National Limited in 1979.
Nashville, Tennessee 1,726,793 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Floridian in 1979.
Louisville, Kentucky 1,251,351 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Floridian in 1979; service restored from Chicago in 1999, lost again with the discontinuance of the Kentucky Cardinal in 2003.
Tulsa, Oklahoma 951,880 Largest metro that never had Amtrak service.
Knoxville, Tennessee 848,350 Never had Amtrak service.
Allentown–Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 827,171 Never had Amtrak service.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 815,298 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Southern Belle in 1969. New service from New Orleans has been studied and has support.[3]
McAllen, Texas 806,552 Never had Amtrak service.
Dayton, Ohio 800,792 Lost service with the discontinuance of the National Limited in 1979.
Colorado Springs, Colorado 668,353 Never had Amtrak service.
Boise, Idaho 637,896 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Pioneer in 1997.
Des Moines, Iowa 588,999 Never had Amtrak service. There are plans for a new service from Chicago to Des Moines and Omaha in the near future but there are no funds yet to go ahead with works.[4]
Augusta, Georgia 575,898 Never had Amtrak service.
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 563,631 Never had Amtrak service.
Youngstown, Ohio 558,206 Lost service in 2005 with the discontinuance of the Three Rivers
Chattanooga, Tennessee 537,889 Lost service with the discontinuance of the The Georgian in 1971.
Tri-Cities area (Kingsport/Johnson City/Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol, Virginia) 509,690 Never had Amtrak service.
Lexington, Kentucky 485,023 Never had Amtrak service.
Fayetteville, Arkansas 482,200 Never had Amtrak service.
Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana 447,193 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Southern Belle in 1969. Planned Amtrak service from Birmingham to Dallas/Fort Worth via Shreveport never materialized, service from the city to Dallas being studied by DOT.[5]
Springfield, Missouri 444,617 Never had Amtrak service.
Corpus Christi, Texas 437,109 Never had Amtrak service.
Asheville, North Carolina 432,406 Never had Amtrak service.
Huntsville, Alabama 430,734 Never had Amtrak service.
Brownsville, Texas 415,557 Never had Amtrak service.
Mobile, Alabama 413,936 Service of the Sunset Limited has been suspended between New Orleans and Orlando since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.
Manchester–Nashua, New Hampshire 402,922 Never had Amtrak service. Long distance service ended with 1965 termination of The Alouette.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 394,542 Never had Amtrak service.
Quad Cities area (Davenport/Bettendorf, Iowa, Rock Island/Moline, Illinois) 382,630 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Quad Cities Rocket in 1979. New service probable around 2016?.[6]
Peoria, Illinois 380,447 Experimental service between 1980 and 1981, called Prairie Marksman. New service being studied by Illinois DOT.[7]
Montgomery, Alabama 377,149 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Floridian in 1979; service restored between 1989 and 1995, when Gulf Breeze was discontinued.
Tallahassee, Florida 375,371 Service of the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans has been suspended since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.
Rockford, Illinois 346,009 Lost service in 1981 when the Black Hawk was discontinued. New service planned by 2016?.[8]
Evansville, Indiana 313,433 Never had Amtrak service.
Green Bay, Wisconsin 311,098 Lost service with the discontinuance of an unnamed remnant of the Peninsula 400 in 1971
Columbus, Georgia 310,531 Lost service with the discontinuance of the City of Miami in 1971.
Roanoke, Virginia 310,118 Lost service in 1979 when the Hilltopper was discontinued. Currently there are plans to restore service from the Northeast Corridor to the city by 2016.[9]
Lubbock, Texas 297,669 Never had Amtrak service.
Fort Smith, Arkansas 280,521 Never had Amtrak service.
Duluth, Minnesota 279,452 Lost service in 1985 when North Star was discontinued. There are plans to restore passenger service from St. Paul before 2020.[10]
Clarksville, Tennessee 274,342 Never had Amtrak service.
Gainesville, Florida 264,275 Never had Amtrak service.
Wilmington, North Carolina 263,429 Never had Amtrak service.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 261,761 Never had Amtrak service.
Laredo, Texas 259,172 Lost service in 1981 with the cancellation of the Inter-American.
Amarillo, Texas 257,578 Never had Amtrak service.
Binghamton, New York 251,725 Never had Amtrak service.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 237,251 South Dakota has never had Amtrak service.
College Station–Bryan, Texas 234,501 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Dallas-Houston section of the Texas Eagle in 1995.
Macon, Georgia 232,723 Never had Amtrak service.
Rochester, Minnesota 209,607 Never had Amtrak service.
Athens, Georgia 196,425 Never had Amtrak service.
Elmira-Corning, New York 187,820 Never had Amtrak service.
Joplin, Missouri 174,327 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Southern Belle in 1969.
Terre Haute, Indiana 170,943 Lost service with the discontinuance of the National Limited in 1979.
Monroe, Louisiana 170,053 Never had Amtrak service.
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 169,842 Never had Amtrak service.
Waterloo–Cedar Falls, Iowa 168,747 Lost service in 1971 when the Hawkeye was discontinued.
Abilene, Texas 166,963 Never had Amtrak service.
Billings, Montana 162,848 Lost service in 1979 when the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued.
Pueblo, Colorado 160,852 Never had Amtrak service. Preliminary studies to add Pueblo as stop on the Southwest Chief have been undertaken.[11]
Janesville, Wisconsin 160,418 Lost service in 2001 when the Lake Country Limited was discontinued.
Iowa City, Iowa 158,231 New service probable around 2016?.[12]
Albany, Georgia 157,308 Never had Amtrak service.
Williamsport, Pennsylvania 155,349 Never had Amtrak service.
Alexandria, Louisiana 153,922 Lost service with the discontinuance of the Southern Belle in 1969.
Bangor, Maine 153,746 Never had Amtrak service. Extension of Downeaster service studied.
Midland, Texas 151,662 Never had Amtrak service.
Ithaca - Cortland, New York 150,900 Never had Amtrak service.
Florence–Muscle Shoals, Alabama 146,988 Never had Amtrak service.
Wheeling, West Virginia 146,420 Never had Amtrak service.
St. George, Utah 144,809 Although no line (nor any railroad tracks) runs through, the city is connected to Amtrak by Thruway Motorcoach.
Traverse City, Michigan 144,411 Never had Amtrak service. New service under study.
Sioux City, Iowa 144,062 Lost service in 1971 when the Hawkeye was discontinued.
Rapid City, South Dakota 138,738 South Dakota has never been served by Amtrak.
Bismarck, North Dakota 120,060 Lost service in 1979 when the North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued.
Owensboro, Kentucky 116,020 Never had Amtrak service.
Brunswick, Georgia 112,370 Never had Amtrak service.
Waterbury, Connecticut 110,366 Never had Amtrak service.
Lowell, Massachusetts 108,335 Never had Amtrak service.
Bay City, Michigan 107,771 Never had Amtrak service.

In addition, the following cities are not directly served by inter-city rail service, but have a rail station within 30 miles of the city.

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
City Metropolitan area population (2012 est.) Notes
Phoenix, Arizona 4,329,534 Direct service ended in June 1996 after reroute of Amtrak's Sunset Limited. Service 30 miles to the south in Maricopa, Arizona, a nearby suburb.
Akron, Ohio 702,262 Direct service gained in 1998 with the rerouting of the Broadway Limited, then lost in 2005 with the discontinuance of the Three Rivers. Service 30 miles to the north at Cleveland, Ohio.
Wichita, Kansas 636,105 Lost direct service with the discontinuance of Amtrak's Lone Star in 1979. Service 25 miles to the north at Newton, Kansas. New direct service being studied with extension of Heartland Flyer to Kansas City or Newton.[13]
Madison, Wisconsin 620,778 Lost direct service in 1971 when the Milwaukee Road's Varsity and Sioux were discontinued. Service 28 miles to the northeast in Columbus, Wisconsin. New direct service between Madison and Chicago via Milwaukee was planned but Wisconsin governor Scott Walker rejected federal funding for the project.[14][15]
Ogden, Utah 612,441 Lost direct service in 1997 with the discontinuance of the Pioneer. Service 30 miles to the south in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Fort Wayne, Indiana 421,406 Lost direct service in 1990, when Broadway Limited rerouted. Service 25 miles to the north at Waterloo, Indiana.
Reading, Pennsylvania 413,491 Service 27 miles to the southwest at Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Columbia, Missouri 168,535 Service 25 miles to the southeast in Jefferson City, Missouri.
State College, Pennsylvania 153,990 Service 20 miles to the southeast in Lewistown, Pennsylvania.

Other cities are not served directly due to inconvenient water barriers:

Amtrak provides no service to Mexico. The closest Amtrak service to Mexico may be found at stations along the western portion of the Sunset Limited and southwestern portion of the Texas Eagle in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California; as well as the Pacific Surfliner service to Union Station in San Diego.

Phoenix, Arizona is served via Thruway Motorcoach from the Southwest Chief at Flagstaff, Arizona. The Sunset Limited stops three times a week at Maricopa, roughly 30 miles (48 km) south of the city; private taxis and the Maricopa MAX express bus are the only transportation from there to metro Phoenix, although MAX bus schedules do not coincide with Amtrak, which arrives during the night. Phoenix lost direct service in June 1996 after Southern Pacific (now part of the Union Pacific) threatened to abandon the line from Yuma.

Amtrak is currently studying rail lines formerly canceled that could renew service to some cities. Cities involved include Boise, Mobile, Tallahassee, the Quad Cities,[12][17] Billings, and Wichita.[18] Proposals for high-speed rail could also restore service for several cities. Both plans should reveal cities selected by 2010. Other services Amtrak intends on restoring include the Pioneer (serving Chicago-Seattle via the California Zephyr), the Black Hawk, the North Coast Hiawatha (serving Chicago-Seattle via the Empire Builder), and the New Orleans-Orlando segment of the Sunset Limited.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Metzger, Bill; Van Hattem, Matt; Richards, Curstis W. (May 2010), "Map of the Month: Amtrak: Now, then, and before", Trains, Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing, 70 (5), pp. 32–33, ISSN 0041-0934
  2. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 (CBSA-EST2012-01)". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 Aug 2013.
  3. ↑ "Advocates for proposed regional passenger rail system renew efforts". FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Iowa City favored for proposed new Amtrak route". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 1 Nov 2012. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  5. ↑ Richardson, Terri (2 Mar 2012). "TxDOT, AMTRAK kick off Dallas-to-Shreveport corridor study". The Marshall News Messenger. Marshall, Texas. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  6. ↑ Ketz, Jonathan (8 Nov 2012). "Amtrak line supposed to be built by 2015". Moline, Illinois: WQAD-TV. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  7. ↑ "Amtrak Considers Rail Service To Peoria". Chicago: WBBM-TV. 20 Apr 2011. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  8. ↑ "$223 Million Announced to Restore Chicago to Rockford Amtrak Service". Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  9. ↑ Martin, Aaron. "Amtrak's success in Lynchburg paving the way for Roanoke". Roanoke, Virginia: WSLS-TV. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  10. ↑ Kerr, Drew (18 Mar 2013). "High-speed train to Duluth clears hurdle". Finance & Commerce. Minneapolis. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  11. ↑ "Southwest Chief could be rerouted from rural Colorado in two years". Retrieved 9-6-2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  12. 1 2 Stephenson, Meg (18 April 2008). "Amtrak, DOT say 'yes' to rail service between Q-C, Iowa City". Quad-City Times. Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  13. ↑ Stearns, John (7 May 2013). "Wichita's Amtrak supporters plan announcement Friday". Wichata Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  14. ↑ Sandler, Larry (15 Jan 2012). "Wisconsin, Minnesota ponder expanding Amtrak service". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Walker wants Amtrak and road cuts". 30 Apr 2013. Retrieved 23 Aug 2013.
  16. ↑ "The Coast Daylight".
  17. ↑ Martyn, Chase (24 July 2009). "Amtrak could go to Quad Cities, Dubuque by 2011". The Iowa Independent. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  18. ↑ Wistrom, Brent D. (7 Jan 2010). "Study finds strong economic incentives for new Amtrak route through Kansas". KTKA. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved 5 Jul 2010.

Further reading

External links

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