Pioneer (train)

{{Short description|Former Amtrak train between Seattle and Chicago}}

{{Infobox rail service

| name = Pioneer

| logo =

| logo_width =

| image = Last Amtrak Pioneer at Green River (1), May 1997.jpg

| image_width = 330px

| caption = The final Pioneer at Green River, Wyoming in May 1997

| type = Inter-city rail

| status = Discontinued

| locale = Western United States

| first = {{start date|1977|06|07}}

| last = {{end date|1997|05|10}}

| operator =

| formeroperator = Amtrak

| ridership =

| start = Chicago, Illinois

| stops =

| end = Seattle, Washington

| distance = {{convert|2662|mi|km}}

| journeytime =

| frequency = Thrice weekly

| trainnumber = 25/26

| class =

First class (sleepers)
Reserved coach

| access =

| seating =

| sleeping =

Bedrooms
Roomettes

| autorack =

| catering =

Dining car
On-board cafe

| observation = Sightseer lounge

| entertainment=

| baggage =

| otherfacilities=

| stock = Superliners

| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg}}

| el =

| speed =

| owners =

| routenumber =

| map = {{Amtrak Pioneer}}

| map_state = collapsed

}}

The Pioneer was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran between Seattle and Chicago via Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver. Operating from 1977 to 1997, the Pioneer was the last passenger rail route to serve Wyoming, Southern Idaho, or Eastern Oregon.

Rail advocates have been pushing for restoration of the Pioneer, though in 2021 Amtrak omitted the route from its 15-year expansion vision.{{cite news |last1=Sowell |first1=John |title=Amtrak passenger train service through Boise ended in 1997. Could it make a comeback? |url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/traffic/article252757533.html |access-date=July 26, 2021 |work=Statesman |date=July 19, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Holmes |first1=Brian |title=Amtrak expansion would connect to more of the US, but not southern Idaho |url=https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/amtrak-expansion-would-connect-to-more-of-the-us-but-not-southern-idaho/277-29fcc16d-dcba-44c0-97a6-ff80448bd76a |access-date=July 26, 2021 |work=ktvb.com |date=April 2, 2021}}

History

File:City of Portland postcard Union Pacific Railroad.JPG trainset in 1939.]]

File:Amtrak Pioneer 1977 map.png

File:Pioneer at The Dalles station, Aug 1977.jpg

In the 1960s, prior to the creation of Amtrak, two Union Pacific Railroad streamliners provided service to Portland via Boise: the City of Portland (from Chicago) and the Portland Rose (from Kansas City). Amtrak did not retain either train in 1971—preferring the Empire Builder for Chicago–Pacific Northwest service—with the result that train travel between the Pacific Northwest and Denver required either going west to California or east to Chicago.

Amtrak sought to fill this gap in 1977 with the introduction of the Pioneer between Seattle and Salt Lake City.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l61YAAAAIBAJ&pg=4922%2C1561528 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |last=Smith |first=Tamera |title=Amtrak Pioneer rolls into S.L. |date=June 7, 1977 |page=B1}}{{cite web|url=http://history.amtrak.com/archives/i-amtrak-news-i-june-15-1977|title=Pioneer Inaugural Run Brings Out The People|work=Amtrak News 4 (11)|date=June 15, 1977|access-date=February 4, 2015|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016055802/http://history.amtrak.com/archives/i-amtrak-news-i-june-15-1977|url-status=dead}}

The all-coach train operated on a daily 24-hour schedule with connections available in Ogden, Utah with the Chicago–San Francisco San Francisco Zephyr. Meal service was provided in an on-board cafe, one of the then-new Amfleet dinettes. Coaches were reserved except between Portland and Seattle, where the Pioneer supplemented existing corridor service. In early 1977, Amtrak authorized approximately $500,000 to improve 13 stations along the route in Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. Work included installation of passenger shelters, platforms and rehabilitation of existing stations.{{cite web|url=http://history.amtrak.com/archives/i-amtrak-news-i-february-15-1977|title=New Route's Station Work Set|work=Amtrak News 4 (3)|date=February 15, 1977|access-date=March 6, 2015}}

Regular service began on June 7.{{cite journal | title=Inaugural Run Introduces Pioneer To Boise Route Cities | journal=Amtrak News | volume=4 | number=10 |date=June 1977 | url=http://history.amtrak.com/archives/i-amtrak-news-i-june-1-1977 | pages=1 | access-date=August 9, 2013}}{{cite web | title=National Train Timetables | url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19770622&item=0055 | date=June 22, 1977 | author=Amtrak | author-link=Amtrak }}

File:Arrivals-departures board inside Portland Union Station in Dec 1981.jpg in 1981, listing the Pioneer, among other trains]]

The Pioneer began exchanging a Seattle–Chicago through coach with the San Francisco Zephyr on April 26, 1981; this was supplemented by a through sleeping car on October 31, 1982. When the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad decided to join Amtrak in 1983, Amtrak renamed the San Francisco Zephyr to California Zephyr, shifted it south to the Moffat Tunnel Route, and changed its interchange point with the Pioneer from Ogden to Salt Lake City, the Pioneer's terminus.{{rp|143–144}}

On June 17, 1991, the Pioneer's terminus and California Zephyr interchange point was moved from Salt Lake City to Denver, its route was changed to use the Union Pacific's Overland Route in Wyoming (which had last seen service in 1983), and a bus was added between Salt Lake City and the Pioneer at Ogden. This change was made for two reasons:

The combined California Zephyr/Desert Wind/Pioneer consisted of 16 Superliner cars, the longest such train Amtrak had ever operated. Amtrak required at least four EMD F40PH locomotives to haul this behemoth between Chicago and the Moffat Tunnel Route between Denver and Salt Lake City. Splitting the Pioneer in Denver reduced the load along this segment.
The faster running time over the Overland Route allowed a more reasonable departure time from Seattle.

The Pioneer was reduced to thrice-weekly on November 4, 1993.{{rp|148–150}}

= Final months and demise =

In January 1997, Amtrak announced that the Pioneer would end May 10, 1997, when a Congressionally-funded mandate to keep it operating expired. States affected were given until March 15 to submit funding proposals to keep the train operating.{{cite journal | title=Amtrak's countdown to confusion | author=Johnston, Bob | journal=Trains |date=April 1997 | pages=16}} While visiting Pendleton, Oregon on February 22, Amtrak President Thomas M. Downs said the Pioneer could be converted to a coach-only Chicago–Portland mail-and-express train operating on an all-Union Pacific routing through Iowa and Wyoming (but missing Ogden) if interested states could provide about $4.8 million to fund the existing operation through that October when the new train could start.{{cite journal | title=Amtrak, in dire straits again, needs champions | author=Johnston, Bob | journal=Trains |date=May 1997 | pages=17}}

By the March 15 deadline, state funding had not been secured even though the requested funding package had been reduced. Instead of seeking $4.8 million, Amtrak asked the Oregon legislature for $2.9 million in loan guarantees, which would have resulted in triweekly service between Portland and Salt Lake City through the October startup of a daily mixed train carrying express freight and passengers between Chicago and Portland via Omaha, Cheyenne, and Ogden. Oregon refused to provide the loan guarantees because it found Amtrak's collateral (ex-Santa Fe Hi-Level cars) unacceptable.{{cite journal | title=Amtrak goes down to the wire on train-offs | author=Johnston, Bob | journal=Trains |date=June 1997 | pages=16}} On April 10, Union Pacific told Amtrak that the proposed express train would require $56 million in capital improvements.{{cite journal | title=Union Pacific, Amtrak at odds over Pioneer | author=Johnston, Bob | journal=Trains |date=July 1997 | pages=16–17}} On May 10, 1997, the Pioneer made its last run, as did the Desert Wind.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bPBHAAAAIBAJ&pg=4951%2C5229298 |work=Deseret News |location=(Salt Lake City, Utah) |last=Van Eyck |first=Zack |title=A classic rides the rails one last time |date=May 10, 1997 |page=A1}}{{cite journal | title=The Pioneer's last stand | author=Johnston, Bob | journal=Trains |date=August 1997 | pages=24–26}} It was reported in the December 1998 issue of Trains that a Chicago–Portland replacement for the Pioneer via Omaha and Cheyenne had been postponed.{{cite journal | title=Amtrak's mail-and-express balancing act | author=Johnston, Bob | journal=Trains |date=December 1998 | pages=27}}

The end of the Pioneer severed Wyoming from the national rail network, and also spelled the end of intercity rail service in the more populated portions of Idaho. To maintain service levels in the Seattle–Portland corridor, Amtrak instituted an additional corridor train between the two cities.

Equipment

File:Amtrak pioneer at la grande platforms.jpg

The original all-coach Pioneer had Amfleet coaches and a lounge. Amtrak added a Heritage Fleet sleeping car in 1978. With the start of through service with the San Francisco Zephyr in 1981 the Pioneer received bi-level Superliner coaches, but the single-level sleeping car and lounge remained until 1982, when the train went all-Superliner.{{rp|155}}

Proposed restoration

Supporters have advocated for the return of the Pioneer ever since its cancellation. In 2009, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said the route "should never have been closed in the first place."{{cite web |title=Senators Wyden and Crapo Say Amtrak Study Options Include Pioneer Route Through Oregon and Idaho |url=https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-wyden-and-crapo-say-amtrak-study-options-include-pioneer-route-through-oregon-and-idaho |website=Ron Wyden United States Senator for Oregon |access-date=July 26, 2021 |date=September 18, 2009}} Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho has also been credited as supporting the route's restoration for decades.

= 2009 study =

In accordance with the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 Amtrak evaluated the possibility of restoring service to the Pioneer and other discontinued long-distance routes. Amtrak considered four options for a restored Pioneer, all of which would have through service to Chicago via the California Zephyr:{{Cite web |last=Amtrak |author-link=Amtrak |date=October 16, 2009 |title=Pioneer Route Passenger Rail Study |url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249200496429&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment;filename=Amtrak_PioneerServiceStudy.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607003803/http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249200496429&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-disposition&blobheadervalue1=attachment;filename=Amtrak_PioneerServiceStudy.pdf |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |access-date=May 1, 2011}}

class="wikitable" !colspan=2\|Endpoints!!Route!!Estimated ridership!!Revenues!!Operating costs!!Operating loss!!Farebox recovery!!Capital costs
Salt Lake City	Seattle	Rio Grande Route	102,000	$11.6m	$36.6m	$25.0m	31.7%	$373.9m
Denver	Seattle	Overland Route	111,000	$13.1m	$46.2m	$33.1m	28.4%	$469.8m
Salt Lake City	Portland	Rio Grande Route	82,000	$7.6m	$35.9m	$28.3m	21.2%	$370.5m
Denver	Portland	Overland Route	95,000	$9.2m	$44.7m	$35.5m	20.6%	$484.8m

According to the study, the projected farebox recovery ratio was "significantly lower than the average fare box recovery for Amtrak long distance trains in FY2008 (51.8%). Fare box recovery for the two Seattle options (Options 1 and 2) is lower than all but one of Amtrak's 15 existing long distance routes, and the Portland options have a lower fare box recovery than any Amtrak long distance route." Amtrak projected lower ridership than in the mid-1990s owing to the proliferation of low-cost air travel between Seattle and Salt Lake City (particularly Southwest Airlines)

=Efforts in the 2020s=

In 2020, local rail advocates started an informal Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Working Group focused on restarting the Pioneer, North Coast Hiawatha, and other routes in the Northwestern United States. Partner organizations include the Rail Passengers Association and Transportation for America. The group calls on Congress to give it official status, create an interstate passenger rail commission, and allocate a percentage of new train funding to rural long-distance routes. This approach is modeled on the Gulf Coast Working Group and Southern Rail Commission, which are on track to restore Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile in 2022.{{cite web |title=Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Service Restoration |url=https://www.allaboardnorthwest.org/overview/ |website=www.allaboardnorthwest.org |access-date=July 26, 2021 |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118181407/https://www.allaboardnorthwest.org/overview/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Gorge Commission hears proposal to resume the Amtrak Pioneer |url=https://gorgenewscenter.com/2021/07/13/gorge-commission-hears-proposal-to-resume-the-amtrak-pioneer/ |publisher=Gorge Country Media |access-date=July 26, 2021 |date=July 13, 2021}} On June 8, 2021, the Boise City Council passed a resolution in support of restoring the Pioneer, using similar language to the working group's.{{cite web |title=A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF RESTORING PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE, KNOWN AS THE PIONEER, FROM PORTLAND TO SALT LAKE CITY WITH A STOP AT THE BOISE DEPOT; ADVOCATING FOR A FRAMEWORK TO SUPPORT SUCH AN EFFORT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. |url=http://boisecityid.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?MeetingID=3923&ID=16168 |publisher=City of Boise Idaho |access-date=July 26, 2021}}

In March 2021, Amtrak released a 15-year "Amtrak Connects Us" expansion plan proposing over 30 new routes.{{cite web |title=Statement from Amtrak CEO on President Biden's American Jobs Plan |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2021/03/statement-from-amtrak-ceo-on-president-bidens-american-jobs-plan/ |website=Amtrak Media Center |publisher=Amtrak |access-date=July 26, 2021 |date=March 31, 2021}} The plan focuses on urban corridors, drawing some criticism for omitting long-distance routes, including the Pioneer. Long-distance expansion is complicated by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008—which limits Amtrak routes longer than {{convert|750|mi|km}} to only those that existed in 2008—such that an Act of Congress may be required to enable full restoration of the Pioneer.{{cite news |last1=Alan |first1=David |title=Amtrak 2035 Map: Hopes and Challenges |url=https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/amtrak-2035-map-hopes-and-challenges/ |access-date=July 26, 2021 |work=Railway Age |date=April 9, 2021}}

In June 2021, Senator Jon Tester of Montana added an amendment to the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021 which would require the Department of Transportation (not Amtrak itself) to evaluate the restoration of discontinued long-distance routes including the Pioneer.{{cite news |last1=Kidston |first1=Martin |title=Montana's passenger rail authority poised for boost from Tester transportation amendment |url=https://missoulacurrent.com/business/2021/06/passenger-rail-amendment/ |access-date=July 27, 2021 |work=Missoula Current |date=June 23, 2021}} The bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee with bipartisan support,{{cite web |date=June 16, 2021 |title=Key Policy Victories in Senate Rail Title |url=https://www.railpassengers.org/happening-now/news/blog/key-policy-victories-in-senate-rail-title/ |access-date=July 27, 2021 |website=www.railpassengers.org |publisher=Rail Passengers Association |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Luczak |first1=Marybeth |date=June 17, 2021 |title=Senate Commerce Committee's Bipartisan $78B Surface Transportation Bill Advances |url=https://www.railwayage.com/news/senate-commerce-committees-bipartisan-78b-surface-transportation-bill-advances/ |access-date=July 27, 2021 |work=Railway Age}} and was later rolled into President Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was passed into law in November 2021.{{cite web |date=November 8, 2021 |title=What's in the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA)? |url=https://www.railpassengers.org/happening-now/news/blog/whats-in-the-investment-in-infrastructure-and-jobs-act-iija/ |access-date=November 11, 2021 |website=www.railpassengers.org |publisher=Rail Passengers Association |language=en}} The report must be delivered to Congress within two years.{{cite web |title=Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act |url=https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr3684/BILLS-117hr3684enr.pdf |access-date=November 11, 2021 |pages=285–256}} The law also provides $2.4 billion in new funds to Amtrak's long-distance route network.{{cite news |last1=Kidston |first1=Martin |date=November 10, 2021 |title=Infrastructure bill boosts regional effort to restore passenger rail to southern MT |url=https://www.ktvh.com/news/montana-news/infrastructure-bill-boosts-regional-effort-to-restore-passenger-rail-to-southern-mt |access-date=November 16, 2021 |work=KTVH |language=en}}

On October 28, 2022, the FRA announced the beginning of the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study as required by the IIJA. Its purpose is to evaluate the restoration and addition of discontinued and new long-distance passenger services, as well as the upgrading of tri-weekly long-distance services (the Sunset Limited and the Cardinal) to daily operation. The criteria for either restoring or creating new long-distance routes are that they connect large and small communities as part of a "regional rail network", provide economic and social well-being for rural areas, provide "enhanced connectivity" for the existing long-distance passenger trains, and reflect the support and engagement of the locals and region for restored long-distance passenger service.{{cite web |title=Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study |url=https://fralongdistancerailstudy.org/ |website=fralongdistancerailstudy.org |access-date=November 1, 2022}} These criteria include the Pioneer, among other trains. The study will take place through 2023, and will engage with stakeholders, the rail companies, and communities as it "evaluates how to better connect people with long-distance rail services".{{cite web |title=FRA launches passenger long-distance study site |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/fra-launches-passenger-long-distance-study-site/ |website=Trains.com |access-date=November 1, 2022}}

==Boise–Salt Lake City route==

In 2022, the IIJA enabled the Federal Railroad Administration to launch the Corridor ID Program, a system to develop new passenger rail services.{{cite news |last1=Luczak |first1=Marybeth |title=FRA Launches Corridor ID Program |url=https://www.railwayage.com/regulatory/fra-launches-corridor-id-program/ |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=Railway Age |date=May 13, 2022}} Under the program, regional officials have proposed a new train route between Boise and Salt Lake City.{{cite news |last1=Prentice |first1=George |title=Boise may lure Amtrak back – with a lot of help from Salt Lake City |url=https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/news/2022-09-26/train-pioneer-line-federal-rail-administration |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=Boise State Public Radio |date=September 26, 2022 |language=en}} The Pioneer was the last train service between these cities, covering the {{convert|404|mi|adj=on}} route in about 7.5 hours in 1991.{{cite web |title=National Timetable Spring/Summer 1991 |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19910407n&item=0034 |website=The Museum of Railway Timetables |publisher=Amtrak |access-date=September 28, 2022 |date=April 7, 1991| page=34}} Development of this route is additional to the full Pioneer restoration study.