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Sierra Club releases Rail Transportation Statement

Earlier this month, Sierra Club released a statement regarding passenger and freight rail, and rail electrification. It aims to inform the public on how rail investments have benefits such as fighting climate change, increasing equitable mobility, and creating good jobs. It also includes recommendations on how to implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding for rail.

“This is more than just an update,” said Anne Macquarie, Co-Chair of the Nevada Rail Coalition and member of the Transportation Committee of the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter. “It is Sierra Club’s comprehensive re-visioning of the role rail  –  both passenger and freight – must play in a post-carbon economy.” Macquarie was on the team that wrote the statement.

The statement makes broad and specific recommendations for passenger rail, freight rail, rail labor and education, rail electrification, and federal railroad policy reform. It outlines how passenger rail should be fast and reliable enough to compete with cars, and convenient for all types of travel, not just commutes. For freight rail, it recommends investments that encourage safe, energy efficient, and cost-effective movement.

In order to support this, the statement asks the federal government to develop training programs to make sure railroad personnel are prepared the operate this improved rail network, to develop rail electrification programs with heavily-polluted trackside communities as a priority, and to implement a version of European fee-based rail rentals that allows equitable access to railroads for all types of movement.

“Partnerships and coalitions with (rail workers’) unions can amplify and enhance our work by providing political strength and hands-on knowledge of the freight and passenger rail industry,” concludes the statement in a section that outlines next steps for Sierra Club and its members. The Nevada Rail Coalition, of which Sierra Club is a member, brings together unions and environmental organizations with the purpose of building an expanded and more robust rail system.

“I hope our partner transportation activists – both within the Sierra Club and in other organizations – can make extensive use of it,” Macquarie said regarding the statement.

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Utah Seeks Funding to Study Restoration of Passenger Rail Between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas

Amtrak train coming out of the tunnel on Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada.
Image courtesy of Mark Lovgren Photography

Earlier this year, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) applied for a $500,000 grant through the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Corridor Identification and Development Program to study restoring passenger rail service between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

According to a UDOT presentation, the estimated travel time between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas would be between 7 and 9.5 hours each way, based on a former Amtrak line named Desert Wind. While the route is not finalized, it could use the existing rail lines in the corridor, the main one of which goes through Caliente, NV. The study could also include looking into bus or rail services between Cedar City, UT and Las Vegas, with proposed stations in Utah and one in Mesquite, NV.

The proposal refers to the study area as the “Desert Wind Corridor,” after Amtrak’s former rail line that connected Chicago to Los Angeles through Salt Lake City, Ogden, UT, and Las Vegas. The Desert Wind was discontinued on May 12, 1997 after budget cuts, days after the Salt Lake City to Boise line was also ended. Boise officials also applied for a grant to study restoring that service, in coordination with the Utah officials.

“Restoring this service would provide a lower-emission alternative to car and air travel between two major metropolitan areas, which both experience huge amounts of domestic and international tourism,” explained Vinny Spotleson, the volunteer Chair of Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter. “When combined with the Brightline West train under construction between southern California and Las Vegas, we are looking at rail service connecting the west in ways that will provide benefits to the entire region ahead of the 2028 Olympic games in Los Angeles. This would help our environment and help develop rural tourism in areas like Caliente which have amazing outdoor recreation opportunities.”

In a letter sent earlier this year to Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration, the Nevada Rail Coalition advocated for the restoration of the Desert Wind service.

“Las Vegas – Nevada’s largest city, home to 87% of the state’s population, and a destination for 38.8 million visitors annually – currently has no passenger rail service at all,” said Anne Macquarie, Co-chair of the Nevada Rail Coalition in the letter. “Restoration of the Desert Wind will provide key access to long-distance rail transportation for a growing, diverse population now critically unserved by passenger rail.”

UDOT also worked with Amtrak, the Utah Transit Authority and the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) on the proposal. NDOT provided a letter of support and helped acquire other support letters from Nevada elected officials and other partners. Officials stressed that there is no obligation to actually run the line after the study concludes.

The FRA program’s goal is to fund projects that “guide intercity passenger rail development” and encourage the development of “a pipeline of intercity passenger rail projects ready for implementation.” It was created out of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s rail improvement investments. The agencies expect a decision on the grant funding in September.

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Information and Coalition Letter on the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study

Photo of an Amtrak California train in Oakland.
Amtrak California train in Oakland. Photo: Anne Macquarie

In March, the Nevada Rail Coalition sent a letter to Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and their partners thanking them for taking on the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study. We also provided them with recommendations for the restoration of the Desert Wind route and improvements to the California Zephyr route.

The Desert Wind, an Amtrak line that used to connect Denver to Los Angeles through Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, was discontinued in 1997. Las Vegas’s population has grown from 392,074 in 1997 to 2.839 million in 2022 – that’s a 724% increase. Las Vegas is also completely unserved by passenger rail. Restoration of the Desert Wind would provide key access to long-distance rail transportation for a growing, diverse population in Las Vegas.

It would also serve rural towns in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. The FRA’s own research shows there is significant existing demand for services to and between rural communities in the intermountain west.

The daily California Zephyr route is designed to be a long-distance route, but it also provides critical transportation access to residents of small towns in northern Nevada that are underserved, if served at all, by public transportation. After Greyhound discontinued parallel services in 2018, Amtrak became the only public transport option connecting Elko, Winnemucca, and Reno.

In our letter, we requested the addition of two California Zephyr stops in Wendover and Lovelock, a shift to twice daily service, and commitment to the improvements outlined in Nevada’s State Rail Plan (Chapter 2, page 11). Although it is outside the scope of the study, we also asked the FRA/Amtrak to work with the relevant agencies to expedite the extension of California’s existing Capitol Corridor passenger train service to Reno.

Find out more and read our letter here.

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Nevada Rail Coalition comment on Amtrak long distance rail study

Read our article on the study here.

March 10, 2023

On behalf of the Nevada Rail Coalition, I want to thank and support the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak and its partners in taking on the crucial Amtrak Long Distance Service Study.

Established in 2021, the Nevada Rail Coalition is a citizen-based initiative that brings together unions, environmental organizations, passenger/freight rail advocacy associations, social justice organizations, and community associations for the purpose of building an expanded, robust rail system in Nevada and
neighboring states as the keystone of a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable and socially just transportation system. Here is a link to our website

The Nevada Rail Coalition offers below our recommendations, and the reasons for them, for improvements to the California Zephyr route and the restoration of the Desert Wind between Los Angeles and Denver.

Restore the Desert Wind between Los Angeles and Denver

As shown in the chart below, the three major intermountain western cities formerly served by the Desert Wind have grown substantially since the service was discontinued in 1997.

Population growth 1997-2022: Intermountain West cities served by former Desert Wind

City1997 Population2022 Population% Growth 1997-2002
Las Vegas392,0742.839 million724%
Salt Lake City171,5881.203 million701%
Denver495,8052.897 million584%

Las Vegas – Nevada’s largest city, home to 87% of the state’s population, and a destination for 38.8 million visitors annually – currently has no passenger rail service at all. Restoration of the Desert Wind will provide key access to long-distance rail transportation for a growing, diverse population now critically unserved by passenger rail.

A restored Desert Wind would also serve currently unserved rural towns in Nevada and parts of Utah, or, in eastern Utah and Colorado, rural communities served only by one daily California Zephyr. The route between Denver, CO and Glenwood Springs, CO is the top long-distance station pair serving a small community by volume of annual trips, and the route between Glenwood Springs, CO and Granby, CO, is one of the top ten station pairs connecting two small communities. These statistics, taken from FRA’s slide show about the Amtrak Long Distance Service Study prepared for regional working groups [slides 123 and 124], show significant existing demand for services to and between rural communities in the intermountain west.

Improvements to California Zephyr Route

Service to Rural Communities

The daily California Zephyr, though designed as and designated a long-distance route, is a critical transportation resource to residents of the small towns of northern Nevada. As in many rural areas in the US, northern Nevada towns are underserved – if even served at all – by public transportation. According to Nevada’s State Rail Plan, “following Greyhound Lines’ abandonment in 2018 of its parallel services, Amtrak represents the only public transport option between these cities [of northern Nevada].” So residents who do not own an automobile or are unable to drive use the Zephyr to access key services – including medical visits – in cities to the east and west along the Zephyr route.

To enhance service to Nevada’s rural communities, we request that

  • The FRA/Amtrak consider adding two California Zephyr stops in northern Nevada, in Wendover and Lovelock.
  • Amtrak make the improvements outlined in Nevada’s State Rail Plan including improvements to existing Amtrak stops in Elko to make the trains more safely and conveniently accessible to disabled and elderly passengers. [Nevada State Rail Plan, Page 3-6]
  • Amtrak expands California Zephyr service to twice daily.

Service to California

Northern Nevada has a growing population and a rapidly expanding economy:

  • Population in Washoe County, NV, which includes the cities of Reno and Sparks, grow 15% from 2010-2022. Other communities in northern Nevada -Carson City, Douglas County, Fallon – also grew by about 15% in that time period.
  • The student population of the University of Nevada, Reno, grew from 17,679 to 20,722 from 2010 to 2022. This includes a substantial non-Nevada-resident student population. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, “In five years, UNR’s nonresident undergraduate enrollment has more than doubled.”
  • Northern Nevada is seeing rapid growth in jobs. According to the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, in 2022, 27 companies relocated or expanded their workforce in Greater Reno-Sparks. “The companies will add a combined 2,263 new jobs, at a record average wage of $32.67, along with 12 new headquarters.”

This growing population is not adequately served by one daily California Zephyr. Accordingly, we request that California Zephyr service be expanded to twice daily. Further, though we understand that it is outside the scope of this study since it is not a route at least 750 miles long, we request that FRA/Amtrak work with California’s Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, the Nevada Department of Transportation, and the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission to expedite the extension of the existing Capitol Corridor passenger train service to Reno.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Anne Macquarie

Co-chair, Nevada Rail Coalition

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Improved passenger rail from Sacramento to Reno – need your voice!

Sacramento-Reno Rail Extension Study: It appears local transit agencies are actually talking seriously about better passenger train service between Reno and the Bay Area! Please take this short survey to let them know northern Nevadans want better transportation options than driving on dangerous, crowded I-80 over the mountains.

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Passenger Rail Comeback?

From the Christian Science Monitor in August: All Aboard: Why rail travel is making a comeback

‘Passenger rail is handling the double whammy of a summer vacation surge and end-of-pandemic travel bump well – or at least better than its competitors. Amtrak, which has a monopoly on long-distance rail travel, has hurriedly restored services it mothballed during the worst of COVID-19. Ridership is up, too, reaching 85% of pre-pandemic levels in the Northeast and showing a promising pattern elsewhere. The company is even opening up new lines.”

More here: https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2022/0805/All-aboard-Why-rail-travel-is-making-a-comeback

V&T Steam Engine emerging from a tunnel in Gold Hill, Nevada.