Amtrak on Daily Sunset Limited January 3rd, 1992
January 3, 1992
Jay L. Myers Chairman Amtrak Committee Arizona Rail Passenger Association
Dear Mr. Myers:
Thank you for your letter of December 7, 1991, concerning daily operation of the Sunset Limited, I am responding to your letter as Mr. Claytor is away from the office for several days.
As Mr. Sullivan pointed out in his September 3, 1991 letter, Amtrak would prefer to operate all long-distance trains on a daily basis. We have planned for this goal by including in our 140-car Superliner order an option for 39 additional cars that would produce sufficient equipment to operate the Sunset Limited to New Orleans on a daily basis. However, given our need to reduce federal subsidy requirements and our primary goal of operational self-sufficiency, the financial impact of any increase in service will have to be carefully determined. All previous financial evaluations have shown that federal subsidy requirements would increase substantially with daily service.
A decision for exercising the option order for additional Superliners must be made by November 1992. We will, therefore, be conducting a new financial evaluation of daily Sunset Limited service, including an option with an extension to Miami, prior to that date. The results of the evaluation will influence the decision on whether or not to exercise the option.
Thank you for your support of Amtrak and the future of rail passenger service.
Sincerely,
William S. Norman
Executive Vice President
