500 miles defines "short haul" among many transportation modes. It's honestly a bit long for a train. At Amtrak's LDT performance rate, that would be a good solid 10 hours on the train. Most people outside of buffs and retired people with no better place to be won't put up with that.

The answer is you may get one train, two trains, or no trains in PIT. Passenger rail should be operated in relatively short corridors between high-density population centers. Take a look at the demand and what the states along the route are willing to subsidize. PIT-Chicago may not generate enough ridership to justify the train, but maybe PIT-WAS does, or vice versa. Or maybe neither-- enjoy Megabus or your flight, whatever your budget dictates. Or just drive.

I do not know a single person in the United States who actually considers taking the train anywhere outside of the Northeast Corridor unless they are a hobbyist.



Rider on Trains 29 & 30 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Don't know how you decided that 500 miles is the
> maximum distance a "logical" traveler will
> travel.
>
> That said, consider Amtrak's Capitol Limited which
> operates over a 780-mile route between Washington,
> DC and Chicago. As I live in Pittsburgh, all of
> my trips between Pittsburgh and Chicago and
> Pittsburgh and Washington DC are under your magic
> 500-mile threshold. So in your model of train
> service, does a Pittsburgh traveler get two
> separate trains or do you only look at the entire
> 780-mile route and decide it's not worth running
> at all?