To which party should you vent your anger? UP or Amtrak?

Remember, Amtrak is just as guilty in all this as UP. For whatever reason or reasons, they have absolutely no desire to reinstate the DESERT WIND or PIONEER any more than they have a desire to re-instate the SUNSET between New Orleans and Florida. The reasons are purely political (what characteristic of Amtrak ISN'T political?). Plus, since the DESERT WIND and PIONEER have come off, the track arrangement in Salt Lake City has now changed in such a manner that re-instating the service would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. At the very least, it would cost lots and lots of money trying to replicate the Salt Lake City switching operation(s) that once took place with trains 5-6, 35-36 and 25-26.

To what degree is Amtrak pursuing the re-instatement of a Los Angeles - Salt Lake City train? Try zero. Nada. Zilch. Goose egg. They are not in an expansion mode right now. With the current climate in Washington, they may never be again.

We should thank our lucky stars that we have the limited service that we have. Things aren't going to change for the better anytime soon.