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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] On April 10, Union Pacific told Amtrak that the proposed express train would require $56 million in capital improvements.^[12] On May 10, 1997, the Pioneer made its last run, as did the Desert Wind.^[13][14] 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.^[15]

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.

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:^[17]

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)^[17] Southwest Airlines ended service from Salt Lake City to Portland and Seattle in 2014 and no low cost carrier has served either route since.

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.^[1] 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.^[18][19] 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.^[20]

In March 2021, Amtrak released a 15-year "Amtrak Connects Us" expansion plan proposing over 30 new routes.^[21] The plan focuses on urban corridors, drawing some criticism for omitting long-distance routes, including the Pioneer.^[2] Long-distance expansion is complicated by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008—which limits Amtrak routes longer than 750 miles (1,210 km) to only those that existed in 2008—such that an Act of Congress may be required to enable full restoration of the Pioneer.^[22]

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.^[23] The bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee with bipartisan support.,^[24][25] and was later rolled into President Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was passed into law in November 2021.^[26][27] The report must be delivered to Congress within two years.^[28] The law also provides $2.4 billion in new funds to Amtrak's long-distance route network.^[29]

On October 28, 2022, the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study was announced by the Federal Railroad Administration. 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.^[30] 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".^[31]