Which rail route in the US would have the best business case for starting a regular passenger service?

[Teithiwr]

US railroad pruning was savage, especially for passenger services and where there was massive duplication. There is some really good and readable analysis of how the current network was developed in "The Men Who Loved Trains" by Rush Loving Jr. Really good book.

US Shortline sector is really interesting. The way in which they hive off unprofitable routes to smaller operators, who can then operate at lower cost and with more flexibility is potentially something to consider in UK terms. They might be slow and in poor condition, but they provide access to freight for businesses that would otherwise be all road based.

 

[158756]

Although that example is part of a rather large group - Genesee & Wyoming, the owner of Freightliner.

It also appears to be an example of a larger railroad (or two larger railroads in this case) shedding unprofitable branches. A lot of the shorter US railroads now don't have a very long history, rather, most of the original companies merged or went bankrupt, and what exists today are largely unwanted lines later sold off by the bigger railroads.

 

[Memma]

The extension of Virgin Trains USA to Orlando and a branch to Tampa. I'd love to see Virgin Trains in Orlando's downtown station however and potentially running north to Jacksonville? There is a lot of coverage on Virgin Trains USA at TrainReview