You would be hard-pushed to search out wherever extra in the course of nowhere in America than Sanderson.
But it is firmly on the map thanks to 2 placing claims to fame – it is the cactus capital of Texas and residential to America’s least-used prepare station.
It lies on Amtrak’s Sundown Restricted and Texas Eagle routes between Los Angeles and New Orleans/Chicago – and after we delved into Amtrak’s ridership information to pinpoint America’s 10 loneliest stations, we found that simply 247 folks used Sanderson’s newly renovated station in 2023.
It will get 9 arrivals per week, with passengers in a position to catch six trains to Los Angeles and three to New Orleans or Chicago, the latter mendacity 1,350 miles away. The eastbound prepare splits in San Antonio, with the New Orleans service referred to as the Sundown Restricted and the Chicago prepare designated because the Texas Eagle.
This service operates America’s longest prepare route, taking 65 hours to cowl the two,728 miles between LA and the Windy Metropolis.
MailOnline Journey delved into Amtrak’s ridership information to pinpoint America’s 10 loneliest stations, and found that simply 247 folks used Sanderson station in Texas (above in 2023)
Sanderson lies on Amtrak’s Sundown Restricted and Texas Eagle routes between Los Angeles and New Orleans/Chicago
Sanderson will get 9 prepare arrivals per week. On this picture, the Amtrak Sundown Restricted prepare travels via the desert close to the small city
The second-loneliest station is Montgomery, West Virginia, the place simply 266 folks boarded or alighted a prepare in 2023
Alderson, West Virginia, is simply 4 stops eastbound from Montgomery and the third loneliest station with 399 riders. Image courtesy of Artistic Commons licensing
Thurmond, West Virginia, one cease eastbound from Montgomery, comes fourth with 466 passengers. Image courtesy of Artistic Commons licensing
The second-loneliest station is Montgomery, West Virginia, the place simply 266 folks boarded or alighted a prepare in 2023.
Montgomery sits on the Cardinal route between New York Metropolis and Chicago, with departures at 9.02am and seven.50pm every day. The whole Cardinal route takes 27 hours and 28 minutes to finish.
On the identical line is Alderson, West Virginia, simply 4 stops eastbound from Montgomery and the third loneliest station with 399 riders.
Thurmond, West Virginia, one cease eastbound from Montgomery, comes fourth with 466 passengers.
The fifth least-used station on the community is Rensselaer, which can also be reached by way of the Cardinal service however lies additional west in Indiana, and simply two stops from Chicago. It welcomed 509 passengers in 2023.
The sixth least-used cease, Connersville, additionally in Indiana, is utilized by 528 passengers and is positioned 4 stops east from Rensselaer.
The fifth least-used station on the community is Rensselaer, Indiana, which welcomed 509 passengers in 2023. It’s pictured right here earlier than the renovation of its Amtrak station
The sixth least-used cease, Connersville in Indiana, is utilized by 528 passengers a 12 months
The seventh loneliest prepare station on Amtrak’s community is Lordsburg (688 riders) in New Mexico
In eighth place is South Shore-South Portsmouth, Kentucky, on the Cardinal line, with 870 riders
Schriever, Louisiana, in ninth place with 912 riders is one cease from New Orleans on the Sundown Restricted route
The tenth loneliest station is Browning, Montana, on the Empire Builder route from Seattle to Chicago, with 935 riders
The Empire Builder’s full route takes between 45 and 47 hours. The prepare could be seen right here crossing the North Fork Skykomish River in Washington
The seventh loneliest prepare station on Amtrak’s community is Lordsburg (688 riders) in New Mexico, which sits on the Sundown Restricted route.
In eighth place is South Shore-South Portsmouth, Kentucky, on the Cardinal line, with 870 riders, adopted by Schriever, Louisiana, in ninth place with 912. Schriever is one cease from New Orleans on the Sundown Restricted route.
The tenth loneliest station is Browning, Montana, on the Empire Builder route from Seattle to Chicago, with 935 riders. The Empire Builder’s full route takes between 45 and 47 hours.
Our analysis additionally reveals that Washington DC has only one Amtrak prepare station – Washington Union Station, which noticed 4.75million passengers in 2023. The cease is the second-most used on Amtrak’s total community.
Equally, the state of Idaho has only one Amtrak cease, Sandpoint, which noticed 4,751 passengers in 2023 on the Empire Builder line. The town is understood for its giant lake and, within the winter, ski slopes.
Busy California’s least-used Amtrak station is Pomona, in Los Angeles, with 1,315 riders alighting from or boarding the Sundown Restricted service, whereas tourism hotspot Florida’s loneliest station is Okeechobee (4,026 riders), which sits on the Silver Star route from Miami to New York Metropolis.
Amtrak doesn’t have stations in Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming or South Dakota.