Rail to Logan?

North Carolina (barring Charlotte) lacks rail transit. But they do have state sponsored Amtrak, the Piedmont service. Makes me reflect on commuter rail and passenger rail. In Europe, the two represent a continuum rather than a dichotomy. Inter-regional passenger trains and commuter trains share the same track, just at different frequencies.

Utah has FrontRunner, running from Provo to Ogden. And it faces regular calls to extend FrontRunner, even unto Logan (Utah's other Metro region). Efforts to extend FrontRunner north haven't really worked out--simply not enough demand. But there might be enough demand for something less than the hourly commuter rail frequency, but something more like state sponsored Amtrak. There is an existing rail line between Ogden and Logan, it is very indirect, running an S-curve around the mountains.There is also an existing highway (HWY-91) that runs directly between Brigham City and Logan. So it would be very difficult for the train to compete with driving.But there might be a demand for passenger service regardless, for the non-driving population--Logan is home to Utah State University, with 27,000 students.

That said, that said, if it will be feasible for rail, it should be feasible for Commuter Express Buses.  And if it’s worth $100m in rail investment, it’s worth $100m of asphalt investment in dedicated lanes. (No implication that 100% of the lane need to be dedicated--just the most congested section).