lounge remained until 1982, when the train went all-Superliner. Proposed restoration Supporters have advocated for the return of the Pioneer ever since its cancellation. In 2009, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said the route "should never have been closed in the first place." Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho has also been credited as supporting the route's restoration for decades. 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: 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) 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. 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. 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. In March 2021, Amtrak released a 15-year "Amtrak Connects Us" expansion plan proposing over 30 new routes. The plan focuses on urban corridors, drawing some criticism for omitting long-distance routes, including the Pioneer. Long-distance expansion is complicated by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008—which limits Amtrak