The resulting "optimal" path sure doesn't look it. For example, Phoenix:

http://cl.ly/bewA

Surely it would be more optimal to cut straight across from Casa Grande to Gila Bend, and then hit the next station on the way north. No?

It would be fun to throw these same markers into the Google Maps Directions TSP engine, and see how it does... https://developers.google.com/optimization/routing/tsp#solvi...