If they ever get around to creating this route, they’ll probably pad the schedule by making the scheduled departure time in Washington DC four hours after the scheduled arrival time in Washington.
Will never pass and will be impossible to enforce if it does…
2 Likes
This is also a backwards thinking solution that doesn’t solve the real problem.
Amtrak is only an obstacle to commuter trains because the infrastructure is crumbling and undersized.
Meanwhile, Amtrak has the same problem, one step up the food chain, with the freight railroads who constantly delay passenger service.
Yes but that doesn’t apply to NE corridor.
The point about undersized infrastructure and/or deferred maintenance definitely applies to the NEC. But I’m assuming you mean the point I made about freight RRs.
You’re right, the freight RRs don’t own the tracks on the NEC, but they still impact the posted schedules of Amtrak trains traveling into the region from other areas.
Ex. An Amtrak train that might’ve been scheduled to arrive in NYC at noon, is now arriving at peak evening rush hour because it was delayed somewhere on it’s trip from Chicago. Granted, this is a more abstract complaint, but I think it’s still valid because it impacts Amtak’s ability to plan around other providers.
A sneak peek at the next-gen long distance trains was found.
Amtrak will most likely continue to use bi-level cars on those routes.
7 Likes
Amtrak is padding its long-distance schedules even more, slightly increasing the chance a given train will run “on time.”
The Southwest Chief’s schedule now includes 22 minutes of added recovery time, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says.
UP and Amtrak are testing slightly longer schedules for the Texas Eagle as well as the California Zephyr west of Denver. If approved, the deals will mean the only disputed schedule remaining on UP involves the Sunset Limited. The Surface Transportation Board is currently reviewing the on-time performance case that Amtrak filed against UP in December 2022.
“For California Zephyr, we added 47 minutes for Train 5 and 34 minutes on Train 6,” Magliari says. “Both are a combination of pure running time, recovery time, and dwell, with recovery accounting for most of the minutes, then dwell.”
The Texas Eagle’s schedules gained recovery time, including 24 minutes for train 21 and 14 minutes for train 22, Magliari says.
1 Like
A subatation blew up a while back. Crippled a chunk of the line.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/nyregion/amtrak-njtransit-delays.html
2 Likes
Apparently ground has broken on this bridge in Connecticut. The bridge will not be completed until 2031! 
Other news:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
A second platform is being built at the airport train station, along with a pedestrian overpass to connect the platforms.
Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Newport News, Virginia
Amtrak has started service to its new train station in Newport News. This is next to the airport and much further from downtown than its older station. The PR spin is that this is an improvement, but in reality it is something Amtrak should be embarrassed about.
Portland, Maine
In Portland, the plan is to do the opposite of Newport News - to move the train station closer to downtown. This will also save time as the new station is on the mainline and not one where trains have to reverse to continue their journey.
Upstate New York/Montreal
Amtrak service north of Saratoga Springs will apparently resume next week after being shut down during the summer due to track repairs.
7 Likes
The rumors were true. But it will be temporary due to tunnel construction in the East River (I believe the Miami-New York train that is combined into this is stored in Sunnyside Yard).
6 Likes
Another flash sale -
Book now through Oct 5 for travel from Oct 7/Dec 18 -
3 Likes
https://www.esparail.org/news/empire-corridor-schedules-to-be-reduced-in-november/
Due to construction in the East River tunnels, which Amtrak trains traveling on the Empire corridor need to use to reach Sunnyside yard in order to reverse direction, Amtrak will be reducing service on the trains going upstate.
One of the more interesting consequences is that the Montreal and Toronto trains are being combined into one train that will split in Rensselaer, NY. But that will involve long dwell times while the train is decoupled (or coupled when going south).
3 Likes