The last bit I read about this seemed to be optimistic but I never saw the final report. No clue where this stands.
http://wwno.org/post/amtrak-set-finish-study-service-between-dfw-and-shreveportbossier
I found this from December 2013 saying it was in LA hands now and they want to do a study and that Texas still has not finalized their study. Also indicates that DART is interested as well and I would think longer distance trains would be out of DART’s jurisdiction but maybe not.
++++http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2013/12/19/east-texas-northwest-louisiana-efforts-seek-to-bridge-amtrak-passenger-rail-gap/4123819/
I was waiting to hear or read about this locally before responding, but so far nary a peep. Studying seems to be a lucrative business here in La. For as long as I can remember it seems that every few years I hear of another study on instituting passenger rail between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, but nothing happens till the next time someone thinks about it. I won’t get into discussing state politics, but I’m not holding my breath on this one.
Yes from what I understand the issue of course in Louisiana is funding. I have heard alternating scenarios here, state might fund if the casinos kick in some money. Casinos are doubtful it will be of benefit but only want to try for a trial period. So it reads to me like not all the parties in the state are on board but the state is more than willing to take the study money. On the Texas side I think the support is stronger. I think the better plan would be a through train via Meridian, MS to Atlanta, GA (possibly an overnight, sleeper train). I think that would have better ridership and equipment utilization.
An Atlanta destination also would hot Altanta, Birmingham, Dallas-Ft Worth with just a one day routing which isn’t bad population wise. If you made it largely an overnight train departing Atlanta in the late evening and say arriving in Dallas around 10:30 a.m…Shreveport 6:30 a.m. (guessing it would only be 4 hours). Then Depart Dallas 6:30 p.m. and arrive in Shreveport at 10:30 p.m. on the way back to Atlanta…I don’t think it might have decent ridership with business people…
It would have to be cars on the Crescent, cut off at Meridian. A day train from Atlanta to
I suspect that people in Texas certainly would totally welcome DFW-Shreveport (and beyond) passenger service. However, don’t expect us to get too excited about it. There is much more interest in extending the Heartland Flyer south to San Antonio along the extremely crowded I-35 corridor, or creating service between DFW and Houston, where there is presently, and shamefully, no pasenger service at all. For that matter, daily passenger train service of any kind to Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, would be a much higher priority also.
Given that Shreveport has a population of 200K, one would think services to Houston, such as mentioned above, would be much higher on the to do list.
Service from Houston to Dallas and then to Ft. Worth is being built by a private rail company. Google “Texas Central Railway”. Before people on here pooh-pooh the idea, the state is taking it seriously. In fact, the private company has stated it will only build Houston to Dallas (station would be at the site of the former convention center and East of Union Station a little bit in Dallas). The state is funding the study for Dallas to Ft. Worth as well as exploring funding packages to connect Ft. Worth to the station in Dallas via a HSR line that would roughly parallel the UP between both cities. Anyways, we have to wait probably another two years before we can say the project is BS because in about two years they have to obtain funding for construction and they have stated repeatedly to the media and the public that funding is not going to be a problem for them that they have a financial commitment that is iron clad and backed by the Japanese.
So we’ll see but that is where the Houston to Dallas passenger service lies right now.
As for extending the Heartland flyer to San Antonio…good luck with that pipe dream. From what I heard it will eventually be extended to possibly Kansas City with a Hear
[quote user=“CMStPnP”]
Service from Houston to Dallas and then to Ft. Worth is being built by a private rail company. Google “Texas Central Railway”. Before people on here pooh-pooh the idea, the state is taking it seriously. In fact, the private company has stated it will only build Houston to Dallas (station would be at the site of the former convention center and East of Union Station a little bit in Dallas). The state is funding the study for Dallas to Ft. Worth as well as exploring funding packages to connect Ft. Worth to the station in Dallas via a HSR line that would roughly parallel the UP between both cities. Anyways, we have to wait probably another two years before we can say the project is BS because in about two years they have to obtain funding for construction and they have stated repeatedly to the media and the public that funding is not going to be a problem for them that they have a financial commitment that is iron clad and backed by the Japanese.
So we’ll see but that is where the Houston to Dallas passenger service lies right now.
As for extending the Heartland flyer to San Antonio…good luck with that pipe dream. From what I heard it will eventually be exte
Getting back on topic, I believe the host railroad for Dallas to Shreveport, and points east to Meridian would be Kansas City Southern, which never joined Amtrak. In past attempts to get them to host passenger trains met with not no but hell no attitude. I wonder if it’s changed since?
“These passenger trains would average about 80 miles per hour, according to Anderson, and make about four stops along the way.”
Really!. Given that the top speed permitted on the current route is 79 mph, how would a train from Dallas to Shreveport average 80 miles per hour with four stops. Makes me wonder how realistic the proponents are?
As noted in another post, the intermediate station on-time performance for the long distance trains is approximately 50 per cent. The problem is traffic congestion on the freight carriers that are hosting Amtrak’s trains. Adding another trains is not likely to improve the situation.
What makes anyone think that the UP will permit addition passenger trains on its line between Dallas and points east? They would fight it tooth and nail. And they would be right to do so unless they are fully compensated for hosting any passenger trains.
OK a few items here that you might not be aware of or misinterpreted.
- The new HSR line would roughly follow UP’s tracks, it’s not going to be ON UP tracks as the speed is projected to be 150 mph between Dallas and Ft. Worth with just one stop in between…if that, it will be a new roadbed and more than likely elevated or submerged into the ground with no grade crossings plus…well nevermind, watch the video I posted in another thread in this same forum about this HSR line it is on youtube, it’s all in there. Sounds like UP is on board with sharing it’s ROW and the Dallas to Houston HSR line might also parallel parts of the UP rail line between those two cities. They have already thought of terrorism as well in the proposal and the ROW will have intrusion / tamper detection systems as well as ground sesmic detection… The HSR line will only have one or two stops between Houston and
It was to be either KCS or UP. I have to tell you that any railroad in the United States will do anything for the right amount of money. I don’t believe the stories of railroad executives saying noway and it ever sticking when the right price was agreed on. Further, if for not money most would do it for the political influence it gives their Corporation. If you run a passenger train over your route you certainly have more political influence than if you just run freight because you interact with a lot more voters. So I read these stories in Trains Magazine about railroad executives saying “over my dead body” and such as just an opening salvo in a price negotiation…nothing more.
Now there is the case of Canadian National with it’s stonewalling with IDOT on the new service to Iowa. That is an argument over price, IMO. They have also stonewalled with the 20th Century Railroad Club in Chicago on attempts to use CN for their excursions as well I have been told. Again it is price. If Bill Gates wants to take a private rail trip from Chicago to Oshkosh, WI…it would not be a problem for CN and they would probably be falling over themselves to pull it off. Same for POTUS. Both would expand their influence a little in the political and business spheres.
[quote user=“CMStPnP”]
OK a few items here that you might not be aware of or misinterpreted.
- The new HSR line would roughly follow UP’s tracks, it’s not going to be ON UP tracks as the speed is projected to be 150 mph between Dallas and Ft. Worth with just one stop in between…if that, it will be a new roadbed and more than likely elevated or submerged into the ground with no grade crossings plus…well nevermind, watch the video I posted in another thread in this same forum about this HSR line it is on youtube, it’s all in there. Sounds like UP is on board with sharing it’s ROW and the Dallas to Houston HSR line might also parallel parts of the UP rail line between those two cities. They have already thought of terrorism as well in the proposal and the ROW will have intrusion / tamper detection systems as well as ground sesmic detection… The HSR line will only h
In talking to the Director of Connectivity - Thruway Buses (answering directly to the Chief of Operations Research and Planning) on a recent train ride, I had asked about something similar to this, mainly rerouting the Sunset up that route so that it’s one-seat, not piece-meal as two or three trains, and serves Los Angeles just as they were originally planning with the Texas Eagle. Bottom line: most permeations like this have been thought of, but it’s the matter of money and costs, the first of which Amtrak doesn’t exactly have and the second of which determines how they’ll have to approach what they do.
Also, either train combination would have to reach Kansas City as it’s a mechanical stop for the train (just as San Antonio is for the Eagle). The plus side to using long distance to another local state service would be the freeing of equipment for the train bein