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FRA, Amtrak inspect proposed ‘Hoosier State’ equipment
This might be the best looking intercity passenger operation in the United States and that is important. Years ago, in the early 1970s, my Dad was on business in Hammond, Louisiana. As he called on a customer he turned to see a speeding brown and orange passenger train. The engineer was connecting the crossing with the horn as he had his head out the window adorned in goggles! From that experience, my Dad turned in his rental car and the next day boarded The Panama Limited to Memphis. From Memphis he took a bus to our hometown of Cookeville, Tennessee. All that trouble just because he wanted to ride that great looking train.
This is really great. I hope it succeeds because it can become a model for future service. Here in Maine we have a contractor running the cafe car and it is quite preferable to the Amtrak run cafe cars (which passengers should not use if they value their health). Having Amtrak supply the crews is a compromise which should work out OK. Now if they could just get the speed up things would be really great. I’m not holding my breath though.
- It looks like an awesome train, period. I’d love to ride on it. And I guess that’s the key thing.
- I’m not anti-Amtrak, far from it, but there needs to be more imagination, and more flexibility, in the passenger rail industry as a whole. This kind of thing blazes a trail that could, eventually, lead to passenger rail being provided by a mix of companies, with Amtrak being essentially the facilitator, not the owner of the whole thing. I’m hoping all sides embrace it.
I’m really excited by what’s happening all of a sudden. Amtrak has one major component of itself profitable. Independent passenger systems are springing up in Florida and Texas - and didn’t I read Iowa Pacific themselves are offering to run a commuter train as a for-profit scheme as long as the local state government provides track access for free? All of this will result in the network growing, no longer starved by extremist anti-rail politicians preventing the system from getting the investment it needs.
The major thing is to avoid the momentum being lost. I can see the NEC actually being a political problem for Amtrak outside of the NEC, if those served by the NEC start asking why they should continue to subsidize the rest of the country. Meanwhile there’s no universal model for how this should work. Texas HSR is an entirely new rail system. AAF is corporately organized in an odd way partially I guess to avoid a failure from damaging the freight network, acting as a largely independent company that “co-owns” the right of way. The NEC is an Amtrak operation, but Amtrak has its own weird relationship with the rest of the railroad network.
I can’t see it being politically possible to implement systems like, for example, the UK’s separation of franchise operators/independent services, Network Rail (infrastructure), and the various rolling stock leasing companies. And to be honest, while I think the model’s a good one, the British public don’t seem to l
Jim Norton, what is “important” is FRA reversing their decision to make the state(s) become a railroad and
responsible for passengers safety and drug testing crews. Jim McGuire, I am with you on the train speeds,
they are a killer, especially in Illinois. The signal system needs to be upgraded as well, outmoded as well
ABS-TWC authority. Higher and competitive speeds is what will make Amtrak successful on the Indy-Chicago line.
We wait to hear from the FRA.
Boy, thats quite a crew of inspectors. Our government at work. I don’t ever remember seeing a crew like that inspecting a new airline, airplane or bus company.
It is a beautiful train alright, but they need to paint the locos to match. I think Iowa Pacific has an interesting concept: If you can’t compete on speed, make up for it with service. However, they really need to be able to offer both.
No Amtrak routes are profitable. Neither are highways or airports. I think the rest of the country can legitimately ask why Amtrak puts a disproportionate share of funding into the NEC then blames the losses on the long distance trains that Amtrak is making no effort to improve.
If you look at a map of districts whose congressperson votes pro Amtrak, it essentially follows Amtrak’s route map, regardless of party. If you want more Republicans, many of whom are from rural districts, to become supporters, serve their districts.
mr. homan:
over 140 individuals are required to certify a passenger aircraft as airworthy. each must sign off.
and in a certain order. it takes about three weeks…
I am booked on this train in September through Amtrak. Will my ticket still be good I wonder?
KGW
Edinburgh
Scotland
KGW, your ticket will be good. Amtrak will continue to sell the tickets on the train. When it gets closer to time for your trip, you might want to look at upgrading to business class, I assure you it worth the additional cost…
This whole passenger rail thing is a circus, freight carriers don’t care for it minus FEC, Amtrak is a government operation which means its a money losing operation, only private companies make things work, more & more governments, city, state, fed are outsourcing to contractors, to save money and get rid of people that don’t work unlike gov’t employees, as long as Amtrak is a gov’t operation, it will NEVER make a buck because gov’t passes the buck on who to blame and gov’t workers rarely if ever get fired, private companies are about making $, if they’re not making money, they hire, fire anyone and anybody to make it work. I believe Iowa Pacific will succeed because it’s private, unless they’re owed money from the state or wherever then they will stop, because private companies don’t operate on a loss for any period of time if at all.
Gp40’s and don’t cars do NOT make a good match, F40ph or even E or F units will be a good match, those cabs on those gp40’s , sd40’s are not pretty at all.
I’ll ride this!!! Best points run ever for business class. The te aré severas Hilton properties in Downtown Indianápolis
You know, the 4135 was built for the NYC and the 4144 for the CRI&P. How about some heritage paint schemes?
I’m sure if those GP40s get painted anything, it will be IC. Ed rarely does anything else. (Although he did do his only Great Northern Great Dome in original GN colors.)
As much as I’d love to see this work out, I’m not going to hold my breath or bet the farm on it succeeding. Sorry.