Join the discussion on the following article:
Indiana, FRA to address ‘Hoosier State’ improvements
“Amtrak, FRA, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspections of Iowa Pacific equipment are ongoing.”
I don’t care for most of the parties listed, but how long can inspections take? Inspections by FDA for food service and by FRA and the operations contractor for vehicle safety are two different things, I get it, but how do they take more than a day? Three at most? Should be less than that … unless one of the parties has an interest in them taking longer.
Darn that FDA!
How absurd it all is. Chicago-Indianapolis is only one of many “city-pairs” that would benefit from frequent service. Does not even need to be “high speed.”
So do I understand this right, that the FRA blinked again and has withdrawn their requirement that the state of Indiana had to act as a railroad? That makes the FRA 0-2 now on this action. Let’s hope that the feds have learned their lesson!
FRA didn’t necessarily blink. They wanted to know who to hold responsible for safety violations. Now they have a clear “chain of command” to direct their enforcement activities.
AF Larson, your right about speed, it doesn’t need to be high speed, but 79 MPH would be a good thing.
It’s just a tad slow and ridership has suffered. As far as equipement goes, hope IP is in place before the Indy 500
Yaaaaaaa! We’re saved from the FRA! Peace at last!
The Hoosier State/Cardinal is more than a “tad” slow, it’s more like a turtle. The route will continue to underperform as along as it just crawls through Indiana, while traffic on nearby I-65 speeds along at 70 mph. The route needs a new entrance to Chicago as well as many improvement along the old Monon.
“…Amtrak would serve as the primary operator, working with host railroads, providing train and engine crews, and managing reservation and ticketing. Iowa Pacific would provide the train equipment, train maintenance, on-board services, and marketing.”
Who’s on first?
This is nuts.
A regular finger pointing sweepstakes
This route could be so much more. Agree the entrance into Chicago could be better.
Dolton junction alone is a mess. This route could be and should be modified to take advantage of the amount of travel done between Chicago and Indianapolis. I agree that this agreement sets up finger pointing. Hopefully this corridor can be improved and possibly extended to Cincinnatti or again to Louisville.