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  #181  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2013, 6:39 AM
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All the Engineers along the NEC are salivating at the chance to operate one of these beasts...

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  #182  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2013, 3:18 PM
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These have turned out remarkably close to the renderings. Aesthetically speaking I'm in the camp that these look a bit mean, mainly due to the headlight design. I would have preferred a stock Vectron design over these, but will adjust. Also, can't wait to see these rolling and humming along.
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  #183  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2013, 8:23 PM
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I don't know about mean... insect-like, maybe.
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  #184  
Old Posted May 12, 2013, 11:43 PM
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Another pic posted in the NY thread:


Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC4Life View Post
One of the new Siemens built locomotives unveiled by Amtrak to replace the current fleet:


http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/v...e-aging-fleet-
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  #185  
Old Posted May 13, 2013, 4:00 PM
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The ACS-64 electric locomotive is being officially unveiled at the Siemens plant in Sacramento. Three units are to be shipped out for testing, 2 to the FRA facility in Pueblo CO and one to the NEC. Two Amtrak links:

Photos on the Amtrak blog site

Amtrak 5 page news release on the ACS-64 with some specs and info

With one unit going to the NEC for testing, people may see the ACS-64 doing test runs on the NEC this summer.
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  #186  
Old Posted May 13, 2013, 4:12 PM
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Amtrak has been making presentations at rail meetings on the proposed Gateway program. The viewgraphs from a March, 2013 presentation to the Rairtan Valley Rail Coalition are available at the link. 36 page presentation which presents a good overview of the reasons and current plans for the Gateway program. Complex undertaking even just as a planning task because it had to be done in coordination with the NEC Future process, LIRR, NJT, MNRR plans, and the long term needs for NEC capacity.
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  #187  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2013, 7:43 PM
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Amtrak Sets Monthly Ridership Record

Amtrak Sets Monthly Ridership Record

By Ryan Holeywell
August 14, 2013
Governing

"Amtrak officials announced today that it set an all-time monthly ridership record in July, with more than 2.9 million passengers riding its trains.

The milestone was the second time in just four months that it set a monthly record. Previously, it's busiest month ever was March, when it had just over 2.8 million riders.

"Amtrak is delivering record ridership across the country and serving as an economic engine to help local communities grow and prosper," Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said in a statement..."

http://www.governing.com/blogs/fedwa...ip-record.html
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  #188  
Old Posted Jan 2, 2017, 6:48 PM
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Republicans embrace Amtrak’s Gulf Coast rebirth

Read More: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/0...katrina-233080

Quote:
A decade after Hurricane Katrina wiped out a long stretch of Amtrak's transcontinental passenger route in the Deep South, the railroad is plotting to bring it back. And it’s attracted a seemingly unlikely group of cheerleaders: red-state Republicans. For Amtrak, extending the City of New Orleans line from Louisiana to Orlando, Fla., is a chance to demonstrate that its traditionally money-losing long-distance routes deserve Congress' investment.

- It could also mark a shift in some Republicans’ attitudes toward Amtrak, after decades of GOP leaders in Washington trying to slash the passenger rail’s funding and force it to dump unprofitable routes. Now local and state Republican leaders along the Gulf Coast are promoting a revived Amtrak route as a tool for commerce and jobs. That argument mirrors the pro-transportation message of President-elect Donald Trump, who is proposing a nationwide $1 trillion infrastructure upgrade that he says would make the nation’s roads, bridges, airports and railroads “second to none.”

- Could a new era of an Amtrak-friendly GOP be at hand? “I think we can make Amtrak work,” said Republican Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker. “We can make it more friendly to the taxpayer, and more efficient, but I think we need Amtrak, and I’ll just say it.” For Republicans like Wicker, restoring Amtrak’s lost Gulf Coast route would not just recreate a transportation link but would benefit local economies by making it easier for tourists and business travelers to move through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

- Others argue that the people most likely to move to the region in the next 30 years — retiring baby boomers and tech-savvy millennials — are becoming less reliant on cars and trucks, making it essential for rail to fill the gap. “You’re going to depopulate rural communities if you can’t connect them to the larger economy,” said John Robert Smith, a former Republican mayor of Meridian, Miss., who used to chair Amtrak’s board and now advocates for transit-oriented development. Sandy Stimpson, the Republican mayor of Mobile, Ala., said providing money for rail is “part of the federal government’s obligation to address transportation.”

- Some national Republicans remain deeply skeptical that investing hundreds of millions of dollars on the Gulf Coast route would be a wise investment, considering that Amtrak has historically failed to turn a profit anywhere outside its D.C.-to-Boston Northeast Corridor. But such sentiments may lose their political sway in Trump’s GOP, even if the president-elect hasn't specifically mentioned Amtrak in his infrastructure pitch. One harsh Amtrak critic who won’t be around in January, former House Transportation Chairman John Mica, is dubious about prospects for a Gulf Coast revival. “It’s been a horrible, money-losing route,” said Mica, a Florida Republican who lost his seat on Election Day.

- For Amtrak, the Gulf Coast is a crucial test. If it fails here, it would lose an opportunity to take hold in a region whose population is expected to boom, as well as a chance to expand its political appeal. “I think the more that we show that we can run a safe, financially responsible railroad, the more likely it is that people of both political parties will be supportive of it,” Amtrak board Chairman Anthony Coscia said. The most immediate task: prove that Gulf Coast service can be cost-effective. CSX, the private freight carrier that owns most of the track Amtrak would use, said in August that it needs $2 billion in upgrades to sustain passenger service, although sources close to the effort have privately called the figure vastly inflated.

- Besides helping car-free millennials and baby boomers avoid the slog along congested Interstate 10, supporters say, relaunching the Amtrak route would boost tourism by connecting coastal hubs like Bay St. Louis, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla., to Jacksonville on the Atlantic Coast. Still, some government officials in the South say they need to be convinced that the benefits would justify spending the kind of money Amtrak’s renaissance would require. One critical question is how many passengers would use the service. Amtrak projects that the revived route would carry 153,900 passengers a year — many times more than the 29,668 travelers its former Gulf Coast service carried in fiscal year 2005 when it was shuttered.

.....
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  #189  
Old Posted Jan 2, 2017, 9:02 PM
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^ Interesting read but that 2 billion figure is too high-for that kind of cash you can lay concrete ties almost the entire way, run double track in several spots, lay a lot of class 5 rail, put in a state of the art signal system (thats going be the case anyway with federally mandated PTC), do some grade separations and replace several bridges. Just doing all that could help increase passenger speeds to 90 mph in spots and maybe 110 mph in a few areas like the St Louis-Chicago higher speed corridor-heck CSX could run double-stack Inter-modal freights at 70 mph in several straight spots.

Last edited by CastleScott; Jan 2, 2017 at 9:14 PM.
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  #190  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2017, 4:51 PM
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Plan to Speed Up Amtrak’s Northeast Route Faces Opposition in Small Towns

Plan to Speed Up Amtrak’s Northeast Route Faces Opposition in Small Towns
Lawmakers in Connecticut, Rhode Island balk at $120 billion expansion that would slash travel time by adding track lines


Image courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

By JOSEPH DE AVILA
Jan. 16, 2017
Wall Street Journal

"The federal government has a $120 billion plan that would cut Amtrak’s Acela Express travel time between New York and Boston by 45 minutes, making it a two-hour-and-45-minute trip.

To get it done, however, it is going to first have to get through Old Lyme, Conn., where opposition is strong to the project that would bring four new track lines and as many as 110 trains a day under its historic downtown in a tunnel.

“That really is the heart of our community,” said Bonnie Reemsnyder, who leads the town board as first selectwoman of Old Lyme, a community of 7,600 people southwest of Boston that traces its history to colonial times...."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/plan-to-...wns-1484568000
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  #191  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2018, 3:39 PM
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Well, this is exciting!

Grant money could help passenger trains return to Gulf Coast
https://www.seattlepi.com/news/artic...o-12794531.php
Quote:
Grant money recently approved by Congress could help passenger trains see a comeback along the U.S. Gulf Coast between Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana....
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  #192  
Old Posted Apr 3, 2018, 6:55 PM
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Quote:
Congress Approves $2.8 Billion For Passenger Rail

Congress significantly increased funding for Amtrak, passenger rail, and transit as part of the $1.3 trillion Fiscal Year 2018 budget, a victory for passenger advocates that’s been a long time in the works . . . .

The bill, passed by Congress on March 23, includes $2.813 billion for intercity rail--an increase of $1.3 billion over last year! That figure includes $1.9 billion for Amtrak ($650 million for the Northeast Corridor and $1.3 billion for the National Network); $593 million for the Consolidated Rail Improvement, which includes $250 million for PTC implementation; $250 million for the State of Good Repair program; and $20 million for the Rail Restoration program, which will be instrumental in restoring rail service to the Gulf Coast.

The budget also contained good news for transit, with $10.3 billion for transit formula grants; $2.64 billion for the New Starts program, including $716 million for Core Capacity and $400 million for Small Starts; $150 million for DC Metro Rail; and $1.5 billion for the multi-modal TIGER program, three times as much as was provided for FY2017.
https://www.railpassengers.org/site/...newsletter.pdf
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  #193  
Old Posted Apr 3, 2018, 10:35 PM
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Bravo but there's a 'made the trains run on time' joke in there somewhere.
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  #194  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2018, 11:56 PM
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Amtrak may order modern, lightweight trainsets
April 06, 2018

Passengers and rail travel advocates around the country are eagerly awaiting details about new Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson’s plans for our national rail service. Reports from a recent town hall meeting for Amtrak employees offer some clues about Anderson’s priorities for new train equipment. Although this is not yet official, the information indicates that Amtrak is looking at modern, lightweight, unified trainsets (for shorter routes).

Anderson reportedly pointed to trainsets like the Sonoma-Marin area's Nippon-Sharyo diesel multiple-units (DMUs, pictured here) and the new TexRail Stadler DMUs as the future of train travel. The new Brightline service in Florida is proving that modern equipment is important to bringing in new riders—and keeping them coming back. It’s good to see Amtrak looking in the same direction.

Modern train designs are lighter, so they accelerate and stop faster while using less fuel and creating less pollution. They operate as unified sets, which makes them stronger and safer. They’re also more comfortable, because they ride more smoothly and don’t have open vestibules between cars.

The interiors are bright and open with comfortable seats and wide aisles, and are easily accessible to those in wheelchairs or with limited mobility. It’s easy to bring onboard and stow luggage and bikes.

Whether powered by locomotives or distributed multiple-unit power throughout, driving cabs at both ends eliminate time-consuming turn-around procedures at the end of a route. Lower floors and automatic stairs mean all doors can open at stations, speeding up boarding . . . .
https://www.midwesthsr.org/amtrak-ma...7-2b035f1f6491
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  #195  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2018, 12:46 AM
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It’s about time... most corridor service is still using Horizons or Amfleets that are 30 years old. Of course, California and the Midwest states will take delivery of a new fleet of Siemens coaches in a few years that will likely have most of the amenities that Brightline does.

I’m not sure DMUs make sense for Amtrak, though. Amtrak’s passenger trains have to squeeze into limited slots provided by freight railroads, so the incentive is to provide a lot of seats on each run. Operating a bunch of short, lean trains with quick acceleration makes sense for suburban operations with limited freight interference, but not really for regional or intercity.
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  #196  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2018, 5:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
It’s about time... most corridor service is still using Horizons or Amfleets that are 30 years old. Of course, California and the Midwest states will take delivery of a new fleet of Siemens coaches in a few years that will likely have most of the amenities that Brightline does.

I’m not sure DMUs make sense for Amtrak, though. Amtrak’s passenger trains have to squeeze into limited slots provided by freight railroads, so the incentive is to provide a lot of seats on each run. Operating a bunch of short, lean trains with quick acceleration makes sense for suburban operations with limited freight interference, but not really for regional or intercity.
Services like the Vermonter , Ethan Allen , Downeaster could be DMUs...
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  #197  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2018, 11:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey View Post
Services like the Vermonter , Ethan Allen , Downeaster could be DMUs...
DMUs vs traditional locomotive and coach cars have a break even point where its cheaper to run one vs the other. TRE ran RDCs and F59 with Bombardier BiLevel trains for over a decade. They found it cheaper overall to run 4 RDCs than run a F59 and 3 BiLevels - but more expensive to run 5 RDCs vs a F59 and 4 BiLevels. The breakeven point was at 4 cars. Modern DMUs will probably change that formula somewhat, but there will still be a break even point.

I believe there are just a few Amtrak daily or multiple day trains that are less than 4 cars in length where DMUs would have a financial advantage. The Heartland Flyer is amongst them, the usual consist being three Superliner coaches pushed or pulled by a P42 locomotive - sometimes two locomotives.

Another consideration to take into account is the ability to turn the train around at both train termini. Trains that run with cabs on both ends of the train will benefit with DMUs having cabs on both ends of the train.
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  #198  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2018, 2:44 PM
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We all know what European modern regional DMU's look like so I won't post a bunch of sexy rolling stock porn here. But I will post one photo from Australia that I've always felt represents a very transferable look and feel to Amtrak, in that it has a stocky ruggedness that you don't see as much in the euro DMU's and would likely be a better fit for regional longer-distance Amtrak trains here in the States:


V-Line
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  #199  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2018, 3:14 PM
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If locomotive-hauled trains remain the norm, I hope Amtrak expands its use of Talgos. Those trains are awesome.
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  #200  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2018, 6:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Busy Bee View Post
We all know what European modern regional DMU's look like so I won't post a bunch of sexy rolling stock porn here. But I will post one photo from Australia that I've always felt represents a very transferable look and feel to Amtrak, in that it has a stocky ruggedness that you don't see as much in the euro DMU's and would likely be a better fit for regional longer-distance Amtrak trains here in the States:
Australia seemingly has a much deeper tradition of using DMUs than we do here in the US, but they also have a lot of regional services with tightly-spaced stops, connecting a small city to a much bigger one. They don't have the same service patterns as Amtrak.

It seems like the DMUs "down undah" are largely used for an intermediate/regional level of service that's longer than typical US commuter trains, but not as long as Amtrak's intercity lines. Service frequencies are also much closer to US commuter operations than to a typical Amtrak service - trains come hourly off-peak. This means that (assuming constant demand) each train can be smaller. (In reality, more frequent service leads to greater ridership overall, but not in proportion to labor/operating cost, so the subsidy per passenger still goes up).

In the US, Amtrak's barebones network is mostly split between corridor services connecting major cities at a regional distance, which have a higher demand than DMUs can serve, or long-distance services that need specialized cars and will also end up being loco-hauled. We do have a few regional train lines similar to the ones in Oz, but the service levels are pretty sad. Service from Champaign to Chicago is only three times a day, and only makes four intermediate stops over 130 miles. Similar story for service to Grand Rapids or Port Huron. If your "regional services" are only 10-15 train runs every day across the entire Midwest, why invest in a whole separate fleet of DMUs?

The Northeast has a few more regional services, but those are all oriented around New York, so they have to have electric mode to operate through Penn Station's tunnels.
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Last edited by ardecila; Apr 9, 2018 at 6:40 PM.
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