Overhauling Amtrak

[F1 Tommy]

Nice photo of the new engines in Chicago.

https://media.amtrak.com/2022/02/amt...84fX3mCSgfbzLA

[mrnyc]

^ oh wow those are very nice!

[202_Cyclist]

Nashville lawmakers reintroduce bill to study Amtrak expansion in Tennessee

By Adam Friedman
Nashville Tennessean
Feb. 22, 2022

"Nashville's state lawmakers want Tennessee to study the cost and feasibility of an Amtrak rail line connecting Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis.

The bill would direct the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to conduct a study determining what it would take for a commuter rail connecting most of the state.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, and Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, mirrors similar legislation that passed the Senate in 2020 but never made it for a vote in the House because the session was cut short by COVID-19..."

https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...ne/6892683001/

[202_Cyclist]

New construction underway at Baltimore's Penn Station

By WMAR
Feb 24, 2022


Image courtesy of WMAR Baltimore.

"BALTIMORE — New construction has begun at Baltimore's Penn Station.

On Thursday, crews installed scaffolding, fencing, and materials around the station's exterior.

Around summer time, work will extend to include masonry repairs, window refurbishment, a new roof, new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, along with updated elevators, stairs and ramps.

Three upper floors of the historic station are currently vacant and will be refurbished for office use..."

https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local...s-penn-station

[Busy Bee]

Why hasnt the new Baltimore tunnel started? What the hell are they waiting for?

[202_Cyclist]

Yes, I think the tunnel construction started last fall.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Why hasnt the new Baltimore tunnel started? What the hell are they waiting for?

You know why... they never complete the design/engineering work on these large projects until they get a huge wad of Other People's Money from the feds.

Supposedly there is "advance work" on B&P, which probably just means soil borings to support the engineering.

[Jwrouse]

I’m looking forward to the new train sets being ordered Amtrak once these trains take the rails it will put us in a new era

[electricron]

Originally Posted by ardecila

You know why... they never complete the design/engineering work on these large projects until they get a huge wad of Other People's Money from the feds.

Supposedly there is "advance work" on B&P, which probably just means soil borings to support the engineering.

The FTA new starts programs as well as FRA programs do not allow finishing the design work in advance. The processes are design to eliminate wasteful spending, the final design go ahead is usually included in construction startup, with construction contractors ask for changes in the design.

Now a days, few construction projects are finished without design changes.

[202_Cyclist]

I am looking forward to the opportunity to take Amtrak to Burlington.

All aboard! Amtrak is Burlington-bound this July, officials say


By Jack Lyons
Mar 16 2022
VT Digger

"A 30-year effort to reintroduce passenger rail service to Burlington is scheduled to succeed this summer, officials say.

Rail travelers will be able to leave Burlington for New York City and points beyond every day via Amtrak, starting in July, said Dan Delabruere, director of rail and aviation for the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

“It’s just so exciting,” Delabruere said at a recent public meeting. “We’re going to be able to get on the train in downtown Burlington and ride it all the way to New York Penn (Station), spend the weekend in New York and come right back...”

https://vtdigger.org/2022/03/16/all-...officials-say/

[202_Cyclist]

Time to build new Amtrak route through N.J. to Scranton, congressman says

Lehigh Valley Live
By Jonathan D. Salant
March 21, 2022


This is the route that Amtrak's proposed Scranton-NYC service would take, as part of a larger service expansion proposed by Amtrak this year. (Image courtesy of Lehigh Valley Live)

"Now that the bipartisan infrastructure bill is law and Congress has started to appropriate the billions of dollars in increased funding for Amtrak, a New Jersey congressman said Monday that it was time to begin work on restoring passenger rail service from New York City through North Jersey to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer made his comments in Andover, the site of a proposed station along the old Lackawanna cutoff that would form the backbone of the new train line..."


https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/new...sman-says.html

[Crawford]

NJ Transit has already funded the Andover station, and the extension to Andover, which is mostly complete.

Time for PA to step up and get this full project moving. Also I believe NJ still needs to fund the extension to Blairstown and Delaware Water Gap.

[mrnyc]

^ maybe you saw this in your googlemeistering, but there is a fresh article about andover station work.

its more complicated than i would have guessed:



Work on century-old Roseville Tunnel in Andover to advance Sussex County rail service

Bruce A. Scruton
New Jersey Herald



Work on century-old Roseville Tunnel in Andover to advance Sussex County rail service
Bruce A. Scruton
New Jersey Herald


ANDOVER — The light at the end of the Roseville Tunnel just might be the reconstruction of the more-than-century-old passageway that has held up re-establishment of the Lackawanna Cut-off and commuter rail service to Sussex County.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer visited the site of the long-proposed Andover station, just west of the tunnel on Monday to announce funds are now guaranteed for New Jersey Transit to move forward and take bids for the work to rebuild the tunnel.

The funds to support the proposed service expansion of the Lackawanna Cut-off and bring passenger rail to Northwestern New Jersey come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, approved earlier this year and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

With the guaranteed federal money to restore the tunnel, Andover and Sussex County can move forward with the associated project to buy land to rebuild and reroute a stream that flows under Roseville Road near the station.


more:
https://www.njherald.com/story/news/...ce/7118364001/

[202_Cyclist]

Amtrak’s faster, higher-tech Acela trains are delayed again
Pandemic challenges, need for more testing will put their debut 2½ years behind schedule

By Luz Lazo
Washington Post
April 13, 2022

“The debut of train sets intended to replace Amtrak’s Acela fleet will be delayed another 18 months, according to the passenger rail service, citing “rigorous” testing requirements to operate the high-speed technology for the first time in the United States.

The 28 Avelia Liberty high-speed trains, from the French manufacturer Alstom, are now slated to enter service in fall 2023, 2½ years behind schedule. The new train cars, modeled after trains that are in operation across Europe, are being assembled in a facility in Hornell, N.Y.

“We want our customers to experience the new train sets as soon as possible,” said Laura Mason, Amtrak’s executive vice president overseeing major capital projects. “But obviously, we need to do that when it’s fully tested and certified and proven safe.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/trans...-trains-delay/

[Busy Bee]

They've been testing for over a year. I don't think it's unfair to ask the obvious of what the hell takes so long to certify them as safe. Are they concerned they will just leap from the tracks without warning?

[202_Cyclist]

I took this photo on my way from New York to DC on Monday. Hopefully it is part of the Baltimore Penn Station modernization.

[202_Cyclist]

This is excellent news. I am looking forward to being able to take Amtrak to Burlington.

Amtrak Set to Restore Passenger Rail to Burlington This Summer


By Kevin McCallum
Seven Days
May 4, 2022


Vermont lawmakers watching an Amtrak test run (Photo courtesy of Seven Days)


"The pine-green tourist train slowed in Shelburne, pulled off the main line onto a siding and came to a stop with a gentle, squeaky jerk.

Word quickly spread among the passengers — including 11 members of the Vermont House Transportation Committee — that the highlight of their unusual excursion was fast approaching from the south.

The state lawmakers — on a tour last week of upgrades to the 68-mile stretch of rail line between Rutland and Burlington — were about to see what tens of millions of dollars buy in the rail business."

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/...t?oid=35490764

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

I took this photo on my way from New York to DC on Monday. Hopefully it is part of the Baltimore Penn Station modernization.

Yes, it's a new dedicated high-level platform to accommodate the new Avelia trainsets that Acela will use.

Unfortunately the separate platform will probably also allow for more of Amtrak's patented security theater...

[202_Cyclist]

U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak to increase trains as demand returns

By David Shepardson
May 9, 2022
Reuters

"WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Monday it is boosting train service ahead of an expected busy summer travel season and as rail demand returns, with high gasoline prices encouraging more people to take trains.

Amtrak said it planned to operate about 80% of pre-pandemic level Northeast Regional train departures that serve the Boston to Washington corridor. It will also boost the number of its higher-speed Acela trains that cater to business travelers along the same route and is adding trains to other routes..."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...ns-2022-05-09/

[Innsertnamehere]

great news. Wonder if the Maple Leaf or other cross-border services will resume soon. It's been a long time since I've seen an Amtrak Train in Toronto.