Overhauling Amtrak

[TowerDude]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I'd like to see the stainless dropped in favor of a painted carbody that could be customized for the named train, maybe "throwback" painted in the scheme and style of the original fallen flag RR. In the case of the Texas Eagle you could have dark blue cars and red sun emblems used as a motif throughout the branding as an homage to the Missouri Pacific.

And yes, I understand that this would complicate equipment interchangeability.

I think Amtrak should have the same look across the whole country. None of this regionalization.

[Busy Bee]

Completely disagree, buy hey, to each their own...

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

I think Amtrak should have the same look across the whole country. None of this regionalization.

I think Amtrak should do whatever it can to modernize the system even if does not have the same look.

[Busy Bee]

Named train nostalgia livery and uniform standardized Amtrak branding could easily coexist.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

And yes, I understand that this would complicate equipment interchangeability.

If the named trains ran a lot more trains (i.e. The Cardinal), then there could be at least one reserve trainset for each named route, and so the prospect of mismatched equipment would be reduced.

Unfortunately, the limited number of trains on some routes (again, I submit The Cardinal) means nobody who lives along hundreds of miles of the route ever sees the train during the daylight hours.

[mfastx]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

I think Amtrak should have the same look across the whole country. None of this regionalization.

Agree. Amtrak clearly can't handle individually branded trains as there is mismatched consists all over the country. For example the Surfliner trains always have a Superliner car mixed in with the wrong scheme. I just want consistency.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by k1052

The way things are going with the fleet they might want to bump up the RFP to this year or like maybe next week.

Yeah they are dropping like flies. I guess the good thing about the heavy-ass steel carshells is that they can be rebuilt and placed back in service (although I guess there is a limit to this with metal fatigue). The modern, lightweight Euro-stock that activists keep demanding will be totaled by a derailment like the one in Missouri.

Originally Posted by mfastx

Agree. Amtrak clearly can't handle individually branded trains as there is mismatched consists all over the country. For example the Surfliner trains always have a Superliner car mixed in with the wrong scheme. I just want consistency.

What's even weirder is that I sometimes see a Surfliner car come to Chicago on the Southwest Chief.

[Busy Bee]

^Would they though?


one-dead-several-injured-train-crash-southern-germany

If those Superliners had rolled down a hill like the ones in Germany did earlier this month, something tells my the line would be blurred a bit.

[mousquet]

^ Lately, they would've got an incredible pass to their regional trains available to anybody in Germany.
It's crazy cheap, like unrealistic... It would be €9 a month and would give you access to all inter-state trains in their country.

The French communists mention it as something outstanding, but they're either naive or cynical, lying to their voters as it's just impossible.
Here in France, we've got an actual modern and reliable rail network to maintain and develop.
You simply can't fund it by any monthly €9 pass. That is not serious.

[Busy Bee]

^

What does this have to do with anything?

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

^

What does this have to do with anything?

The Deutsche Bahn derailment you posted. It killed and wounded people in Bavaria recently.
You did post a picture of it, didn't ya? That's what happens when it goes too cheap.

[Busy Bee]

Are you claiming that supervalue rider passes are starving the state railroads of capital to buy quality rolling stock?

Yeah, that's not reality at all.

[redblock]

Originally Posted by ardecila

What's even weirder is that I sometimes see a Surfliner car come to Chicago on the Southwest Chief.

The Surfliner cars in Chicago are going to or from Amtrak's Beech Grove shop in Indianapolis for major work.

[202_Cyclist]

Study to reopen Amtrak service to Boise steaming ahead

By Margaret Carmel
BoiseDev
June 29, 2022


Image courtesy of BoiseDev.

"Efforts to reboot the mothballed passenger rail service through Boise are cruising ahead.

In November 2021, Congress passed President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package with $41.5 billion in new funding for Amtrak to expand and upgrade its national network. Some of these funds were allocated for a study examining the potential operation and economic impact of reopening Amtrak’s Pioneer Line, which carried passengers from Portland through Pendleton, Oregon, Boise, Pocatello and south to Salt Lake City through the late 1990s.

Officials in Boise are hopeful this study is the first step toward reestablishing passenger rail service through the Treasure Valley and southern Idaho. Bringing rail back would give passengers more choices for traveling the region without having the hassle of flying or traversing dangerous roads during the winter months..."

https://boisedev.com/2022/06/29/amtrak-boise-service/

[Mister Uptempo]

Posted on the Twitter account of Louis Capwell (@loucapwell), a General Order issued July 09, 2022, by Paul O'Mara, Amtrak Assistant Vice President - Central-Northwest Division...

1. Venture Cars

Venture cars must not be used for boarding or deboarding passengers until further notice.

Exception, they may be used in the case of an emergency.

There have been reports that some of the motorized stairs have been malfunctioning and grab irons/hand rails coming loose. Also, the doors will, on occasion, not fully close.

Most new rolling stock has its share of bugs, but this a big one. Add to this the prior issues with lead in the water pipes and table magnets that can do a number on phones and other electronics, it's fair to say the Venture cars have had more than their share of trouble already.

Could be a real problem for passengers if they are all forced to board Lincoln/Wolverine trains through the Amfleet Café/BC car. Perhaps we'll see a mixed consist of one Venture, then one Horizon, etc.

Link to the twitter post.

[k1052]

Has any US transit agency lately bought rolling stock that actually mostly functions within like a year of delivery and hasn't had to be yanked from service for some massive defect?

[ardecila]

Brightline seems to have rolled out their Venture rolling stock with few problems.

Of course, as a private company we have no idea what problems arose (if any) and they had a 17-month Covid shutdown where they might have fixed any issues quietly. But certainly we haven't seen anything that has disrupted service.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Brightline seems to have rolled out their Venture rolling stock with few problems.

Of course, as a private company we have no idea what problems arose (if any) and they had a 17-month Covid shutdown where they might have fixed any issues quietly. But certainly we haven't seen anything that has disrupted service.

No retractable stair shenanigans for low platform boarding on their order. Which I'm sure helps.

Just everybody else seems pretty f'd lately. Amtrak's problems with these coaches, the new Acelas, MTA's M9s, the ongoing WMATA 7000 series disaster, NYCT R179s, CRRC cars for MBTA Orange line, etc. Like I know stuff happens but it seems like it has been been a spectacularly bad run the last few years.

[Busy Bee]

If I was a venture capitalist billionaire I'd do everything I could to revive Pullman and Budd as North American rolling stock standard bearers.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by k1052

Just everybody else seems pretty f'd lately. Amtrak's problems with these coaches, the new Acelas, MTA's M9s, the ongoing WMATA 7000 series disaster, NYCT R179s, CRRC cars for MBTA Orange line, etc. Like I know stuff happens but it seems like it has been been a spectacularly bad run the last few years.

Hmm I'm definitely not an expert on these but maybe the issue is more about bad specs and bad contracts rather than a sudden and unexplained collapse of American manufacturing - especially when the manufacturing is being overseen by foreign firms with a track record of high quality.

My guess is that the contract for the Ventures did not properly limit Siemens' exposure to warranty claims, and now Amtrak is exaggerating the severity of minor issues to get the most out of their warranty. Trace amounts of lead in the water pipes are suddenly a "life-threatening crisis" etc etc.

Of course Amtrak is perennially broke so it's bad for the American public if they get stuck with a hefty repair bill on their new railcars, but Siemens also should not be held to a standard that is higher than European or Asian practice. Lots of foreign manufacturers already take a pass on American procurements because of all the insanity, and there are no truly domestic companies that want to try either.