Downeaster Trackwork & Upgrades

gprimr1 wrote:I'm not as worried as I was 4 years ago. Amtrak has been showing year after year of growth and with the newly elected running on a campaign about jobs and economy, they would be hard pressed to put thousands of people out of a job.

You'd be surprised. Maine's new Tea Party-supported governor-elect said during the campaign that he wanted to put state workers in the unemployment line.

MEC407 wrote:

gprimr1 wrote:I'm not as worried as I was 4 years ago. Amtrak has been showing year after year of growth and with the newly elected running on a campaign about jobs and economy, they would be hard pressed to put thousands of people out of a job.

You'd be surprised. Maine's new Tea Party-supported governor-elect said during the campaign that he wanted to put state workers in the unemployment line.

Given that most of those elected campaigned heavy on the mantra of "reduce the deficit/change evil Democratic spending" I would be very fearful about severe cuts in Amtak's budget. Capital spending will be just the type of things these nit wits will look to slash. It won't be long before we are right back to where we were with delayed maintenance on bridges and other infrastructure.

Before I made any decisions about my choice for governor I took the time to read now Governor-Elect LePage's platform. I was interested in his point of view but I wanted to see more about what he claimed he would do as governor. The platform has a very heavy emphasis on welfare and state entitlement (MEDICAID) reform.

There are several subtle reasons why I don't think he will change policies towards rail in Maine but the most important of these being that his target for cutting state spending is not the bureaucracy as a whole but more than likely certain components of DHHS. I think he appreciates that on balance Maine's state government is very competent but DHHS and Maine's current statutes governing welfare and MEDICAID need to be changed substantially. There is a lot of mileage to be had in making these changes for little if any political difficulty.

On the other hand making changes to relatively popular programs like the Downeaster cost tremendous political capital for very little return, in terms of balancing the state budget. I would postulate the following possibility. The Governor along with the City of Portland will end up supporting a new passenger rail station on the west end of Commercial Street in Portland. There may even be bond money involved. TRNE may even step in to help by marketing and advocating the benefits of increasing ridership from tourists on the train, in particular a potential reduction in the operating subsidy due to higher ridership with roughly the same amount of equipment. I know this isn't possible right now with the service as proposed but I think this is a detail that could be solved at a later date. The Governor would gain political capital in Portland from this high-profile investment in the City infrastructure while at the same time supporting a program that is politcially popular in Southern Maine.

He would also be able to demonstrate that he is even-handed in his interpretation of the value of government supported programs. Those that benefit the public, including in certain intangible ways, for relatively low costs, are acceptable.

I do not believe for one minute that Amtrak will be successfully defunded. The Downeaster will keep rolling for years to come. Threatening to do otherwise could potentially cost the Governor any chance at reelection. Keep in mind York County which is one of the prime beneficiaries of service for the Downeaster was instrumental in electing LePage.

All we can do is make our feelings known to the legislatures and be vigilant. I'm sure that we have all sorts of political views here so it gives us talking ground.

markhb wrote:

roberttosh wrote:Does anyone know how far west/south they have dropped off the CWR and also how far west/south they have actually installed the CWR? Thanks!

Although I haven't actually gone down there to look, my impression is that after last week's escapades they have dropped off all the CWR, clear to the Mountain Division junction. I'm not sure how much has actually been installed, though; that may also tie into the square-nuts issue still pending in Washington.

Oct 31 saw the progress report, above. (Pretty much the last on-topic post in this thread )

- Has the square nuts issue been resolved?
- Where do things stand now versus the expected progress/schedule?
- What progress (if any) can be expected through the winter months?

Apparently it just came out yesterday (and I think was completely missed by the Maine press): The FRA intends to grant the waiver.

Ironically,

US GPO wrote:FRA intends to grant the waiver because there are no domestic commercially available track nuts that meet the needed specifications and custom made fabricated track nuts that cannot be delivered for 10-16 weeks are not "reasonably available'' under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B), especially given NNEPRA has mobilized for the track construction and Maine has a short construction season.

(Emphasis added)

So they decide it on November 30...

15 days for someone to protest before the waiver becomes final. It amazes me that they couldn't come up with someone from the US that could provide these at a reasonable price. If, as seems likely from the way the original waiver app was worded, they are a relatively standard piece of railroad hardware, and there are likely to be even more such HSIPR jobs coming around, I would think that some American manufacturer could have made some relatively easy money. Hell, BIW probably could have churned these things out if someone asked.

According to the New York Times, since the HSR $$$ were revoked from Wisconsin and Ohio, they are being re-distributed to 13 other states. Maine, Mass and Vermont are due to get 'less than $10 million' each. Does anyone know how much and for what?

From the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/us/10rail.html?hp

"Ohio and Wisconsin’s loss of $1.2 billion in federal stimulus money for rail projects will be California, Florida and 11 other states’ gains, federal officials said on Thursday. "

...

"The other states that will get Ohio and Wisconsin’s money will be Washington, which will get up to $161 million; Illinois, which will get $42.3 million; and Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Vermont, which will all get less than $10 million."

artman wrote:According to the New York Times, since the HSR $$$ were revoked from Wisconsin and Ohio, they are being re-distributed to 13 other states. Maine, Mass and Vermont are due to get 'less than $10 million' each. Does anyone know how much and for what?

Two Downeaster states got new money: Maine $3.3m and Mass $2.8m. Not sure what one gets for that kinda money. From the FRA's Press Release (found at http://www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/press-releases/231.shtml ) all it gives is the amounts:

FRA Press Release wrote: The $1.195 billion originally designated for those high-speed rail projects in Wisconsin and Ohio will now be used to support projects in the following states:
California: up to $624 million
Florida: up to $342.3 million
Washington State: up to $161.5 million
Illinois: up to $42.3 million
New York: up to $7.3 million
Maine: up to $3.3 million
Massachusetts: up to $2.8 million
Vermont: up to $2.7 million
Missouri up to $2.2 million
Wisconsin: up to $2 million for the Hiawatha line
Oregon: up to $1.6 million
North Carolina: up to $1.5 million
Iowa: up to $309,080
Indiana: up to $364,980

A comment on the Give-the-money-back thread (can't remember the actual name) in the Amtrak forum indicated that the money being discussed is essentially the difference between what the states originally requested and what they were initially granted. So, if Maine requested $38.3 million and got $35 million, the money being mentioned now is the $3.3 million difference.

On the broad subject of Downeaster trackwork, I'd just like to point out for those who haven't seen it that the section of the Mountain Branch between the Portland Transportation Center and Mountain Junction looks fantastic. It's probably in the best shape it's ever been in. Take a look at this video: http://www.vimeo.com/17271775

On the Amtrak Downeaster Expansion page, NNEPRA's announcement about the reallocation of funds says:

The MaineDOT agreed to fund the balance of the project, but now those funds can hopefully be used to complete additional project elements which were not included in the original Downeaster Expansion Project application.

I was just wondering if anybody knows what these "additional project elements" might be. Thanks!

I wish I knew what elements they're thinking of. My own hope is that, if the MDOT money isn't already dedicated to rail, that NNEPRA lets some of it go back to the general (or MDOT) fund. Politically, they need to be humble and above all not seen as greedy when much of the rest of the state has poor transportation options as well. Maybe set up a second track and platform in Brunswick to make transfers to Rockland and Augusta easier (I'm not sure how much a platform costs, though), and then turn the rest of the cash back in.

My own ranking of possible ways to spend the money would be something like this (ranking them based on how they might affect the overall public perception of NNEPRA):

• Excellent: Second track and platform in Brunswick
• Very Good: Study for extending passenger rail Brunswick to Augusta via the Lower Road (L/A service is already being studied)
• Fair: Adding to the pool of service improvements for the Portland-Plaistow track
• Poor: Planning for a new station in Portland
• Abject failure: Purchasing William Wegman murals for the PTC.

I once saw a statistic that said Maine was one of the most rural, if not the most rural, state in the nation in terms of percentage of residents that live in a defined metropolitan area. Right now the rural communities are effectively in charge of the State House; NNEPRA will do well to keep in mind that they are a public agency charged with serving the people of the entire state, not just the comparatively small number of people who go to Boston regularly. I consider myself a strong supporter of NNEPRA and the Downeaster; I just don't think they can survive while just serving Cumberland and York counties.

To discuss actual trackwork, I believe there was a ballast train dumping rock on the mainline in Portland today, particularly on Track 1 between Riverside and Allen.

Minutes from the last Freeport train committee meeting.

"- Current rail project: Portland to Brunswick
o Train bed (right of way) is owned by Pan Am Railway
o 14 miles of track have already been laid. Each section of the new Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) is 1650 feet in length. Last shipment will arrive within the next 2 weeks.
o 35,000 ties will need to be replaced. Approx. every 3rd tie.
o 36 grade crossings will need to be replaced
 All will have lights and gates installed
 They will be electronically controlled
o 4-6 culvert replacements within the Freeport area.
- Platform construction (Paul Pottle of MDOT)
o The platform will be 400 feet in length
o It will be made up of high and low portions (Mini-high Platform)
o It will be entirely located on Pan Am land
o 65 feet of it will be covered and at train level.
o There will be disability access
o Construction to begin September of next year (2011)
- Total construction expected to last 2 years and hopefully completed by fall 2012.
- There will be test trains that will run next summer for the purpose of training new crews."

The complete report: http://www.freeportmaine.com/meeting.de ... ing_id=823
Map of the platform location: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source= ... 2&t=k&z=19

Double Stack wrote: Map of the platform location: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source= ... 2&t=k&z=19

Its nice that the town has remained centered on the old Depot Ave, with the LL Bean store so nearby, and that the Depot will return to find the town waiting.

markhb wrote:
My own hope is that, if the MDOT money isn't already dedicated to rail, that NNEPRA lets some of it go back to the general (or MDOT) fund.

Thanks for the reply! I agree that they should definitely think carefully about what they do with the extra money.

Double Stack wrote:
The complete report: http://www.freeportmaine.com/meeting.de ... ing_id=823
Map of the platform location: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source= ... 2&t=k&z=19

Thanks for the link- I've been wondering where they're planning to put it. :D