Jersey_Mike wrote:I know someone who works in Metro North capitol planning and when I suggest that certain projects are wasteful he flat out tells me that "if you have the money, you spend the money because you CAN spend the money". I don't agree with that and if public entities that try to save money get their budgets cut then we need to fix our budgeting process.
The other reason SEPTA is looking for new locomotives is because they have Bi-level envy. The AEM's don't have the power to pull bi-level trainsets. Why does SEPTA need bi-levels? Because passengers complain about 3-2 seating. With record ridership SEPTA needs to tell the complainers that if they don't like it they can go drive. Again it comes down to money. If SEPTA is having funding issues why are they spending on luxury items like 2-2 seating? Expansion of service should be their first priority.
Ah, the "I know someone who works for such and such and they said..." statement. So, I am to assume a hearsay quote from a MN rubber stamp totally verifies your argument and substantiates all public spending behavior. OK, fine, - I know a guy that works for SEPTA who told me "We had to put 2-2 seating in the SV's or 101 puppies would die!" There you have it, case closed.
Orrrrrr...... It could be that when polled, the biggest gripe among regular regional rail riders was narrow and 3-2 seating. Not a few, but a vast majority voiced their displeasure. The nerve of SEPTA actually listening to their customers for once instead of fighting back with the draconian (and ignorant) reply of "Deal with it or drive!" If it was only about the money, why install seats in the first place? I understand SEPTA is not operating the "Blue Train", but this is not Tokyo either. Also, saying that "Ridership is at record levels" really means nothing in this respect. What really is a "record level" number? What's is a "record level" in the scope of what more can be done?
I am surprised nobody mentioned that SEPTA put the push-pulls up for sale back in 2005 (Advertised in 2005 for a sale in 2010-2011). It was listed on their website but was nixed by Penndot because they are the ones who actually bought them. I believe the state bought them as a grant to SEPTA so they could retire the last of the Blueliners and allow some of the SIV's to be shopped (The Reading side SIV's trainline and PCB work in the 90's?) When this was advertised, there were no plans to replace them with locomotive hauled trains. It's obvious SEPTA was all about the EMU but changed their minds. The reason for such a change of heart? Maybe:
CComMack wrote: The express trains are consistently among the most heavily patronized, even considering their peak-hour timing, so it makes sense that an increase in peak-hour service would have a large express component to it. Even at off-peak hours, there's an argument for express service cutting runtimes to west-of-Paoli, Delaware, or Trenton, where you have the most direct competition from overbuilt free highways. It doesn't align exactly with what I would prioritize most, but I can definitely see the argument for proceeding like this based on planning for the future (no sense in getting a handful of locos now and another handful in a few years), and the S-IVs having a few more years in them than the AEM-7s.
This could be what SEPTA is thinking and will be used for justification. Spending money because there is money to spend can apply to some public spending, I won't argue that - there are plenty of cases out there. I once fired 9000 7.62 rounds into the air on September 30th, I get it. But considering that SEPTA wanted to jump the push-pull ship and now wants to buy a new one, shows some evidence that there could be a paradigm shift in equipment and service patterns.