All Things Sunset Limited (West)

Please post all matters about the existing Sunset Limited (Los Angeles to New Orleans) in this thread.

You can find the old thread here.

Looks like there's a study for what amounts to a small bit of corridor service along the Sunset Limited route between LA and the Coachella Valley.

http://www.pe.com/articles/amtrak-81559 ... rains.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The public is getting an opportunity to shape a study that could lead to two Amtrak trains a day running 141 miles between Los Angeles Union Station and Indio, with a stop in Riverside.

A round of three meetings begins Wednesday, Oct. 12, in Riverside and continues through early next week.

Most of the study has been funded by a federal grant:

The agency, which plans and funds major transportation projects in the county, recently received a nearly $3 million federal grant to help pay for the $4 million study.

Add a third track all the way and the UP might go for it; a lot of transcontinental traffic uses that route.

There's a 3rd track already on Beaumont Hill out of the valley,that UP put in on their "dime"
The only active station is Garnet(aka Palm Springs on Amtrak) a station added at Coachella/Indio would be the endpoint
of the run(Indio yard).
To reach Riverside,you leave the Sunset route at Mt Vernon(nearColton)to get on BNSF/SCAX trackage to LAUS.

The third track on Beaumont Hill statement surprised me. Google Maps, although not up to date probably, seems to contradict that statement. So does a poster on another forum, for whatever that's worth.

Could you point us to a source that backs up your assertion? TIA.

Suggest Searching in Bing maps,Beaumont, Riverside County Ca,you will see the 3rd main there,that was part of UP's upgrade of
their southern transconn starting at El Paso Tx to Colton Ca (All ex-SP)
Double track,from Tx,thru NM,Az,and Ca to Coachella,Triple track Indio to Beaumont.
Saw that track being built while driving on I-10 over a couple of years around 2008-2010.

Roger dodger.

Was looking at existing service through Coachella Valley on Google Maps. Despite being listed as a pickup stop on the PDF schedule for SL and TE, Maps would only list TE as picking up in Palm Springs.

Google Maps would appear to not understand the nuance of Amtrak's service in Palm Springs. There's only one train through PS (3x/week in each direction). I would describe it as the Sunset, carrying through cars to/from the Eagle. Amtrak's computer system, though, may list it as two trains running combined.

Two cars, the ones connected with the Texas Eagle, are consider by Amtrak as Trains 421 and 422. Usually, only those passengers riding both 21, 22 and 1, 2 beyond San Antonio - in either direction - can book it.

Okay, that makes things clearer - thanks!

Dropping to twice weekly for work: http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/20 ... ing-jan-20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Sunset Limited will begin seven weeks of reduced frequencies and adjusted schedules later this month as a result of a major track project in Texas.

To accommodate the track rehabilitation between San Antonio and El Paso, Union Pacific’s work is requiring Amtrak to cancel one of the three weekly Sunset Limited round trips and lengthening schedules on the other two trips. The changes, which also impact connecting service to and from Chicago on the Texas Eagle, begin Jan. 20 and run through March 9.
...
The Sunset changes mean there will be no westbound departure from New Orleans on Mondays, and no eastbound train leaving from Los Angeles on Sundays, so there will be no eastbound service for a four-day period and no westbound trains for a three-day span. On the Texas Eagle, the through cars that depart Chicago on Sundays, normally bound for Los Angeles, will only operate as far as San Antonio.
...

The article also references Crescent service: see that topic for discussion: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=109522" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Given this is snowbird season right now, the timing of this stinks too much, why is UP doing this during the winter months?
Unless UP is Dropping and changing welded rail now instead of summers high temp in the SW US in Texas and NM, this doesn't make sense!!

It's not unheard of to have 100+ degree temps there in the summer months. As a matter of fact, it's quite common.

Could be because there aren't that many parts of the UP where you could do trackwork during the winter months. I think the Eastern carriers schedule their trackwork from south to north in the spring, do upstate NY and places like that during the summer, then work southwards again toward the fall.