Amtrak Downeaster Discussion Thread

[Jeff Smith]

Way back when COVID became an issue, I STRESSED that it was to be discussed only as it may affect frequencies, schedules, crews, etc. i.e. railroad-related.

I think I did it in the general "COVID" topic, but of course, we have specific threads as well.

Supposition of how the pandemic may play out, vis-a-vis vaccines, timeline, cause, etc., was requested to NOT BE DISCUSSED.

There have been many deaths of railroad crew related to COVID. For those, of course, I offer sympathy and of course, memorials here are welcome for any railroaders or railfans who die of not just COVID, but anything.

Some of the posts above are clearly more meant to reflect the writer's opinion about COVID and only tangentially RAILROAD-RELATED will in the future be summarily deleted. It's supposed to be the other way around; I side with Washington Park; we're a RAILROAD FORUM.

I've let this go, because I understand the impact it's had on all of us. I try NOT to be like Zuck; speculation is okay on railroad related matters. If you want to speculate on COVID, do it on his watch.

Thanks.

[MEC407]

From Maine Public Radio:

Pan Am Railways — Maine’s largest railroad — is planning to be acquired by CSX, which operates 21,000 miles of track covering the eastern U.S., Ontario and Quebec.

Nate Moulton, director of freight and passenger services for the state Transportation Department, says the sale could be good for Maine.

“On the surface it looks very good in that you now have got direct rail, you know, connections, without interchange to many locations up and down the eastern part of the country,” he says.

But Moulton says there are questions to be answered, including how CSX will handle the Amtrak Downeaster passenger trains that use private tracks from Brunswick to the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border.

“We have questions in that regard, making sure that service is protected and continues to run on time and efficiently. So, those are some of the things we need to talk to them about as we get into this process,” he says.

[emphasis added]

Read more at: https://www.mainepublic.org/post/offici ... good-maine

[Ridgefielder]

Given that CSX handles the Empire Service, the various NY-Florida trains, the Lake Shore, the Cardinal and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting I can't see this being a huge issue.

[daybeers]

Except when they massively delay those trains

[swist]

You gotta be kidding. The Lake Shore has a horrible OTP. I know several frequent riders. They say it pulls off on sidings in single track areas to let CSX freights go by.

[Arborwayfan]

Right, CSX is not a great host to passenger trains on its busy main lines. I guess whether that carries over to lighter-density lines in Maine and NH remains to be seen.
Are there any other possible pluses or minuses to DE service from having CSX own both plausible freight routes into NE?

[J.D. Lang]

I think there are a lot of plusses for CSX having the Downeaster route. There will never by as much traffic as say the Empire corridor plus once they hire and rearrange crew districts they won't be outlawing trains through there. Also their MOW forces are better equipped to keep the Class standards up especially if Maine pays for the materials.

[Ridgefielder]

You gotta be kidding. The Lake Shore has a horrible OTP. I know several frequent riders. They say it pulls off on sidings in single track areas to let CSX freights go by.

What's the OTP on the Florida trains south of DC? That's ~1,000 mi on CSX, vs ~450 for the Lake Shore which gets handed off to NS at Cleveland.

[Rockingham Racer]

Here's a graphic. Note that the Downeaster does worse than a lot of other routes, including those hosted by CSX.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... ce-mapped/

[MEC407]

That graphic doesn't tell us how much of the DE's lateness took place on PAR and how much of the DE's lateness took place on the T.

Historically most DE delays have happened on the T, not on PAR.

[NRGeep]

That graphic doesn't tell us how much of the DE's lateness took place on PAR and how much of the DE's lateness took place on the T.

Historically most DE delays have happened on the T, not on PAR.

The duration of DE delays in T territory compared to PAR's terrain would be germane. A single PAR freight "tied down" could equal several minor commuter rail delays.

[Rockingham Racer]

That graphic doesn't tell us how much of the DE's lateness took place on PAR and how much of the DE's lateness took place on the T.

Historically most DE delays have happened on the T, not on PAR.

Correct. But the question wasn't about that. It was about DE performance vis-a-vis , for example, Silver Service trains and the graphic does show that.

[ExCon90]

One thing worth watching might be where the PAR lines will be dispatched from. When C&NW was merged into UP the dispatching of the Chicago commuter trains was shifted to Omaha, and the word was that when the ex-C&NW dispatchers declined to make the move it took the Omaha dispatchers quite a while to learn the territory and discover the difference between long freight trains and shorter, faster commuter trains with hundreds of passengers on board.

[Trinnau]

MBTA will take the dispatching of their territory, they have a requirement that it stays in-state. As for the rest, it will likely be moved.

[markhb]

I'm less concerned about CSX's alleged treatment of Amtrak elsewhere, because it's not like D1 and D2 are hurting for slots. Pan Am isn't exactly Water Level Route traffic levels, IOW.