Expansion

Found this article in my newsfeed

Amtrak route restructure targets new corridors

Key point, from the article

Lang, in his presentation, said the "price of admission for new corridor service has gotten to be really, really expensive." Amtrak is proposing a five-year, $25 billion spending plan that would pay for trains and other equipment, as well as covering startup and other operating costs, with the operating support gradually shifting over a period of years to the state in which the trains are operating.

Yeah, kinda light on details... as is some other articles. One had a map but at the size it was presented, it was useless. Google-fu failed hard on this one.

Link is no good using IE11, which I use to access this site.

Need Chrome or Edge.

Fair Use from material submitted by Col. Perkowski:

Amtrak officials have been crisscrossing the United States in recent months, meeting with state transportation officials in places like Tennessee, Texas and Nevada as they seek to bring train service to some of the nation's fastest growing population centers.

While most of the focus is on new routes in the South and West, New York state and the Capital Region likely would benefit from the effort as well.

So, apparently Amtrak has been reaching to the States to "join in the crusade" for additional short distance services. Somehow, this was not clear by the reporting relating to an Ohio initiative. Quoting an advocacy group's, regardless of what they are advocating, press release is "not exactly" reporting to me. However, I still hold that this is part of what every agency in town is doing - "beseeching" the new administration to do their bidding. Getting local level "input" apparently adds to the credibility.

But in view of their past accurate reporting of passenger train affairs, I do consider the Albany Times Union to be "credible".

I just posted a global of Secretary Buttigieg’s first speech to DOT.

If Amtrak comes to Florida with this proposal, since Brightline is building a system on their own dime, the powers that be in that state may tell Amtrak thanks but no thanks. We have our own system, thank you very much.

Still missing a big market by not running a LD train down the east coast of Florida.

I have always thought a NYC - Chicago train via Detroit (though Canada) would be a winner.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 07, 2021 3:43 pm

When was this map made? Is there official proposed passenger rail map by the Biden Administration?

The Pennsylvania plans are interesting. I presume the Reading trains would access 30th Street by staying on the NS Harrisburg Line on the south bank of the Schuylkill down to Zoo Interlocking.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 07, 2021 3:43 pm

Still missing a big market by not running a LD train down the east coast of Florida.

I have always thought a NYC - Chicago train via Detroit (though Canada) would be a winner.

I still want a higher resolution map than this. There's a lot of detail we're missing.

Passenger service to Reading should be more SEPTA than a state funded PRIIA. Allentown-NYP is also more
commuter than national network or state corridor (even NJT made as far as Phillipsburg as late as 1983).

It seems the old National route (east-west I-70 Midwest corridor) between PGH and STL will likely never return.

rcthompson04 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 07, 2021 6:10 pm The Pennsylvania plans are interesting. I presume the Reading trains would access 30th Street by staying on the NS Harrisburg Line on the south bank of the Schuylkill down to Zoo Interlocking.

The track connection at Zoo was removed some years ago, and even if it were restored a serious choke point would exist on the single track between Belmont and Zoo, which sees NS trains from Reading and CSX trains from the West Trenton direction, both going to the High Line -- a burst air hose along there would paralyze passenger service for hours. R36 correctly states that a Reading service is not really part of Amtrak's mission; SEPTA (or some other State agency) would have to run it via Norristown and the Center City Commuter Connection, which raises the familiar dual-power issues.

I'm surprised the Pioneer isn't on the map.

wigwagfan wrote: ↑Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:19 am I'm surprised the Pioneer isn't on the map.

There's quite a few "formers" not on the map. I get a kick, though, out of service increases in Texas by 2025. Having lived there, you can bet your bottom dollar that "transportation" equals highways, not passenger rail. They've had a passenger rail plan since at least 2007, and not one mile of it has been implemented. Same thing in Florida and South Carolina. And there's the disingenuous part of this whole plan: leaving service up to the states to pay for, eventually. It's never going to happen in states like those. Florida gave back lots of "fedibucks" for the initiation passenger rail routes a while back because they did not want to be saddled by the cost of it down the road. And that's exactly what the current proposal is by Amtrak.

R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:17 pm Passenger service to Reading should be more SEPTA than a state funded PRIIA. Allentown-NYP is also more
commuter than national network or state corridor (even NJT made as far as Phillipsburg as late as 1983).

It seems the old National route (east-west I-70 Midwest corridor) between PGH and STL will likely never return.

I presume that would be Reading - Philadelphia - New York service.

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 07, 2021 3:43 pm

Still missing a big market by not running a LD train down the east coast of Florida.

I have always thought a NYC - Chicago train via Detroit (though Canada) would be a winner.

NYC-Detroit-Chicago lasted until A-Day in 1971 and seems to float up again as a proposal every few years. The main hurdles are the fact that the old NYC route across Ontario-- the Canada Southern-- was abandoned years ago, and the current Detroit Amtrak station is a good 3 1/2 miles off the direct Ontario - Chicago route through the Michigan Central tunnel.

I find it odd that there's no proposal for an Atlanta-Jacksonville/Miami service, via either Waycross or Savannah.