by Rockingham Racer
Thanks for that. And I just want to remind us that Amtrak ran its overnight Spirit of California for a couple of years in the early 80s.
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Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 7:21 amYep. The Daylight would leave either the CalTrain station or the new Transbay Terminal (whichever is in operation), follow the CalTrain route down the peninsula through Palo Alto and Santa Clara to San Jose and Gilroy, then swing west to the coast. Oakland passengers would connect via a Capital in San Jose, or BART in San Francisco.gokeefe wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 6:26 amWould this service use a station other than Jack London Square in Oakland? Trying to understand the connection in San Francisco ...Pretty sure the connection between Jack London Square (for most Amtrak trains) and San Francisco Caltrain Depot (for the proposed Coast Daylight) would either be in San Jose or a self-transfer via BART and other transit.[qu
Station Aficionado wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 3:59 pm
Yep. The Daylight would leave either the CalTrain station or the new Transbay Terminal (whichever is in operation), follow the CalTrain route down the peninsula through Palo Alto and Santa Clara to San Jose and Gilroy, then swing west to the coast. Oakland passengers would connect via a Capital in San Jose, or BART in San Francisco.
WhartonAndNorthern wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 4:32 pmOr take the actual Starlight since it's probably leaving around the same timeframe. I get that the SB Starlight which starts in Seattle might be late to Oakland.Sure seems like a waste to have two trains on each other’s markers, doesn’t it? Might be an excuse for Amtrak to shift the Coast Starlight to an earlier departure time so the Amtrak California Coast Daylight can have a 10am-10pm schedule.
On the bright side UP hardly uses the Coast Sub so there won't be a fight for access. Crossing inventory for Salinas and Atascadero show only 2 switching freight movements per day.
Station Aficionado wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 3:59 pmYep. The Daylight would leave either the CalTrain station or the new Transbay Terminal (whichever is in operation), follow the CalTrain route down the peninsula through Palo Alto and Santa Clara to San Jose and Gilroy, then swing west to the coast. Oakland passengers would connect via a Capital in San Jose, or BART in San Francisco.Thank you for giving me a really good excuse to read up on the Transbay Terminal and it's replacement the Transbay Transit Center now formally known as the Salesforce Transit Center. I had no idea why Amtrak didn't serve downtown San Francisco directly.
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:02 pmWhereas I agree running a Daylight train makes more sense during the day than at night, if only for servicing intermediate stations at a reasonable hour, switching the Starlight running time between SJ and LA also affects when it runs between SJ and Seattle.WhartonAndNorthern wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 4:32 pmOr take the actual Starlight since it's probably leaving around the same timeframe. I get that the SB Starlight which starts in Seattle might be late to Oakland.Sure seems like a waste to have two trains on each other’s markers, doesn’t it? Might be an excuse for Amtrak to shift the Coast Starlight to an earlier departure time so the Amtrak California Coast Daylight can have a 10am-10pm schedule.
On the bright side UP hardly uses the Coast Sub so there won't be a fight for access. Crossing inventory for Salinas and Atascadero show only 2 switching freight movements per day.
gokeefe wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:23 pmPerhaps if it goes forward they’ll get proposals from both Amtrak and Keolis (operator of MBTA’s rail lines) and decide based on that. The alternatives go everywhere from a bare minimum alternative which would be only the essential track upgrades and a Shuttle train that would run from WOR to SPG stopping at Palmer and having to connect to existing MBTA trains to a pie in the sky option where they’d build a New right of way along I-90 and run a true high speed service. The more moderate (and best) options involve more reasonable upgrades to the existing line and a standalone express service separate from the existing MBTA trains and stopping only at Palmer, Worcester, Back Bay, and Boston. (Maybe they’d throw in Framingham too if Amtrak was operating it.) I frankly would prefer Amtrak as the operator because it would mean that 448/449 could provide a base for the schedule. While 448 can be unreliable, 449 can play a useful role in the schedule.lordsigma12345 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:20 pmMassachusetts is also studying an east-west corridor that could go on the list. All of the six alternatives run between Springfield and Boston with some also extending the service to Pittsfield. No decisions have been made on who would operate it or how.This is a tricky one too but I will admit that getting all of these communities to join the MBTA would be nearly impossible. That means "more likely than not" that Amtrak will be the operator.
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 3:08 pm From Imlauer Pitter Hotel Salzburg--I don’t think they’ll kill the Starlight - I think it’s one of the few overnighters the current regime wants to run. It seems they’d like to kill the other long distance trains and focus on making the Zephyr, Builder, and Starlight into “experiential trains.” But the daylight corridor idea seems sound.
Did this discussion ever light up since I went overseas!
Now regarding the Coast Daylight proposal, I cannot imagine two trains, namely the existing Starlight and a proposed Daylight "chasing.markers". I would guess the through train will be broken with passengers "overnighting" in the Bay Area and those wishing to "get there" doing the Bus-Train-Bus down the Valley.
Additional savings would be gained from elimination of full service dining and Sleeping cars on the Daylight.
Backshophoss wrote: ↑Sun Aug 18, 2019 6:22 pm There's room at Montauk yard for Amtrak to lay over,may need to build a ground power supply,and possibly truck in fuel.If this is a summer-only service, your stops should be Jamaica (connection to everywhere), Bay Shore (for the Fire Island boats), Westhampton, Southampton, East Hampton, Montauk.
Only stops would be Jamaica or Hicksville(Divide tower) for the Greenport connection,Babylon,Speonk,Bridgehampton and Montauk .
Consist would be 4 coaches,1 Cafe,and 2 Biz class cars,1 baggage at beginning and end of season,
power is 1 P-32DM.
Season is end of April to end of Sept.
Not sure if LIRR will allow Pvt cars,or send a switcher to Montauk to to switch them on/off Amtrak,Cost could be $$$$$
3rd track Mainline when online to Divide,and with the CTC now reaching Montauk,should not be a dealbreaker to run
as most sidings are within control points.
David Benton wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:12 am None of that matters because he is cutting dinners on the long distance trains. They also seem to be overlooking the fact He is doing it to comply with a congress mandate by 2020Yep. They somehow place dinner on a china plate as more important than increasing train service to communities where it might have a chance of success.
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:02 pmSure seems like a waste to have two trains on each other’s markers, doesn’t it? Might be an excuse for Amtrak to shift the Coast Starlight to an earlier departure time so the Amtrak California Coast Daylight can have a 10am-10pm schedule.I think the reason for the mid-morning departure from LA in the first place is that back in 1971 there was supposed to be a through train from San Diego to Seattle. Quite soon thereafter they changed the origin to LA but retained the same departure time to protect the SD connection; today an earlier LA departure could be adopted for one of the trains; having the Starlight leave earlier would provide better arrival times all the way up the coast.