njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Not on any of the 400 series shuttles and any of the future ones that will be getting extended to Greenfield-if we are talking about a Budd RDC. If there are any Amfleets, maybe use at least an additional one.There's a bunch of RDCs in Vermont doing nothing, right? But presumably have no PTC etc etc
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AMTRAK NEC: Springfield Shuttle/Regional/Valley Flyer/Inland Routing
- Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
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Yes, it's true about those RDC cars up in Vermont. It's possible that down the road, they might be used in commuter rail operation serving Burlington and other towns within easy reach of Burlington. No, it's not in the plans for them to be used on any of the shuttle trains running between New Haven and Springfield or New Haven and Greenfield. The current 400 series shuttle trains are often more crowded than the Ctrail trains. In certain cases, people have been turned away from those Amtrak shuttle trains because of them being so packed. The last thing that we want is having people turned away from trains because they are above capacity with standees.
Amtrak is considering buying DMUs for some of its state sponsored corridor routes and the shuttle service to Springfield as well as future extensions to Greenfield would be great candidates.
Amtrak is considering buying DMUs for some of its state sponsored corridor routes and the shuttle service to Springfield as well as future extensions to Greenfield would be great candidates.
supposedly current ridership total for Holyoke , Hamp, and Gfield is 26k a year. that works out to 70 passengers a day or 35 passengers a day per train. Maybe half a Bud would work?
That's only correct if new service doesn't result in additional ridership (extremely unlikely).
gokeefe
A Budd car (the modern version) would be a simple solution were Amtrak going to run Inland Regional Service again - “all passengers for Northampton and Greenfield to the last car, all Pittsfield passengers to the second to last” as the others head east to Boston. Push/pull service pushed by a Genesis would also be appropriate; couple behind, decouple the first five cars for Boston or return to NHV, and the other two continue north or west.
Amtrak will be relocating into Springfield Union Station from the 1994 trackside station over the next few days to week. The process has already begun.
Springfield was a strange place ... New and shiny downstairs ... upstairs on the platform it was as though Penn Central was still running things. Ugly urban decay and an unshakeable sense of hopelessness for the future of passenger rail. The presence of old Metroliner cab cars more generally reminiscent of PC operations also added to the gloomy ambiance.
In some ways the renovation upstairs has been the most shocking of all because the area had never been closed and was in such poor condition generally.
In some ways the renovation upstairs has been the most shocking of all because the area had never been closed and was in such poor condition generally.
gokeefe
Springfield was the NE region HQ for PC then CR including dispatching,the public areas were long closed before Amtrak,hence the "tunnel"
ticket office/crew base for Amtrak untill the rebuilding of the entire station building.
ticket office/crew base for Amtrak untill the rebuilding of the entire station building.
The Land of Enchantment is not Flyover country!
From what I've read, mostly linked from around here, Springfied was pretty unique in basically being a time capsule. It was only after the building was turned over to the rebuilding project that the valuable wooden seating that was supposed to be re-used was stolen. This was reported to the police who never even investigated or followed up in any way on the grand theft (hundreds of thousands of dollars worth).
Yes it's quite unfortunate about the wooden benches. I believe only one or two of them (the ones in the worst condition) were left behind - they were able to restore those and they cut them into a couple smaller ones (the small wooden benches in the new waiting area are from Springfield's originals) the full size benches in the main hall are loaners from Grand Central Terminal (you can tell as they look much different than the originals.) I very much like how they present some of the history in the station while at the same time functioning as a working transit center and they did get the old clock working. Track level still has the old industrial feel and will continue to - the historic commission wanted the new platform to retain some of the historic elements hence restoring all the steel from the old platform canopy. Unfortunately some of the historic elements are in bad shape - the old tower closest to Lyman street is shedding pieces hence scaffolding setup on street level to catch anything that falls - not sure what they're going to do about that. I'm sure the city's historic commission will have to find money to get anyone to do any needed restoration to prevent the need to tear that down.
lordsigma12345 wrote:Track level still has the old industrial feel and will continue to - the historic commission wanted the new platform to retain some of the historic elements hence restoring all the steel from the old platform canopy.Is the new platform open?
Please keep hands off the door
Kilo Echo wrote:Nope it's coming along though. The platform itself has been set but the stairwell and elevator are still under construction. Word on the street is late summer/early fall.lordsigma12345 wrote:Track level still has the old industrial feel and will continue to - the historic commission wanted the new platform to retain some of the historic elements hence restoring all the steel from the old platform canopy.Is the new platform open?
The move is complete and the old 1994 station closes for the last time tonight.
Where is the Quick-Trak kiosk? Any idea what will become of the structure?
Please keep hands off the door
The building will be converted into a larger crew room, crew rest area and offices for the Trainmaster and Road Foreman.
