Amtrak in Transition

[gokeefe]

Folding bikes, when folded, have a much more compact footprint and could be treated as ordinary carry-on luggage stowable on the overhead racks just like a large duffel bag.

Interesting!

I have a foldable bike I bring on the train to work most days, it folds right up and goes on the overhead rack no problem. I don't need a LIRR bike permit (even though I have one for my regular bike) and I can take the folding bike on all trains, including peak ones (unlike regular bikes, which are banned from peak trains).

Does Amtrak have a policy on folding bikes?

[lirr42]

Indeed:

Folding Bikes Brought Aboard as Carry-On Baggage

Folding bicycles may be brought aboard certain passenger cars as carry-on baggage. Only true folding bicycles (bicycles specifically designed to fold up into a compact assembly) are acceptable. Generally, these bikes have frame latches allowing the frame to be collapsed, and small wheels. Regular bikes of any size, with or without wheels, are not considered folding bikes, and may not be stored as folding bikes aboard trains.

You must fold up your folding bicycle before boarding the train. You may store the bike only in luggage storage areas at the end of the car (or, in Superliners, on the lower level). You may not store bikes in overhead racks.

So you can bring them on all trains without restrictions (as long as their actually folding bikes). They just have to be stored in the luggage racks at the end of coach cars (cafe's/diner's don't have these, as I recall, so that's why they say "certain passenger cars."

No advance reservation or box or fee is necessary, just fold it up before you get on the train, stow it on the ends, and take your seat.

And come to think of it, I've taken my folding bike aboard Northeast Regionals and Long Distance trains on several occasions without incident.

[gokeefe]

Indeed:

Folding Bikes Brought Aboard as Carry-On Baggage

Folding bicycles may be brought aboard certain passenger cars as carry-on baggage. Only true folding bicycles (bicycles specifically designed to fold up into a compact assembly) are acceptable. Generally, these bikes have frame latches allowing the frame to be collapsed, and small wheels. Regular bikes of any size, with or without wheels, are not considered folding bikes, and may not be stored as folding bikes aboard trains.

You must fold up your folding bicycle before boarding the train. You may store the bike only in luggage storage areas at the end of the car (or, in Superliners, on the lower level). You may not store bikes in overhead racks.

So you can bring them on all trains without restrictions (as long as their actually folding bikes). They just have to be stored in the luggage racks at the end of coach cars (cafe's/diner's don't have these, as I recall, so that's why they say "certain passenger cars."

No advance reservation or box or fee is necessary, just fold it up before you get on the train, stow it on the ends, and take your seat.

And come to think of it, I've taken my folding bike aboard Northeast Regionals and Long Distance trains on several occasions without incident.

Wow. That's really neat. I'm somewhat surprised they don't advertise this more.

[lirr42]

We actually had a bike policy discussion/brawl in the NJT forum a while ago, and our resident MSPaint.exe expert, Mr. Sullivan, posted a funny rendition of a person trying to board a bike at a low level station. See it here. (And it was aboard Comet V 6564 car recovered from the "7277 Sideswipe Incident" to boot! )

[David Benton]

25 years ago , i carried my bicycle on just about every long distance train in America .
I often think i'm way ahead of my time , and this proves it !

[gokeefe]

Perhaps the biggest change for Amtrak will be transporting a ridership that would be expect to bring along folding bike in appreciable numbers in the first place. Thankfully existing designs are probably flexible enough for this to work in general.

[David Benton]

once the new baggage cars are delivered , i think at least one daytime nec train having a baggage car would be a good idea .

[gokeefe]

once the new baggage cars are delivered , i think at least one daytime nec train having a baggage car would be a good idea .

If the Silver Meteor ever ran all the way to BOS that could end up happening. Otherwise I don't think there are any other serious options that would run past NYP.

[ryanch]

Wow. That's really neat. I'm somewhat surprised they don't advertise this more.

There aren't enough folding bike owners to make it worthwhile.

[jstolberg]

I don't know that the older folks who make decisions understand the magnitude of the change in America's car culture.

As of April 2013, the number of miles driven per person was nearly 9 percent below the peak and equal to where the country was in January 1995.

Perhaps an article in the Sunday New York Times will get their attention.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/sunda ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See the graphs to the right of the article. The percentage of the population aged 20-24 without drivers licenses has more than doubled from 8% in 1983 to 19% in 2010.

[Station Aficionado]

I don't know that the older folks who make decisions understand the magnitude of the change in America's car culture.

As of April 2013, the number of miles driven per person was nearly 9 percent below the peak and equal to where the country was in January 1995.

Perhaps an article in the Sunday New York Times will get their attention.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/sunda ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See the graphs to the right of the article. The percentage of the population aged 20-24 without drivers licenses has more than doubled from 8% in 1983 to 19% in 2010.

It's a remarkable change. The car no longer represents "freedom" the way it once did. I know my son, even before learning to drive, spent a lot of time (as a passenger) being stuck in traffic while being ferried to school, sports, etc. Probably gives a different perspective than the one I had growing up. (That said, my son does like to drive, but would rather do it far from urban/suburban areas.)

[gokeefe]

Lately discussions in other threads seem to bring me back to one common theme. 2014 is going to be a big year for Amtrak. Two major equipment deliveries will be in progress over the course of this coming year. The ACS-64 electric locomotives and the Viewliner II baggage, sleeper, diner and baggage-dorm cars. By the end of this year a large portion of the ACS-64 locomotives will have been delivered and they will have entered service. The Viewliner II deliveries will be underway and potentially will enter service prior to the holiday travel period.

A flood of small cost savings and revenue enhancement measures are underway as well. New ticket exchange policies will free up inventory and also provide increased revenues from change fees, the Auto Train will be running an extra coach on select dates, and the states will be cost-sharing under the new formulas as required under PRIIA.

Meanwhile TIGR and ARRA funded capital improvement projects will continue to slowly come online. The rebuild of the Conn River Line in Massachusetts will be completed, the MBTA projects for the Downeaster are also expected to be completed, and Illinois will continue to make track improvements on the Chicago - St. Louis corridor. Ridership increases are very likely to result from many of these projects due to a combination of time keeping improvements and faster schedules.

In many ways 2014 will be the last year of the "old Amtrak" that has largely been in place since for several decades. By the end of 2014 the first of the AEM-7 fleet will be retired, HHP-8 locomotives will start being sidelined and Heritage baggage and dining cars will quietly fade away from use. The "new Amtrak" will start to emerge with a modernized electric motive power fleet, new long distance cars, higher speeds outside the Northeast Corridor and major improvements to Amtrak's financials due to significantly higher state contributions. Ridership on some routes will increase substantially especially in the Mid-west as a series of track and service improvements come online.

If present trends continue the increased cash on hand will be utilized to further improve Amtrak's operating picture and to seek further opportunities for revenue enhancement and cost savings. There are a number of possible areas where these excess funds could be spent but among the most likely will be further investments in rolling stock and motive power acquisition and capital projects on the Northeast corridor, an area where Amtrak continues to have long term funding shortages.

[Greg Moore]

I tend to think you're right.

2014 could be a watershed year for Amtrak.

The biggest thing holding it back right now I think is Congress.

Honestly, with the momentum Amtrak is on, if it had a bit more money (and I'm not talking billions, perhaps even 10s of millions) it could probably have a huge impact.

Start the add-on order of 70 additional Viewliners.
Start work on the Amfleet replacement.

But even w/o, the new locos and Viewliners will surely make a noticeable impact.

[gokeefe]

Greg,

Based on a projection made using October's figures they're going to have an additional $120 million +/- coming in from the states. At least to my knowledge this money was never taken out of Amtrak's budget because they were on a continuing resolution from the last FY. I have neither seen nor heard of any changes based on the new budget. Most of these new revenues are probably going to be Amtrak's to work with. At least in this case the gridlock in Congress works in their favor. If the normal budget process were functioning Amtrak likely would have had their annual support reduced by the same amount they expect to receive in additional state support.

Some of the other changes mentioned as well as any other investments and programs for improvements potentially will yield additional savings and new revenues in the range of $10 -$30 million. I think all told, if conditions are favorable this year, and there are not any major storms on the East Coast at the end of the day Amtrak could have as much as $150 million in additional cash in this fiscal year alone. Generally speaking in order to keep these kinds of funds they have to spend them within the fiscal year, otherwise these funds must be returned to the U.S. Treasury at the end of the fiscal year.

That being said, capital improvements on the Northeast Corridor, new rolling stock acquisition and new motive power acquisition represent three of the easiest, most obvious and fastest means to burn through $150 million in a hurry. Once the funds are obligated, even if they aren't actually spent that is usually enough to meet fiscal requirements. However, these rules can vary by program and the statutory provisions under which they are granted by Congress.

At least for the moment exercising the CAF order option may seem like the most obvious choice that we are aware of.

[ThirdRail7]

For the record, when you refer to 2014, are you talking the calendar year or the fiscal year? I ask because I don't think the ACS-64s or Viewliner deliveries will impact fiscal 2014 in a positive manner.