AMTRAK NEC: Springfield Shuttle/Regional/Valley Flyer/Inland Routing

[Backshophoss]

This was an"oops"mistake,that was cleaned up before it was in effect,the real nightmare is coming, the I-84 rebuild in Hartford!

[CVRA7]

I really hope they allow space for 4 tracks in the new Hartford rail station, which will be part of the I-84 rebuilding project. Think ahead, planners!

Regarding the new service being hard for potential riders to find in the N E Corridor timetable, maybe having separate timetables Greenfield-Springfield-New Haven-New York-Washington (separated from the Boston-New York-Washington schedules) would allow the new services to be a bit more visible. With self-service printing (no Amtrak printing and distribution costs) it shouldn't be too hard to do.

[johnpbarlow]

A bit OT but the "Valley Flyer" train name was used 80 years ago for a handsome looking AT&SF locomotive and consist operating between Oakland and Bakersfield:
http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/flyer39.htm

[Rockingham Racer]

A bit OT but the "Valley Flyer" train name was used 80 years ago for a handsome looking AT&SF locomotive and consist operating between Oakland and Bakersfield:
http://www.trainweb.org/fredatsf/flyer39.htm

Today's San Joaquin service.

[lordsigma12345]

For folks looking for a foliage ride/dinner idea, you can now go to Northampton for dinner by train on weekends. You do it by taking the Vermonter to Northampton, and then train 499 from Northampton to Springfield for the return trip where you can then connect to CTrail 6411.

[WashingtonPark]

On Amtrak about 30 minutes late to Springfield on the Vermonter. Nothing special, just losing time between every station. Can't blame host railroads for that. I've heard quite a bit of buzz about the Vermonter being in jeopardy but nobody knows anything specific. Anybody here heard anything?

[Arlington]

wheel slippage on wet, fallen foliage?

[danib62]

well i'm glad to see that the names have been changed to protect the innocent. And maybe the rail fans of america not to mention the amtrak regulars will easily decipher the valley flyer piece of the "new" northeast corridor schedules. but i question whether or not the non railers are going to easily figure the flyer schedules out.

they say 5% of something is always better than a 100% of nothing, but i still see it as a continuing informational hindrance to getting riders in western mass to hop on the trains.

Your average "non railer" isn't going to consult a timetable at all, they're just going to go to amtrak.com and punch in the two stations they want to travel between and see what pops up.

[Safetee]

why will the non railers automatically beam up amtrak to go from greenfield to wherever? usually knowing what all the schedule possibilities are is the key to making your days plans. Might they also beam up greyhound or peter pan or conn dot or whatever for a cheaper fare or better schedule possibly from a different location with more travel options? or are you saying they'll just jump on the first train that pops up on the Amtrak oracle, which infers that while non railers may be techno savvy when it comes to scheduled travel options they're all dopes.

[asull85]

On Amtrak about 30 minutes late to Springfield on the Vermonter. Nothing special, just losing time between every station. Can't blame host railroads for that. I've heard quite a bit of buzz about the Vermonter being in jeopardy but nobody knows anything specific. Anybody here heard anything?

Actually the host railroad is in the middle of a tie job.

[danib62]

why will the non railers automatically beam up amtrak to go from greenfield to wherever? usually knowing what all the schedule possibilities are is the key to making your days plans. Might they also beam up greyhound or peter pan or conn dot or whatever for a cheaper fare or better schedule possibly from a different location with more travel options? or are you saying they'll just jump on the first train that pops up on the Amtrak oracle, which infers that while non railers may be techno savvy when it comes to scheduled travel options they're all dopes.

When you search it shows you all the trains for the day, not just the first one that pops up, so no you'd look at all of them and choose the one that best matches your schedule. If no trains match what you need then yes you look at other options like greyhound etc. Not sure where this jump on the first train that pops up notion came from...

[east point]

Your average "non railer" isn't going to consult a timetable at all, they're just going to go to amtrak.com and punch in the two stations they want to travel between and see what pops up.

But if you are on a train you may want a timetable to know what stations your train will stop at and when. If you are doing work you might want to calculate time remaining to your station.

[danib62]

Your average non-foamer in 2019 is going to have no idea where to even find an amtrak timetable. They don't print them anymore and it's not like they really advertise them on the website. I think you're both woefully out of touch with how the average passenger engages with the system.

[gregorygrice]

Your average non-foamer in 2019 is going to have no idea where to even find an amtrak timetable. They don't print them anymore and it's not like they really advertise them on the website. I think you're both woefully out of touch with how the average passenger engages with the system.

Hartford Line has printed schedules at every stop. The schedules include both CTrail & Amtrak trains.

[danib62]

It's great that ConnDOT provides a service that Amtrak doesn't. Not sure how that matters to someone boarding at Greenfield or Holyoke.