www.railfan.com/railnews
Amtrak
SUNSET TO BE RESCHEDULED: Effec- tive with Amtrak’s May 7, 2012, timetable, the Sunset Limited schedule will be revised to allow better connections in Los Angeles and San Antonio while using one less set of equip- ment. The new timings will enable Sunset pas- sengers to connect with the Coast Starlight in Los Angeles and will also considerably reduce the layover in San Antonio, Texas, for riders transferring between the Texas Eagle to and from Chicago and the Sunset. One important change is that the westbound Sunset will orig- inate in New Orleans on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, rather than Friday. This change will result in shorter layovers in the Big Easy for equipment and on-board services crews and will require one less set of long-dis- tance equipment to cover the schedule.
EMPIRE CORRIDOR ACCORD SET: Am- trak and CSX Transportation have come to an agreement on a lease which will give Amtrak control over 85 miles of high speed trackage between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady, N.Y., on the busy Empire Corridor. The deal will not be consummated until November, after it’s ap- proved by the New York State Department of Transportation and the state comptroller. Under the lease, Amtrak will take over dis- patching and maintenance of the route and will begin to make $200 million worth of im- provements. The projects will include adding a fourth track at the Albany/ Rensselaer station, double-tracking the Albany to Schenectady segment, and making improvements to the signal system between Rensselaer and Pough- keepsie. Most of the work is not expected to begin until the spring of 2013.
ARE WISCONSIN TALGOS D.O.A.? The saga of Wisconsin’s new Talgo trains continues. On March 15, 2012, the state legislature’s Finance Committee decided not to build a maintenance facility for the low-slung, articulated trainsets at a cost of $55 million to $63 million. The pos- sibility remains that Talgo America’s Century City assembly plant in Milwaukee could serve as a maintenance base with the improvement of its rail connection to the Amtrak depot downtown, but canceling the contract, which
Another Snazzy Switcher
FOSTER TOWNSEND RAIL LOGISTICS SW1500 No. 1515 was released from the Metro- East Industries paint shop in East St. Louis, Ill., on March 29. It’s ex-Alton & Southern 1515.
would result in the equipment being moth- balled, is also a possibility.
MICHIGAN SPRINGTIME TRADITION? In early March Norfolk Southern slapped an extensive series of slow orders on NS-owned trackage used by Amtrak between Kalamazoo and Detroit, Mich., which delayed Wolverine Service trains by 60 to 90 minutes. NS said it would make repairs at Amtrak’s or the Michi- gan Department of Transportation’s expense, since the track was adequate for NS freight op- erations. On March 23 Amtrak issued revised passenger schedules for the route which reflect the slower speeds, which will remain in effect until trackwork is finished, possibly by the end of April or early May. Last year the freight road did the same thing and MDOT paid to re- store the track to 79 m.p.h. standards. MDOT and NS are currently negotiating the sale of the line to the state, which plans to upgrade the entire segment to support 110 m.p.h. pas- senger service, as the west end currently does between Kalamazoo and Porter, Ind.
E-TICKETING SPREADS: On March 19, 2012, Amtrak announced that it had institut- ed electronic ticketing on the City of New Or-
leans between Chicago and New Orleans. The railroad introduced e-ticketing on the Boston to Portland, Maine, Downeaster route in No- vember 2011.
Canadian National
THIRD QUEBEC ORE LINE PROPOSED: Canadian National says it wants to build a new, 480-mile long railroad to haul iron ore from mines in the Labrador Trough near Schefferville in the Labrador/Quebec border region to the port of Sept-Iles, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River. The new line would essen- tially run between the existing Quebec Cartier Railway to the west (owned by Arcelor Mittal) and Rio Tinto/Iron Ore Company of Canada’s Quebec, North Shore & Labrador to the east, to reach Ungava Iron Range ore deposits. (Only QNSL is a common carrier.) The region holds vast reserves of high quality iron ore and taconite which are in great demand by rising Asian economies, mainly China and India. If CN can get firm commitments from the
mining companies, it says construction could be completed by 2017. The line will be fi- nanced 2/3 by CN and 1/3 by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a pension fund. The
Not the Last Fun Train
FANS GATHERED ON MARCH 11, 2012, to record the passing of what was to have been the last Reno Fun Train, shown here return- ing westbound at Pinole, Calif., behind Amtrak 40th Anniversary P42DC No. 66 in Phase II paint with Great Dome Ocean View in con- sist. Key Holidays had said in a September 2011 press release that this would be the last year it would sponsor the popular trans-Sierra chartered trains between Emeryville, Richmond, Martinez, Suisun- Fairfield, and Sacramento, Calif., and the Nevada gambling town. (In winter, Key operates the Reno Fun Train on weekends and its week- day counterpart Reno Snow Train.) The company cited an anticipated shortage of Amtrak equipment on the West Coast for the decision. But then on March 27, Key announced that due to popular demand, the train would run again next season. Riders had used social media such as Twitter and Facebook to rally support for the trains and Reno Hotels and Casinos also offered support. Amtrak and several private car owners have come forward to offer their equipment for the 2013 season, and new funding will be forthcoming from a private investor.
23
MIKE MAUTNER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68