Passenger, High Speed Rail in Midwest

addxb2 · PostJul 10, 2020#8512020-07-10T15:42+00:00

Orlando to Miami

: Under Construction
LA to Las Vegas

: Bonds secured

St. Louis to Chicago is still being mentioned as an opportunity for Brightline/Virgin USA. With Vegas officially moving forward, hopefully we’re getting close to hearing something.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsma ... fe0c87a04f

PostAug 05, 2020#8522020-08-05T11:29+00:00

These new cars are going to feel like 21st century travel! Interior is so modern and comfortable. Also another step to faster service. I expect to see them on Stl-Chicago and eventually Stl-KC.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

quincunx · PostAug 05, 2020#8532020-08-05T11:56+00:00

It's been 10 years and still no 110 mph STL-CHI.

addxb2 · PostAug 05, 2020#8542020-08-05T12:16+00:00

quincunx wrote:It's been 10 years and still no 110 mph STL-CHI.

If I recall correctly, these cars are a big part of that. They were delayed by a failed Japanese factory in Illinois, the bid was later given to Siemens. Now that these are ready for testing, so is PTC I imagine.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

quincunx · PostAug 05, 2020#8552020-08-05T15:20+00:00

The new cars are nice and welcome of course, but 110 mph isn't contingent on them.

dredger · PostAug 05, 2020#8562020-08-05T18:48+00:00

quincunx wrote: ↑
Aug 05, 2020
The new cars are nice and welcome of course, but 110 mph isn't contingent on them.

Yep, I think the biggest hurdle beyond more track upgrades such as Springfield squared away was getting the Positive Train Control, PTC certified for the route. Not sure if that mandate has been fulfilled or if they are still working towards it.

Of note, One of the individuals nominated to take a position on the Amtrak Board is from Normal-Bloomington area. Trains magazine September issue features an interview with him. Don't have details in front of me and his comments specifically and he takes the position of Amtrak has to be a biz argument, However, he does have to say some good things about value of Lincoln Service to community, need for more frequency as a must, and success of their new downtown multimodal transportation center. Interview features picture of Lincoln service with new locomotive. Trainset will look sharp with new cars.

framer · PostAug 05, 2020#8572020-08-05T19:49+00:00

None of this means much as long as it takes an hour to get from Downtown to Alton.

chriss752 · PostAug 05, 2020#8582020-08-05T21:29+00:00

addxb2 wrote: ↑
Aug 05, 2020
These new cars are going to feel like 21st century travel! Interior is so modern and comfortable. Also another step to faster service. I expect to see them on Stl-Chicago and eventually Stl-KC.

I look forward to riding in one of there new rail cars when they're put in service on one of my trips to Chicago or KC. Definitely a step up from what we currently have.

I just wish the trains could go faster here. Maybe Missouri should try the PTC thing between STL and KC. The ride seems decent to Jeff City and then after that, it feels much slower. Just getting the speed up to 80 or 90 would be beneficial to the River Runner. Maybe even 110 in parts.

On a slightly related note, does anyone know if it's possible to have an STL to Nashville route?

sc4mayor · PostAug 05, 2020#8592020-08-05T23:12+00:00

^ I don't think we'll see any meaningful improvements in Missouri. MoDot operates the trains and I don't see them or the State putting any money into anything anytime soon, especially on the capital improvements side. If I understand the PTC program correctly, that will eventually happen here. I believe it's mandated for every railroad in the country and it has to be done by the end of this year. Though I'm sure extensions will be granted.

PTC won't get you much higher speeds though. Grade crossings would need to be separated in some places, most crossings would have to be reconstructed (over 300 were for the Illinois project), additional sidings would need to be built to move slower moving freight trains out of the way so passenger trains can pass. This is all being done (or is already done) in Illinois. Illinois spends money on trains. Missouri sits around and argues about keeping the two trains per day between St. Louis and KC.

As far as Nashville...yes it's possible as I'm sure there is plenty of existing track that could get trains there from St. Louis. But Nashville currently has no Amtrak service, so they would have to rectify that and that would not be easy. The River Runner and the Lincoln Service have had passenger service for years and largely have the basic infrastructure in place. There would have to be significant upgrades to a line between here and Nashville as that service doesn't currently exist. Plus, Tennessee is just like Missouri in their anti-transit views. Same goes for Nashville. See the fairly recent failure of a massive metro wide plan that would have seen commuter trains, light rail, and BRT built around their metro area.

Though it does appear a state level Nashville Democrat is trying to get something going between there and Atlanta, which is more direct and shorter. Maybe over to Memphis one day.
https://atlanta.curbed.com/2020/2/20/21 ... -rail-gdot

quincunx · PostAug 06, 2020#8602020-08-06T00:56+00:00

I'd like to see STL-Indy service. Seems like the lowest hanging fruit. Station in Collinsville. Connections at Effingham, station at Terre Haute with ISU. Pretty much a straight shot.
And tack on Hannibal, Louisiana, St. Charles to the Quincy trains.
Maybe the infrastructure stimulus won't be mostly highways.
Dreams
Wrote a little diddy about them
https://nextstl.com/2014/03/passenger-r ... -st-louis/

chaifetz10 · PostAug 06, 2020#8612020-08-06T03:48+00:00

Not sure if Illinois would be willing to help support a STL to IND train, especially if the main stops would be along the I 70 corridor towns of Vandalia and Effingham. I think that the next route in IL should be a Quincy - Jacksonville, - Springfield - Decatur - Champaign/Urbana - Danville - Indianapolis line that would connect those larger population centers with the existing Amtrak routes.

framer · PostAug 06, 2020#8622020-08-06T04:18+00:00

Fun fact: The 1966 NYC M-497 Jet Train still holds the North American speed record for self-propelled light rail at 183 MPH.

quincunx · PostAug 17, 2020#8632020-08-17T17:42+00:00

A nice thing happened

Stl Public Radio - Coronavirus Shutdown Led To Restoration Of A Train In Rolla

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/governm ... n-in-rolla

symphonicpoet · PostAug 18, 2020#8642020-08-18T07:43+00:00

^That's nice to see!

There's a little bit of 1501 in 1522 out at the Museum of Transport. I was pretty late to the SLSTA game, but I think it was George Reese who told me we'd used 1501's pistons. We gave her a salute in gratitude whenever we were in Rolla. And man, it's good to see her looking so nice and the car looks fantastic!

ldai_phs · PostAug 22, 2020#8652020-08-22T18:07+00:00

European reviewer takes a ride on the River Runner.

symphonicpoet · PostAug 23, 2020#8662020-08-23T03:45+00:00

^Kind of the very opposite of high speed, but I have always enjoyed it just the same.

Ebsy · PostAug 26, 2020#8672020-08-26T05:02+00:00

I love taking the Amtrak, but realistically is ridership going to recover in the foreseeable future? Hard to see there being much new investment, if anything we should be expecting further service cuts (especially Missouri River Runner).

addxb2 · PostAug 26, 2020#8682020-08-26T12:46+00:00

I think Lincoln Service (CHI-STL) will bounce back very quickly. No indication that Illinois is backing away from its commitment to rail.

GoHarvOrGoHome · PostAug 26, 2020#8692020-08-26T14:24+00:00

That was an enjoyable video. If it wasn't COVID times I might just have bought a ticket today

sc4mayor · PostAug 26, 2020#8702020-08-26T16:35+00:00

I’m in Bloomington-Normal today to meet a supplier and I almost took Amtrak. The two morning trains were both 60% to 70% full when I looked at tickets.

Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to get my meeting done between the arrival and departure times.

Edit: The Bloomington-Normal station and the surrounding area is really nice, by the way.

eee123 · PostAug 26, 2020#8712020-08-26T19:09+00:00

I'm assuming they mean 60-70% full of what they allow to be booked (like half?). They're promising empty seats next to single travelers. That percent-full meter they added is pretty helpful.

The Texas Eagle goes to 3x/week on Oct. 1. So we'll have 17 weekly departures to Chicago, down from a pre-pandemic 35.

It'd be interesting to know when was the last time we had so few departures to Chicago.

addxb2 · PostAug 26, 2020#8722020-08-26T20:51+00:00

8,300 boarded trips from STL to Chicago in July.
About 25% of the 33,000 last July

mtl_stl · PostAug 26, 2020#8732020-08-26T23:30+00:00

eee123 wrote: ↑
Aug 26, 2020
I'm assuming they mean 60-70% full of what they allow to be booked (like half?). They're promising empty seats next to single travelers. That percent-full meter they added is pretty helpful.

The Texas Eagle goes to 3x/week on Oct. 1. So we'll have 17 weekly departures to Chicago, down from a pre-pandemic 35.

It'd be interesting to know when was the last time we had so few departures to Chicago.

The St. Louis to Chicago route went from 3 daily trips to 5 daily trips in 2006 when they rebranded the route as Lincoln Service. So that would've still put them at just above 17 weekly, but similar number of departures. In the early 2000's, the route was only moving about 200k passenger a year or about a third of 600k+ that used it last year. I'm guessing the passenger numbers for this year will end up close to or below those early 2000's numbers as well.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070311053729/http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Popup&;c=am2Copy&cid=1093554067341

quincunx · PostAug 26, 2020#8742020-08-26T23:31+00:00

I think two Lincoln Service runs were added in 2006

symphonicpoet · PostAug 27, 2020#8752020-08-27T05:35+00:00

^My recollection was that in the early 90s the Ann Rutledge ran twice daily each way and the Texas Eagle three times a week, so that would have been your seventeen.

Passenger, High Speed Rail in Midwest

Choose Display Mode