I'm confused. The Downeaster began operation in the early 2000s. The previous pre-Amtrak rail service ended in the 1960s. Was there some other rail passenger service in the 1980s?
Yep, count me among those who are not fans of the Great River name. My preference has been for something along the lines of Twin Cities Hiawatha or Minnesota Hiawatha. I'm also not surprised that the startup date has slipped from 2023 to 2024. The talk about the actual startup date has seemed...
I stayed at that hotel for a night maybe five years ago. I think it was newly opened at the time. I can't say I remember all that much but definitely don't recall any problems and would not hesitate to stay there again if I needed a hotel room near the Carbondale station.
There was some movement toward a Detroit - Windsor Thruway bus connection in 2017 (NARP's News from the Front Lines: Update on the Amtrak – VIA Connection at Detroit-Windsor | Rail Passengers Association | Washington, DC) but not sure about anything since then.
Do you recall what date you searched? I just looked up September 20 and found about six buses. Many of the buses make more than one stop in either New Orleans or Baton Rouge or both so more than six listings show up on Wanderu but looking at the times and stop locations, I think it's actually...
So, do we think the 2-1 coach seating areas are some sort of enhanced coach or is the 2-1 seating just needed to make a wider aisle work with whatever new LD seats might be.
The city and state seem to be doubling down on the existing station location. I don't know if the project is fully funded yet but tens of millions of dollars have been committed, as far as I can recall.
Here's more info about the project...
I'm a little confused. The Hiawatha usually runs push-pull, with a locomotive at one end and either another locomotive or a cabbage at the other end, and with half of the seats facing one way and half facing another way - is that what you encountered? Or something altogether different?
Looks like Pittsburgh is staffed 6:00pm-7:45am and that, other than possible break periods or when actively assisting arriving or departing trains, checked baggage service is available during those hours.
The idea of a September start seems to have come from a WI legislative committee report. When asked about it, IIRC Amtrak basically said "no start date has been decided upon" yet. I don't believe we've heard anything else.
Just a guess, but I'd assume it's that the number and density of crossings is far higher south of WPB compared to north. It's essentially a solid stretch of urban and suburban development with one crossing after another.
It's been quite a while since I noticed a cabbage on one of my Hiawatha trips. I don't ride ALL that often but enough that I, too, assume the caggages were no longer used on the Hiawatha.