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I’m increasingly convinced it is an issue with motive power. Amtrak figured a way to keep the passenger cars rolling for close to 40 years before this became such a regular issue. The Budd Amfleets even famously don’t like snow. The Class I’s certainly haven’t suspended operations for the better...

In the summer of 2016 the axles on the Silverliner V’s began to crack and the whole fleet had to be pulled for several months. Thankfully SEPTA is more serious about safety than certain other Northeast commuter roads. The EMU’s started “tilting.” That created a 30% reduction in available...

Extremely unlikely. Their US operation (based in Philadelphia) is shuttered. The corruption around Silverliner V became offensive even to Philadelphians (We kinda expect it on stuff like this.) Riders don’t like the V and have all sorts of nasty nicknames. Denver seems to be the only happy...

https://wwww.septa.org/procurement/bids/expression-of-interest-septa-silverliner-vi-procurement/ It’s seems SEPTA is finally preparing to retire its venerable Silverliner IV fleet. Documents suggest a desire for single level EMU’s, which I think is right given how the RRD is in certain ways...

https://www.amtrak.com/alert/modfied-schedule-winter-storm-gerri.html?cmp=-20240118-customer_communicationstwitter&SID=12389008609 This is getting ridiculous. This is the second year in a row where whole lines have been down for over a week. It’s cold in the Midwest in January and the railroads...

It’s almost like the decision to tighten turns on old failing equipment during an operationally challenging time of year might have been slightly misguided.

They won’t work. They’re MLV’s, so you run into the same set of issues you’d run into with NJT-based equipment. They also wouldn’t comply with ADA, because of the mezzanine steps. The point of those diagrams was to show how ADA could be met on a bilevel, not multilevel trains, I.e with elevators...

https://vermontbiz.com/news/2024/january/14/vermont-passenger-rail-two-more-amtrak-routes-possible This article had some interesting details about Vermont’s plans re Montreal service, a second daily service as far as White River Junction, and Burlington to NYC via Bennington. The article also...

Those bilevels are NOT the move. They are barely an upgrade for commuter service. You can argue they aren’t. Also, I’d like to reiterate that we have NO evidence that the sets will be nine cars. That is based off a schematic for ADA waivers and to my knowledge has never been confirmed on or off...

State fact sheets report unlinked trips as JIS described, so as much as 10% of traffic at certain major connecting stations gets double counted. Think CHI, PGH, NYP. That certainly would pull down some of the inflation in the “big train states.” Unfortunately Amtrak does not release information...

I would think that they would have standing with the Federal Railroad Administration if they wanted to push the issue. Their primary competitor routinely blocks a major mainline for hours. Additionally that piece of the Crescent Corridor is a Stracnet Corridor, so it could be argued that regular...

One runs express past some less busy stations, one makes every stop the train does. I for the life of me can’t understand why NS has tolerated that. I’d be in with the FRA within weeks of that nonsense starting. This has gone on for close to a decade.

I’d be curious if you could show a source on that. I don’t doubt you but 9 car sets would be probably the space equivalent of coach bag, 2 coaches, SSL, diner, 2 sleepers, transdorm. That’s about what most trains run now and is wholly inadequate and leads to poor financial and ridership...

If I remember correctly: WASHINGTON DC ROCKVILLE MD HARPERS FERRY WV MARTINSBURG WV CUMBERLAND MD (usually a smoke stop) CONNELLSVILLE PA PITTSBURGH PA (smoke stop) ALLIANCE OH CLEVELAND OH (usually a smoke stop) ELYRIA OH SANDUSKY OH TOLEDO OH (usually a smoke stop) WATERLOO IN ELKHART IN SOUTH...

I’m a little shocked Amtrak’s sluggish IT Department worked on such a mundane thing this week, but November FY 2024 is up. The report is good and reflects continued strength on the system nationwide. It also shows the second consecutive month of full systemwide recovery. Soft spots do exist, but...

Thank you for the great report. Totally Unrelated, but those SC-44‘s look sharp in the surfliner livery.

Tomorrow PDX-SEA is sold out until the 17:55 departure (except for sleepers on the Starlight). SEA-PDX is available all day at high fares with select Business Class sellouts.

Largely interlockings, addition of multiple mainline trackage (which was probably removed in the last 30 years) and that sort of thing. I think some platform work. The state loves throwing money at NS. This isn’t a total ripoff for the work being done (necessary or not). We’re getting a new...

Given the information available, that seems an inappropriate statement. Nothing has been confirmed at all. We have an account on the internet of a presumed witness who doesn’t claim to have seen the alleged escalation. Did perpetrator pull a shank, shiv, knife? The streets are cold, it isn’t...

That is standard especially with small departments. It’s a conflict of interest to have the local police investigate themselves. I won’t speculate about what happened, but, if the article above is to be believed, this points to a bigger issue. Amtrak employees let all sort of people on to trains...