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Also, the pantograph itself and some of the major components are in a Venture coach, not the Charger. Mixing Airo APVs with LD trains is definitely complicated. Plus, within the expected lifespan of the Airo consists, you could plausibly see electrification for VRE territory, along the S-Line...

No sense putting money into Office Track when Gateway platforms and track are already done and the NCDOT facilities are being planned and built. Might be worth parking the Carolinian in Gateway Station as an interim measure, but I'm sure there are issues with access control or servicing in the...

I still don't see how a two day East Coast train is any worse off than a two day West Coast train for timeliness. Plus, this creates some interesting new one seat connections that haven't existed in decades - it's a real world test (as well as an operational necessity) that could bring a new LD...

The additional Carolinians are in the planning phase, but they won't run on the current route south of Richmond. The plan is to operate three additional Charlotte Raleigh Richmond NEC trips via the S-line and four Raleigh to Richmond to NEC trips, plus local/extended Piedmont S-Line service (the...

Most casual riders don't know and don't care that the RB and Borealis are different trains. They pick whichever one fits their schedule best.

9/19/24 Borealis update: ridership numbers for August remain strong, with a slight increase over July's impressive numbers! Ridership for August: Westbound #1333 11,746 Eastbound #1340 10,563 Total 22,309 Note - Ridership on the Empire Builder has shown slight increases this year, so we...

Some routes like the Carolinian do sell out during peak season already - from the time Charlotte Gateway opens to the time the S-Line opens, you're likely to want an eight car (or more) trainset. Once Raleigh gets six or more daily round trips, per the S-Line plan, you probably can go down to...

They potentially could run certain timings as first and second sections, but they're already pretty thin on margins for the bridge closures and this might require another two or three consists - not a near term option.

There are Airo sets for trains like the Carolinian which are six car consists - per Wikipedia, the fleet is planned: Northeast Regional Extensions: 26 six-car trainsets, will include a cab car and catenary power car. Northeast Regional: 32 eight-car trainsets, will include a cab car and...

The impact to schedules outside of electric territory is likely more impactful than the additional track wear, if Airo consists go from six cars to eight or more. East Coast LD trains and in certain areas freight will continue to use more than eight cars with higher axle loading. Acela 2 will...

Some Airo sets intended for on and off corridor operation are only six cars long, which is more what I figured they'd lengthen.

I envision a concern with single sourcing from Siemens more from a competitive point of view than anything else - if Amtrak wants to be able to buy from more than one or two companies, they need to actually buy from more than one or two companies every once in a while. If they don't, Siemens...

If anything the additional work makes Siemens less likely to win - they already have a massive market share in US and Canadian heavy rail, and while they're not having Avelia level problems they definitely aren't performing flawlessly - there's surely enough on their plate. Plus, Amtrak likely...

Publicly, Amtrak is on the very late 2024 timeline. That might mean running one trainset in revenue service on the 31st, but they haven't publicly said they'll miss that deadline. Yet. Given the track record Alstom's had recently, the optimistic online opinion is before summer 2025, but it's...

My understanding is wood ties tolerate US axle loading/car weights better, compared to concrete, in certain climates. In Florida, for instance, the FEC was an early concrete adopter. I'm sure there's also cost savings and tradition in the mix, as well as the expected quality of ballast/subgrade...

You don't require it for even faster speeds, technically. It's absolutely a benefit to whichever commuter operator is on the line in question (and to Amtrak, but less so) even at 50 or 60 or 70 mph, and then you have the existing electric operators and the potential to double up or extend that...

There's opposition from the freight operators as well. A hypothetical 110 mph Chicago to Milwaukee route would probably be the lowest hanging fruit, and could be used by Metra and Amtrak. Lowest hanging fruit doesn't mean easy, though - that'd be either the first new freight-under-wires...

Falcon's cleared for flight again. The booster landing failure doesn't affect astronaut safety - the capsule is already headed away from the booster at that point. A high mileage booster failing on landing is a lot less concerning for human spaceflight than the stage two underperformance issue...

Getting the service running at all is a decent first step. Incremental improvements as grant money comes up should be fine at least until VA has digested their DC-Richmond service improvements. If it came down to it I'd rather see Roanoke - Richmond - Norfolk exist than a gold plated NRV...

Step one is to get a production line started and cars being built. It's a lot easier to change priorities and reallocate cars to new or expanded service if your total equipment numbers are going up, not down. It's also probably easier to operate on a design if you have a design in the first place.