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There has been discussion of connecting to a new standard gauge transbay tunnel out the other side of the station. The potentially shorter dwells created by thru operation would solve any train ops capacity issue, but exasperate people-handling concerns.

Here is a link to a very interesting piece regarding the importance of thru-running at NYP, including to GCT, which appeared Oct 31 on Streetsblog NYC: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/10/31/opinion-lack-of-regional-leadership-prevents-progress-on-unified-metro-nyc-rail

Presumably, the situation will more than correct itself when additional coaches are delivered.

As noted above, electrification of First Street tunnel is desperately needed to allow shorter headways. But I am concerned by negative comments by VRPA regarding electrification. Does the deal with CSX prohibit electrification on the tracks south of L'Enfant they now own?

There are a couple 10 or miles long.

You are absolutely correct. The FRA Midwest Regional Plan identified Chicago-Indianapolis as one of the most promising HSR corridors in the Midwest. The new Illinois HSR Commission is studying a true HSR route connecting Chicago-Champaign-Springfield-St. Louis (or, perhaps, E. St. Louis). This...

Texas Central quietly folded up shop shortly before the Texas Supreme Court surprised everyone by ruling that TC has valid right of eminent domain. There is too much support for TC for the legislature to take it away.

That does seem kind of ironic!

How would these improvements relate to the the extension of BART to San Jose which appears to be on track?

The NS alignment between Atlanta and Birmingham is very curvy and circuitous. Rather than making a major investment in these sidings for passenger trains it might make more sense to build a new passenger railroad in the I-20 alignment, which is much straighter. For much of the distance there is...

Clearly, the existing 110 mph route between Chicago and Springfield, via Normal (and Dwight), would be retained. In fact, it should be double-tracked, which would unlock the right to run 8 daily trains, per the agreement with UPRR.

A basic point to keep in mind is the reality that a true high-speed (!50+ mph) route must be passenger-only and publicly-owned. No Class 1 RR would want any involvement with such an endeavor. There has been a lot of discussion and planning for a high-speed alignment that would use the fully...

Any more details on proposed 30 minute service on Framingham/Worcester line?

Amtrak appears to be sticking with TC's commitment to Japanese Shinkansen technology. It will be interesting to see how they deal with Buy America requirements, which TC never committed to. American-built Shinkansen trains!?

It probably makes sense to keep Metra Electric at 1500v DC. It will be much easier to electrify Chicago Union Station using that, rather than high voltage AC, given the tight clearances. Given the number of European HS trains with mixed power capabilities this is, apparently, not difficult.

The state's DC2RVA project, which was cleared with an FRA Record of Decision, is based on shifting all Amtrak trains (except Auto Train) to the S Line, via Main St. Station. Doing the significant upgrades that will be required may not be a top priority for them.

With Amtrak buying the dual mode Ario trains and CT DOT buying dual mode locomotives a mile or so at Hartford could be left without wires initially.

Responding to Anderson, I agree that frequency is essential if passenger rail is to have an impact. Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to achieve on shared track owned by a Class 1 freight railroad. The only example is Sacramento-Oakland-Oakland on UP. However, it is my understanding that...

The promoters of this concept have had a lot of success at advancing it. See this recording of this new video presentation that was shown live by the HIgh Speed Rail Alliance on Oct. 20: HSRA presentation on Rio Grande Station.

Apparently, the bottom line is that the vision that Brightine's investors had was very sound and they will do very well. This should send a a very positive message to promoters of HSR around the U.S. Once the ability of HSR to operate without subsidy, rather than the major operating subsidy...