Amtrak Fall Foliage trips out of Philly

[jis]

Maybe not on the Lackawanna side, but the Erie side remains intact. Regular NJT-MN service from Port Jervis to Hoboken as well....

Perhaps could reach Scranton via former LV or CNJ trackage, then CP/D&H to Bingo?

Yup. Going through Easton, Allentown, Wilkes Barre to Scranton should be a very pretty ride, though possibly quite slow too.
I often drive down from Deposit NY along the old Erie all the way to Port Jervis along the Delaware on rt 97(?). It is a very pretty drive in almost any season, specially on the part that clings to the mountainside way above the river just before you get to Port Jervis.

Theoretically it is even possible to get to Stroudsburg from Easton to join the old Lackawanna Pocono Summit line there. But the bit between Easton and Slateford would probably be a really slow slog, and would be a first for a passenger run in a long long long time.

 

[jis]

According to NARP the second trip sold out in 8 minutes yesterday - between 10:00 and 10:08!

 

[railiner]

According to NARP the second trip sold out in 8 minutes yesterday - between 10:00 and 10:08!

Egads--sort of like a popular rock concert!

 

[jis]

From the NARP Newsletter we now know the size of the crowd that will be boarding at PHL on Saturday and Sunday. They state that the total number of seats sold on each trip was 800. which would be basically 13 Horizons with a few seats to spare.

 

[PRR 60]

From the NARP Newsletter we now know the size of the crowd that will be boarding at PHL on Saturday and Sunday. They state that the total number of seats sold on each trip was 800. which would be basically 13 Horizons with a few seats to spare.

OMG, what a scene that will be. Amtrak Police might have to call in the Philly riot police for control. Mobilize the National Guard. :lol:

 

[Mignyc]

Good lord. Seems like a human traffic nightmare, especially given that the volume of folks will be far more than officials typically have to manage.

What strategies are you pro rail fans putting together to minimize potential problems?

 

[afigg]

Good lord. Seems like a human traffic nightmare, especially given that the volume of folks will be far more than officials typically have to manage.

What strategies are you pro rail fans putting together to minimize potential problems?

These trains will be departing on Saturday and Sunday morning. 30th Street Station handles a much larger volume of passenger traffic on any given weekday. The only difference is that it will be a line for 1 train. And that line of 800 people will fill up only a small portion of the great hall.
All Amtrak needs to do is close off the platform to any other trains while boarding the excursion train and let people line up and board via use both stairways down to the platforms. Scan the tickets at the top of the stairs/escalators or at the elevator for people who need it.

30th Street station can handle this w/o breaking a sweat. A line of 800 at WAS would require better crowd line management than they normally do there (which is usually next to nothing). But lines of 200 or 300 long for boarding Regionals are routine at WAS.

If the total is 800 seats sold per train, we can make a ballpark estimate of the revenue that will be generated from these trains. Also a guess estimate of the related NEC sales if we assume, say 1/3rd of the passengers are making round trips on NEC trains to get to PHL.

 

[railiner]

Now what enterprising entrepreneur(s) will design and sell some commemorative 'T'-shirts or whatever souvenirs, outside the station?

(I'll settle for a 1% commission for the suggestion )..........

 

[benjibear]

God 800 people!. I think the place will be a mad house. I can't imagine how long the line is going to be and you better watch out so you don't slip on all the drool. I bet people will start lining up at 7 in the morning to be the first ones on. I know Philly is a large station but I don't think that is going to be capable of the volume of people for one train. I hope Amtrak has a good crowd control plan for this.

I am really second guessing myself if I really want to go on this trip

As far as Amtrak profit, I don't see them netting much money when all is said and done. Between paying employees, lunch, fuel, wear and tear, NS fees, etc., I am there is going to be that much money left. It is good PR though, but hope that doesn't come back to haunt them with Congress.

 

[railiner]

Guess there will be no 'quiet car'....... :lol:

 

[PRR 60]

Were I in charge (shudder at the thought), I would establish a roped-off line starting at Stairway 5 and leading to a zig-zag queue in the North Waiting Room (where the temporary Club Acela was located) with overflow heading down the north corridor (toward the regular Club Acela stairway). The queue area would be on the east side of the room to allow flow to and from the north restrooms. That would prevent the line from disrupting the Main Concourse and the flow to and from the regular trains. They will need something like 500 feet of queue line for 800 passengers (two abreast), so that should be enough. The train could be spotted on Track 5 or 6, and the other track and the stairway could be used normally until it was time to load the special.

If they just allow the line to form uncontrolled, it would be a mess.

 

[railiner]

Were I in charge (shudder at the thought), I would establish a roped-off line starting at Stairway 5 and leading to a zig-zag queue in the North Waiting Room (where the temporary Club Acela was located) with overflow heading down the north corridor (toward the regular Club Acela stairway). The queue area would be on the east side of the room to allow flow to and from the north restrooms. That would prevent the line from disrupting the Main Concourse and the flow to and from the regular trains. They will need something like 500 feet of queue line for 800 passengers (two abreast), so that should be enough. The train could be spotted on Track 5 or 6, and the other track and the stairway could be used normally until it was time to load the special.

If they just allow the line to form uncontrolled, it would be a mess.

Alternatively, they could open up the train for occupancy early, and avoid having such a huge queue....

 

[Anderson]

Amtrak doesn't have good control of things at WAS...they have well-trained passengers. There's a difference...good control would imply something other than lines spilling out of the gate area and into the station walkways. 800 at WAS would be a Charlie Foxtrot...I'd like to see it, but it would still be a disaster.

The best solution for that many people would be to open multiple gates if possible. In the case of PHL, not only use both gates to the platform, also have two agents scanning/checking tickets at each gate. In WAS for an upper-level train, I'd press two or three "gates" into use as well as using multiple agents to scan/check tickets and get people through the door; I'd also "lock" the sliding doors open. Lower-level would be more difficult...but you could probably do it if you forced the "up" escalators over by the VRE terminal into use as well.

Edit: At $89/ticket, 800 tickets is $71,200 in revenue per train. I figure the cafes should be good for a couple of thousand dollars in sales as well...it looks like the two trains should net Amtrak somewhere around $150,000 in extra revenue.

 

[jis]

But they've got to pay for running the trains and for the luch packs etc. So I still wonder what the net is going to be. Most likely something positive I suspect.

 

[afigg]

Edit: At $89/ticket, 800 tickets is $71,200 in revenue per train. I figure the cafes should be good for a couple of thousand dollars in sales as well...it looks like the two trains should net Amtrak somewhere around $150,000 in extra revenue.

Tickets for children are half-price and there are going to be some families making the excursion. So the ticket revenue will be less than $71.2K per trip. With 800 people inboard for a 7+ hour trip, even with the box lunches, the café cars should do a brisk business.
Of course, these special trains will cost money to run. Moving that many Horizons to PHL and back will add to the cost. Still, with 2 sold-out trains on back to back days, it should do ok in the bookkeeping.

 

[Anderson]

Well, I was referring to revenue. I know there are going to be costs...though I suspect the cafe will at least break even.

 

[jis]

What I had heard is that the cafe won't carry a regular cafe menu. It will carry only non-perishables.

 

[railiner]

What I had heard is that the cafe won't carry a regular cafe menu. It will carry only non-perishables.

I suspect that there will be long lines most of the time to purchase anything they do have, so probably a good idea to bring along your own snacks if you can't manage to go without for the length of the tour.....

 

[mignyc]

Less than a month away, folks! Getting excited.

 

[Barciur]

Just curious - do they do this kind of stuff often, is this first time or how is it? I missed this completely. Any chance I can get a chance to do something similar out of Philly at some point in the future?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

First time as far as I know. Since the Sat train was so popular they added a Sun train which sold out in 8 mins. So I suspect, if they have the resources, they'll do it again in the future.

 

[prr4400]

Did anybody hear when they are going to start boarding

 

[Slasharoo]

I was wondering if it would be possible for someone to drive to the turnaround spot and exchange places with someone on the train for the return trip?

 

[Acela150]

Did anybody hear when they are going to start boarding

No. That's upto PHL station personel and the Crew.

I was wondering if it would be possible for someone to drive to the turnaround spot and exchange places with someone on the train for the return trip?

No. Doors won't be opened AFAIK. I don't know why they would be.

 

[Barciur]

So is the train going to roll through Lancaster station? Is that the route from HAR to PHL? If so, any idea what time would one expect it to be at LNC?