Infill Amtrak stops

[pennyk]

The Waldo Fl Amtrak Station still exists - though it hasn't been open in years ... overall, the building still looks to be in OK shape, though it is NOT ADA compliant.

The station used to be full service with checked baggage and a ticket counter.

Back in the 1960's and moving into the 1970's a friend of mine's father was the Station Master. The station was not open full-time - but opened for service an hour or two before the train was scheduled and stayed open for 30 minutes after the train left.
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Thanks for posting the photos. It brings back many fond memories of departing and arriving from that Station when I lived in Gainesville in the 1970s.

 

[Anderson]

Reinstating the idea of flag stops is actually a good one on routes served only once or twice per day; once you get up in the 3-5x/day range, you can probably simply vary stopping patterns to cover most of the relevant stops.

 

[railiner]

I would like to see the Silver Meteor stop at Okeechobee, since the Star already does...for selfish reasons (I'm moving there), but since there is already a station there, and no other train's serve it, and since the routes differ north of Savannah...why not? It would only add a few minutes to the schedule...

 

[jis]

I would like to see the Silver Meteor stop at Okeechobee, since the Star already does...for selfish reasons (I'm moving there), but since there is already a station there, and no other train's serve it, and since the routes differ north of Savannah...why not? It would only add a few minutes to the schedule...

It also would add access to Tampa from O. Very little to argue against it.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

It also would add access to Tampa from O. Very little to argue against it.

The SS is the train that stops there now, so there already is access to Tampa. Added service would introduce a direct train to cities between Savannah and Rocky Mount as well as additional connections in the Northeast.

 

[jis]

Ah OK. I got it backwards.Then the argument for stopping the SM is much weaker, since it is hard to believe that the demand for Charleston and Fayetteville from Okeechobee is any more than just occasional.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Ah OK. I got it backwards.Then the argument for stopping the SM is much weaker, since it is hard to believe that the demand for Charleston and Fayetteville from Okeechobee is any more than just occasional.

True, but it would also introduce an additional frequency to South Florida, Orlando, and Jacksonville, with significantly faster service to the latter 2.

 

[jis]

Given Okeechobee’s low ridership I think it is another case for a flag stop.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Given Okeechobee’s low ridership I think it is another case for a flag stop.

Given Okeechobee’s low ridership I think it is another case for a flag stop.

Honestly I think any stop that has a reasonable chance of having no passengers for a given train should be a flag stop, which describes many rural Amtrak stations. During the most recent year, there were 3,988 passengers in Okeechobee which corresponds to about 5.5 per train. Also worth noting is that the top 6 ridership destinations are composed of 4/6 South Florida stations, Tampa, and Lakeland. SM service would probably push Orlando from 7 to 2 or 3 and put Jacksonville on the list. It's also interesting that Philadelphia generated more passengers than Washington, which is unusual for LD service and may be the to the lack of connections at WAS. For the top 10 revenue stations, 3 are between Savannah and Rocky Mount, so cities between those cities on the SM route may have some potential. It is a small sample size, so it is admittedly difficult to make conclusions, but I don't see much of a downside, especially if it was a flag stop as you suggest.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Of course, adding service might add passengers too (in the Okeechobee case - of course, I'm only commenting because I wanted to type Okeechobee).

 

[Pere Flyer]

Of course, adding service might add passengers too (in the Okeechobee case - of course, I'm only commenting because I wanted to type Okeechobee).

Ah, the principle of induced demand—or as I like to call it, “Track of Dreams”: If you build it, they will ride.

 

[railgeekteen]

Has anyone mentioned Oxford on the Cardinal? Maybe one or two more Nevada stops on the CZ. Also Emporia, Virginia, on one of the trains that goes through there.

 

[sttom]

I know in Nevada's case the state wanted to add stops at Fernley and Wendover in one of their transportation plans. There may have been a couple more, but those are the ones I remember them mentioning. Soda Springs would also be a good stop to add in the Sierras due to its proximity to ski resorts. I vaguely remember it getting mentioned as a potential stop if the Capitol was extended to Reno, but nothing ever came of it.

 

[railiner]

Don't recall if we discussed this before, but does anyone have any idea of which is the largest (population) town that Amtrak passes thru, but doesn't stop at?
I could be because of proximity to a nearby large town such as Minneapolis to St. Paul, or it could be because a commuter service that Amtrak can connect with serves it, such as say, Norwalk, Ct....

 

[Qapla]

Not that it is a large population but I noticed today that, apparently, neither of the Silvers is stopping in Jessup, Ga. The Meteor had been stopping there while the Star didn't. That would mean that anyone traveling from Brunswick, Ga now has to drive more than an hour and deal with Jacksonville traffic instead of a 45 minute country drive

 

[Palmetto]

Has anyone mentioned Oxford on the Cardinal? Maybe one or two more Nevada stops on the CZ. Also Emporia, Virginia, on one of the trains that goes through there.

That has been suggested, if not here, then on another site.

 

[jis]

Not that it is a large population but I noticed today that, apparently, neither of the Silvers is stopping in Jessup, Ga. The Meteor had been stopping there while the Star didn't. That would mean that anyone traveling from Brunswick, Ga now has to drive more than an hour and deal with Jacksonville traffic instead of a 45 minute country drive

A few test bookings in November suggest that 97/98 continues to serve Jesup, GA (JSP), while 91/92 continue not to serve JSP. If you try to book on a non-97/98 day it offers you the next 97/98 day.

 

[Qapla]

A few test bookings in November suggest that 97/98 continues to serve Jesup, GA (JSP), while 91/92 continue not to serve JSP. If you try to book on a non-91/92 day it offers you the next 97/98 day.

Interesting ...
transitdocs Amtrak map does not show that - I thought they got the route/stop info from Amtrak feed


As can e seen - neither Silvers list JSP as a stop between SAV and JAX

 

[tgstubbs1]

If a person waits at a flag stop will the train always stop?

 

[bms]

Oxford has pretty bad calling times, but probably would still get some passengers because it is a college town. Some of the West Virginia stops on the Cardinal could be flag stops.

It would be nice to have a suburban stop outside of Cleveland, just to have an alternative to the downtown Amshack. Perhaps Elyria is supposed to fill that role, but a platform with a bus shelter isn't exactly great either.

 

[west point]

You always run into the ADA requirements when adding a stop. ( now full length platforms ?

 

[jebr]

Don't recall if we discussed this before, but does anyone have any idea of which is the largest (population) town that Amtrak passes thru, but doesn't stop at?
I could be because of proximity to a nearby large town such as Minneapolis to St. Paul, or it could be because a commuter service that Amtrak can connect with serves it, such as say, Norwalk, Ct....

I think it's going to be tough to beat Minneapolis - Google reports a population of 425,403, and I can't immediately think of a city that large that Amtrak doesn't stop at inside the city limits (realistically, it'd have to be a metro area with multiple large municipalities.)

 

[Palmetto]

If an Amtrak train is to stop in Minneapolis, it would have to take a route different from today's Empire Builder route in order to arrive at the currently used station. I believe the GN Western Star used the route in question, heading west to Willmar, then north to Fargo.

 

[PVD]

Phoenix would be a good example. Maricopa is not so close to the heart of the area.

 

[Rasputin]

Marfa, Texas