NE Corridor

[LookingGlassTie]

Is the NEC the only region where Amtrak has dedicated rail lines? Or are there other areas of the country where that is the case?

 

[RPC]

The NEC, Keystone Corridor, and part of the Chicago-Detroit line are Amtrak owned. One could argue that the Southwest Chief line Lamy-Trinidad is "Amtrak dedicated" since nothing else runs there, but I think that would be stretching the definition.

 

[seat38a]

The NEC, Keystone Corridor, and part of the Chicago-Detroit line are Amtrak owned. One could argue that the Southwest Chief line Lamy-Trinidad is "Amtrak dedicated" since nothing else runs there, but I think that would be stretching the definition.

Who actually maintains the tracks now between Lamy - Trinidad? BNSF crew or Amtrak/State contractors? Paid by Amtrak/States for the upkeep right?

 

[KmH]

It's my understanding BNSF still owns the tracks and does the maintenance work but gets paid by Amtrak to do so.

 

[Eric S]

It depends what is meant by "dedicated" - does that just include Amtrak-owned? In that case, it's pretty much just most of the NEC, the Harrisburg Line, the Springfield Line, and parts of the Michigan Line, with a few little bits here and there.

Or does it also include lines owned by states and transit agencies that are primarily passenger lines, with fairly little freight? That list would be quite a bit longer.

 

[Palmetto]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak#Lines

 

[Thirdrail7]

Are you talking dedicated lines, meaning with out grade crossings? What is "dedicated?" If you're going with Amtrak owned, the entire NEC isn't owned by Amtrak.

 

[LookingGlassTie]

I suppose I'm referring to tracks which Amtrak trains use nearly exclusively (not really shared with freight trains). Whether Amtrak actually owns them or not.

 

[StriderGDM]

If you mean not really shared with freight, the Empire Corridor up to Albany (and in fact while CSX still owns this north of Poughkeepsie, it's by pretty much most definitions now in Amtrak control.)

 

[Thirdrail7]

I suppose I'm referring to tracks which Amtrak trains use nearly exclusively (not really shared with freight trains). Whether Amtrak actually owns them or not.

The NEC is infested with freight trains, especially between Baltimore and Wilmington. I can only think of a few sections that don't see some sort of freight action at some point in a normal day.

 

[StriderGDM]

Oh, I meant to add, if you meant owned (which apparently you don't) MN owns part of the NEC in CT>

 

[Palmetto]

I suppose I'm referring to tracks which Amtrak trains use nearly exclusively (not really shared with freight trains). Whether Amtrak actually owns them or not.

Why don't you click on my link above, then click on section 2.8. It's got all you want to know and more.

 

[jis]

As is often the case, there are a couple of errors and omissions in the Wiki article referred.

It fails to mention that the segment between Massachusetts border and Boston South Station is actually owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and maintained and operated by Amtrak.

The Empire Corridor lease actually is upto Hoffmans, several miles west of Schenectady, where it joins the CSX Water Level Route from Selkirk.

AFAIK Amtrak owns nothing in Orlando. It is all SunRail. It does own the Sanford Auto Train facility, which is in Sanford. All the main line and station trackage around Orlando (between Deland and Poinciana), is now owned, maintained and dispatched by CFRC (SunRail).

I guess time to brush oof my login at Wikipedia and go in and apply fixes.

 

[neroden]

If the question you are really asking is "which lines are controlled by a dispatcher who is reliably instructed to prioritize Amtrak" then the answer seems to be:

(1) NEC, except from New Haven to the point where Metro North splits off, which is Metro-North

(2) Springfield-New Haven

(3) Keystone Corridor Philadelphia to Harrisburg

(4) Empire Corridor from Penn Station to the merge with Metro-North, and from Poughkeepsie (where Metro-North ends) to past Schenectady where it merges with CSX, and a short section through both Niagara Falls stations owned by Amtrak and/or VIA, and from Aldershot to Toronto Union Station owned by VIA; plus the "Post Road branch" heading east from Albany towards Boston, until it merges with CSX

(5) Michigan Corridor from "Porter" (west of Michigan City) through Dearborn to a junction just short of Detroit station, with the exception of the area right around Battle Creek

(6) The Southwest Chief route from where it splits from Railrunner north of Albuquerque to Trinidad NM (this is owned by BNSF but has no other traffic)

(7) Piedmont/Carolinian operations from Raleigh to Charlotte (the track is owned by the state, so even though NS dispatches, they know who's boss), and Crescent through same districts

(8) Significant terminal trackage around New Orleans and Chicago, also minimal sections around some other stations

Whether the dispatchers on the freight-owned lines prioritize Amtrak seems to change on a dime with internal management changes so I'm not including them as being *reliably* instructed. They're supposed to, but there's conclusive and overwhelming evidence that many freight operators have, in the past, ordered their dispatchers to illegally delay Amtrak for freights

Another question might be "which lines are controlled by passenger operators rather than freight operators" -- this would add:

(1) Amtrak operations on Metro-North in the Empire Corridor and NEC

(2) Amtrak operations on MBTA tracks in Boston (Downeaster and LSL as far as Worcester)

(3) Amtrak operations on SunRail and TriRail in Florida

(4) Amtrak operations on Metra from Chicago to Glenview

(5) Amtrak operations on Railrunner in New Mexico

(6) Amtrak operations on various Metrolink & Coaster-owned lines in Southern California, including LA Union and most of the Surfliner route

(7) Amtrak operations on TRE in the Dallas-Fort Worth area

(8) Terminal trackage in Denver and some other stations

Some of these dispatchers have a tendency to dispatch commuter trains ahead of Amtrak.

 

[jis]

On the Piedmont/Carolinian Corridor, there is a short segment of jointly operated line near Cary that is dispatched by CSX.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Commuter railroad dispatchers will almost always give priority to their own trains over Amtrak. After all, the commuters pay the dispatchers' salary. In turn, Amtrak dispatchers will give priority over commuters on Amtrak-owned trackage. That's the way it works in railroading.

 

[zephyr17]

Lamy-La Junta (which is the actual stretch with no current BNSF traffic, except for a section around Trinidad) is owned and dispatched by BNSF. While BNSF generally prioritizes Amtrak, if there were other traffic, normal BNSF dispatching priorities would apply if there were BNSF traffic, so I would not characterize that as Amtrak having special, absolute, priority there.

 

[railiner]

If the question you are really asking is "which lines are controlled by a dispatcher who is reliably instructed to prioritize Amtrak" then the answer seems to be:

(1) NEC, except from New Haven to the point where Metro North splits off, which is Metro-North

(2) Springfield-New Haven

(3) Keystone Corridor Philadelphia to Harrisburg

(4) Empire Corridor from Penn Station to the merge with Metro-North, and from Poughkeepsie (where Metro-North ends) to past Schenectady where it merges with CSX, and a short section through both Niagara Falls stations owned by Amtrak and/or VIA, and from Aldershot to Toronto Union Station owned by VIA; plus the "Post Road branch" heading east from Albany towards Boston, until it merges with CSX

(5) Michigan Corridor from "Porter" (west of Michigan City) through Dearborn to a junction just short of Detroit station, with the exception of the area right around Battle Creek

(6) The Southwest Chief route from where it splits from Railrunner north of Albuquerque to Trinidad NM (this is owned by BNSF but has no other traffic)

(7) Piedmont/Carolinian operations from Raleigh to Charlotte (the track is owned by the state, so even though NS dispatches, they know who's boss), and Crescent through same districts

(8) Significant terminal trackage around New Orleans and Chicago, also minimal sections around some other stations

Whether the dispatchers on the freight-owned lines prioritize Amtrak seems to change on a dime with internal management changes so I'm not including them as being *reliably* instructed. They're supposed to, but there's conclusive and overwhelming evidence that many freight operators have, in the past, ordered their dispatchers to illegally delay Amtrak for freights

Another question might be "which lines are controlled by passenger operators rather than freight operators" -- this would add:

(1) Amtrak operations on Metro-North in the Empire Corridor and NEC

(2) Amtrak operations on MBTA tracks in Boston (Downeaster and LSL as far as Worcester)

(3) Amtrak operations on SunRail and TriRail in Florida

(4) Amtrak operations on Metra from Chicago to Glenview

(5) Amtrak operations on Railrunner in New Mexico

(6) Amtrak operations on various Metrolink & Coaster-owned lines in Southern California, including LA Union and most of the Surfliner route

(7) Amtrak operations on TRE in the Dallas-Fort Worth area

(8) Terminal trackage in Denver and some other stations

Some of these dispatchers have a tendency to dispatch commuter trains ahead of Amtrak.

Just a minor correction near the top of your post...Trinidad is in Colorado, not NM....

 

[neroden]

Commuter railroad dispatchers will almost always give priority to their own trains over Amtrak. After all, the commuters pay the dispatchers' salary. In turn, Amtrak dispatchers will give priority over commuters on Amtrak-owned trackage. That's the way it works in railroading.

Not in the US in the 19th century. There used to be a standard and documented system of priority of trains. This is just an example of the US degenerating.

 

[neroden]

Lamy-La Junta (which is the actual stretch with no current BNSF traffic, except for a section around Trinidad) is owned and dispatched by BNSF. While BNSF generally prioritizes Amtrak, if there were other traffic, normal BNSF dispatching priorities would apply if there were BNSF traffic, so I would not characterize that as Amtrak having special, absolute, priority there.

State and Amtrak funding is paying for that line to stay *open*. BNSF has, on the whole, been quite good about dispatching Amtrak with appropriate priority in recent years... but on that line, honestly, I suspect they know where the money is coming from.

 

[jis]

Since there is absolutely nothing else running there it would take some amount of ingenuity to dispatch something ahead of Amtrak i should think.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

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[AmtrakBlue]

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Having technical difficulties

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Since there is absolutely nothing else running there it would take some amount of ingenuity to dispatch something ahead of Amtrak i should think.