AmtrakerBx
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- Aug 24, 2002
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Amtrak Sticks First Rebuilt TurboLiner in Regular Slot
Author: TO News from Amtrak
The first of two SuperSteel New York-rebuilt Rohr TurboLiners has found a regular slot in New York City-to-Rensselaer service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor. A total of seven TurboLiners are being rebuilt and beginning last Monday, the first two had entered revenue service for evaluation and customer feedback.
Amtrak still officially classifies the TurboLiner in a final testing phase, however has assigned it to fill the Empire Corridor train 250/247 slot on the schedule. The train departs southbound for New York City at 09:00 EDT as train 250 and returns as train 247, departing NYC at 16:00 EDT.
"Passengers seem to like it very much," Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said of the Turboliner, which began carrying paid passengers last week. Customers have praised a quieter, smoother ride, and "many have commented on the bigger windows," Stessel added.
While the train is designed to run at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour and shave about 20 minutes from the 2 hour, 25 minute scheduled trip from the the Rensselaer Rail Station to Penn Station, it cannot operate above the current 110-mph limit until work to improve the tracks and crossings is done.
Stessel said the train also is performing well mechanically. He said Amtrak is using this phase of testing to continue training conductors, engineers and other crew members who will operate the Turboliners, which are 1970s-era vehicles being rebuilt by Super Steel Schenectady under a $74.4 million state contract.
For now, Amtrak is keeping a conventional train available as a backup in case of trouble with the Turboliner, Stessel said. Once a second Turboliner at Amtrak's Rensselaer yard is ready to begin carrying passengers, he said, the two reconditioned trains will be rotated into the same spot on the schedule, with one Turboliner serving as a backup for the other.
Author: TO News from Amtrak
The first of two SuperSteel New York-rebuilt Rohr TurboLiners has found a regular slot in New York City-to-Rensselaer service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor. A total of seven TurboLiners are being rebuilt and beginning last Monday, the first two had entered revenue service for evaluation and customer feedback.
Amtrak still officially classifies the TurboLiner in a final testing phase, however has assigned it to fill the Empire Corridor train 250/247 slot on the schedule. The train departs southbound for New York City at 09:00 EDT as train 250 and returns as train 247, departing NYC at 16:00 EDT.
"Passengers seem to like it very much," Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said of the Turboliner, which began carrying paid passengers last week. Customers have praised a quieter, smoother ride, and "many have commented on the bigger windows," Stessel added.
While the train is designed to run at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour and shave about 20 minutes from the 2 hour, 25 minute scheduled trip from the the Rensselaer Rail Station to Penn Station, it cannot operate above the current 110-mph limit until work to improve the tracks and crossings is done.
Stessel said the train also is performing well mechanically. He said Amtrak is using this phase of testing to continue training conductors, engineers and other crew members who will operate the Turboliners, which are 1970s-era vehicles being rebuilt by Super Steel Schenectady under a $74.4 million state contract.
For now, Amtrak is keeping a conventional train available as a backup in case of trouble with the Turboliner, Stessel said. Once a second Turboliner at Amtrak's Rensselaer yard is ready to begin carrying passengers, he said, the two reconditioned trains will be rotated into the same spot on the schedule, with one Turboliner serving as a backup for the other.
