N
Nathanael
Guest
Don't get me wrong -- the Short Line routing makes perfect sense. It's actually the shorter route. It's cheaper to use. It's uncongested. If there's a worry about speed, it's going to be much easier to fix up the tracks there than it is to reroute the train. (The yard track could be sped up to 30 mph pretty cheaply; the entire route could be brought up to 60 mph at quite reasonable prices.)I'd guess that the EB keeps using the CP short line and then through the MNRR yard past the old Midway station for at least 5-10 years.
The question is about *stopping at the Minnesota Commercial shops* at Midway. Running straight through makes so much more sense than stopping. But the rumors have all been that Amtrak will stop there and put the 707/808 coach there -- it just seems bizarre.
At SPUD, it would be the Amtrak road crew doing the switching. And the question is, why not? It's even viable to add and drop private cars there, what with the extra track.The other slow spot is the MNNR yard near Midway station. The cost kicks in again. For switching, all those old MNNR Alco's with their relatively cheap crews, and plenty low price storage tracks for PV and the seasonal MSP-CHI Amtrak coach. At SPUD -- lots of switchers at the yards two miles away -- but cost probably twice per hour, and have to get cleared through Hoffman to SPUD to even start working $$$.
My best guess for a reason would be -- perhaps Amtrak has a contract with Minnesota Commercial and is waiting for contract renewal time before relocating. But I can't think of any other reason not to move the cutting & adding to SPUD, after which the train could move straight through the yards without stopping.