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  1. J

    Acela 21 (Avelia Liberty) development, testing and deployment

    Will the Acela 21 be in service in 23? Or will it wait until 24? The original cars are showing a lot of duct tape in places.
  2. J

    NEC overnight and late evening service

    NYC prohibits diesel operation in tunnels, so there would need to be a swap in Sunnyside to an ACS-64 to enter/leave NYP. New York State would probably not allow the P32AC-DMs to be used on a Boston run.
  3. J

    Efficacy of Private vs. Public Sector Construction Projects

    It was nearly a century ago, but two major projects: Were government projects; Were completed ahead of schedule; and Were under budget - Hoover Dam and the Pentagon.
  4. J

    Metra to convert locomotives to battery power

    The frequency of lithium battery fires (in general) is low, but the results can be catastrophic. The seriousness of the fire is dependent on one variable - the joules of energy contained in the battery. The size of a locomotive battery would far exceed that of the bus that incinerated itself in...
  5. J

    Metra to convert locomotives to battery power

    Any fire department would rather deal with a hydrogen fire (not much different than an LPG fire) than a lithium battery fire. Of course, having neither is far, far preferable!
  6. J

    Adding frequency to Long Distance (LD) service

    All these proposals will require a large increase in the Amtrak fleet size, and that gets into the design questions discussed on a separate thread. Might we see these in a decade? Perhaps, or perhaps not.
  7. J

    Metra to convert locomotives to battery power

    Batteries seem to be a short-range solution to issues such as no-diesel in NYP. But there are still a lot of problems with them. Note that a battery powered bus in Hartford was destroyed by a battery fire that took hours and thousands of gallons of water to extinguish. They should hold off on...
  8. J

    Adding frequency to Long Distance (LD) service

    I would say that one constraint would be that the departure and final arrival should not occur between midnight and six in the morning. So, taking the LSL as an example with approximately a 19 hour run time, we could have the following NYP departures / CHI arrivals: Noon / 7 am 3 pm / 9 am 9 pm...
  9. J

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    US design requirements (FRA and ADA) are quite different from those in Europe. If Amtrak were to try to copy TGV, we would see these trains in perhaps 10 to 20 years even if they did get approval.
  10. J

    Freight Derailment disrupts Capitol Limited 2/3/23

    The hazmat cleanup will take several days. Then NS can clear the site and start track work to restore service.
  11. J

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    This is just a guess, but if there is a problem it will occur at NYP with its tight clearances if you go over 85ft.
  12. J

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    Just remember that there are two "non-negotiable" restraints on the new car designs - ADA compliance and crumple zone protection. Those will result in a loss of considerable passenger space. So, I doubt that sleeper capacity will increase.
  13. J

    LIRR Service to Grand Central

    Well, in defense of ESA, it took less time from proposal to opening than the Second Avenue Subway!
  14. J

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    There are definite advantages to having a uniform LD fleet, which would have to be single level. And having unit trains (semi-permanent couplings and open gangways) is a way of dealing with ADA issues. I also fully endorse the idea of having a business class as an intermediate class between...
  15. J

    North East Corridor (NEC) speeds, new stations and state of repair

    Back in the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad days trains like the Mayflower made the New Haven to GCT run in slightly more than one hour and 20 minutes. Right now one of the problems on the New Haven to New Rochelle run on Metro North is the large number of speed restrictions, both those...
  16. J

    North East Corridor (NEC) speeds, new stations and state of repair

    If you look at the MNR segment on Google Earth you will see that almost any expansion of the ROW will involve taking property at exorbitant northeast prices. However, within the current ROW there are improvements to be made. First would be bridge replacement. The issue that arises there (as...
  17. J

    Airo - Amfleet I replacement Siemens Inter City Trainsets (ICT)

    Of course, after voting against it.
  18. J

    FAA grounds US flights 1/11/23

    When the Air Force changes its designation, then it might be appropriate for the FAA to change NOTAM. Of course, everyone just knows the acronym.
  19. J

    Future Amtrak Sleeper and ADA ideas

    Let's start from the premise that the ADA will impose a lot of restrictions on what can be done with the next generation sleeper cars. This in all probability (unless the rules get modified) would rule out bi-level equipment, so we need to assume single level. Remembering that the ADA does not...
  20. J

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    Even with single level there are many issues in making long distance railcars fully ADA compliant. For example, the required corridor width will make the roomettes very narrow.
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