Hiawatha discussion

[jis]

The problem for me, with the seat sliding forward, is that unless the pitch is very long, you cannot extend your legs under the seat in front of you, You are forced to have your knees bent. Maybe okay for a couple of hours, but would never do on an overnight train...

Yup, it is a tradeoff between your legs or the laptop and the lap or face of the person behind you. To get good recline you need larger pitch no matter which way it is done.

 

[NW cannonball]

My first time on a Hiawatha in 9 years was last Saturday 18 Nov. First run of day MKE to CHI. Venture cars, uneventful trip, apparently 5 car consist, repeated announcements that first car not quiet car today.
Full train but pleasant trip.

 

[moselman66]

Five Wisconsin markets were selected for a few million to move forward with study, all essentially Hiawatha expansion:

--Additional MKE-CHI trips
--New GRB-MKE-(CHI) service
--New MSN-MKE-(CHI) service
--New STP-EAU-MSN-MKE-(CHI) service
--Third STP-LSE-MKE-(CHI) trip

Green Bay, Madison and Eau Claire all lost passenger service with Amtrak, and talk of a third trip routed through LaCrosse on the heels of the looiming second trip (TCMC) has been thrown around. Hopefully this continues to move in the right direction.

Additional HIawatha trips are worthwhile regardless of what happens farther up the tracks, but at minimum CHI-MKE probably has to be about 10x to support this. More like 12-14 would be especially nice as long as we're being optimistic here.

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/12/...ts-to-study-five-new-or-expanded-rail-routes/
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news...-big-step-towards-expanding-rail-in-wisconsin

 

[jis]

https://www.cbs58.com/news/amtrak-reinstates-monthly-pass-for-hiawatha-line-milwaukee-to-chicago

 

[daybeers]

I remember reading about that. I'm glad the monthly is back, as $650 is better than $840, but that's still a steep $250 increase over the previous monthly pass fee. Quite a ridiculous rate.

 

[jis]

I remember reading about that. I'm glad the monthly is back, as $650 is better than $840, but that's still a steep $250 increase over the previous monthly pass fee. Quite a ridiculous rate.

Whatever Wisconsin is willing to pay for

 

[moselman66]

The jump from $400 to $650 is definitely huge, but I'd argue the $400 monthly pass was perhaps too massive a discount.

For weekday commuters there are usually about 22 weekdays per month, or 44 total trips.

Old rate of $400 per month
$400 / 44 trips = about $9.10 per trip
that's nearly 64% off the regular $25 fare

New rate of $650 per month
$400 / 44 trips = about $14.77 per trip
that's nearly 41% off the regular $25 fare

For a three-times-per week commuter the monthly package does not save money
Three times per week is about 26 trips per month.
At $650 that's $25 per trip, so monthly gives no savings
The ten-ride $210 of $21 each would be cheaper for three-per-day commuters.

Again, it's a big percentage jump to swallow especially for lower-income people (including any commuting students) but is a 41% discount out of line?

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

I see that a dash 8 (519) is leading back on one of the Hiawatha routes again. There were some mechanical issues with the power yesterday (12/22) where the Empire Builder #8 assisted, and now the dash 8 is back on again. We'll see how long it stays on. It's always a treat to see it on there.

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

It's been quite a while since a Dash 8 has led on the Hiawathas. It was cool to see it on again...