looshi
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2012
- Messages
- 83
I, like many of you, enjoy to speculate about the future routes and possibilities of Amtrak. I'm not sure, however, if it's best to put this here or in the High-Speed Rail board, so mods feel free to move this if you deem it so. I also want to mention that this plan is purely hypothetical, and so far Indiana hasn't even decided to fund the Hooiser State, let alone expand the service.
Now with the disclaimers out of the way. Here's the PDF I found. It was put together by moderator KJP on the UrbanOhio forum, I believe with some input from All Aboard Ohio. Basically the plan boils down to extending the Hooiser State to Cincinnati, and then focusing on decreasing times and increasing the number departures along the route. The thinking is Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Chicago could be a nice little operation if travel times were a little more reliable. Right now Cincinnati's only option is a 1am Cardinal departure.
So my question is, what do the more experienced arm-chair Amtrak strategists think of this plan? Obviously, it would probably require more political support for passenger rail than we're currently seeing in Ohio or Indiana. I do believe this will happen with time, but it requires the Hoosier State to hang on for the time being. Maybe with the new Midwest Bilevel order there will be equipment for a daily Hooiser State? I know a daily Cardinal was put on hold due to capacity requirements in the east. Would this be a better option? I think this corridor will be difficult-to-impossible to build if we're basing it off the Cardinal. The on-time performance is just too unpredictable.
Now with the disclaimers out of the way. Here's the PDF I found. It was put together by moderator KJP on the UrbanOhio forum, I believe with some input from All Aboard Ohio. Basically the plan boils down to extending the Hooiser State to Cincinnati, and then focusing on decreasing times and increasing the number departures along the route. The thinking is Cincinnati-Indianapolis-Chicago could be a nice little operation if travel times were a little more reliable. Right now Cincinnati's only option is a 1am Cardinal departure.
So my question is, what do the more experienced arm-chair Amtrak strategists think of this plan? Obviously, it would probably require more political support for passenger rail than we're currently seeing in Ohio or Indiana. I do believe this will happen with time, but it requires the Hoosier State to hang on for the time being. Maybe with the new Midwest Bilevel order there will be equipment for a daily Hooiser State? I know a daily Cardinal was put on hold due to capacity requirements in the east. Would this be a better option? I think this corridor will be difficult-to-impossible to build if we're basing it off the Cardinal. The on-time performance is just too unpredictable.