^ The re-route between DAL and FTW on the TRE tracks is supposed to reduce overall travel time by about an hour, right? Any further update on when this could be a reality? This summer, I saw an Amtrak train coming FTW-DAL on the TRE line, presumably because of a wreck on the UP route through arlington... Pretty cool. It was clipping along, faster than the TRE. I bet you'd see Amtrak get a significant bump in DAL<->FTW express traffic once it's on that line, too.
Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:
- Status
While Mineola is small, about 5 thousand population, that Amtrak station serves nearby Tyler, population 10 thousand, and Smith county, population over 200 thousand. Even though it's unattended with no lugggage checking it gets surprising ridership.
A reroute has been in the works for many years. Last I heard it is caught up in liability issues and all that legal mumbo-jumbo. The TRE line is also slowly being double tracked, but they haven't done much work on that in recent months.
I doubt a whole hour could be taken out of the schedule. The TRE takes about an hour to get across the line with stops, so the Eagle could possibly get across in 45 minutes without padding? Eliminating the backup move would probably save another 15 or 20 minutes. Not sure how much padding they should have, because we still are dealing with UP in East Texas, and you know how that goes.
I heard UP really wants Amtrak off it's Dallas sub though. The only bad thing is that if passenger rail is removed from the UP line, it's going to be very hard to establish commuter rail on that line should Arlington/Grand Prarie decide they want it. But thats not really Amtrak's problem.
In re the TRE bypass from FTW-DAL, on the way to STL enroute to the Gathering we used the TRE route due to a derailment on the UP line between FTW and DAL. ALL the Trains, including UP and BNSF freights !!! were using this line along with TRE and we still went non-stop from FTW-DAL in about 25 minutes! As has been said, this will help the Eagles OTP along with elimination of the backup moves @ Tower 55 in FTW! Im sure Chris and the other DFW Area residents will keep us posted! :hi:
!!! were using this line along with TRE and we still went non-stop from FTW-DAL in about 25 minutes! As has been said, this will help the Eagles OTP along with elimination of the backup moves @ Tower 55 in FTW! Im sure Chris and the other DFW Area residents will keep us posted! :hi:
Last edited by a moderator:
GlobalistPotato
Lead Service Attendant
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2011
- Messages
- 344
San Marcos is home to Texas State University of over 20000 college students. And we all know how college students are a prime market for Amtrak.
I would also support having a station in Round Rock to serve North Austin and its suburbs, that way they don't have to drive in traffic down to the Austin station or go out of the way to Taylor. Suburban Stations are not a bad idea, especially when the Lone Star Rail District is planning commuter rail along that line.
AFAIK, the TRE's schedule between Dallas and Fort Worth ITC is nearly an hour with stops. Remove those and the travel time should go down to 40-45 minutes.
daveyb99
OBS Chief
... and it is about time they get this done. The new double tracking sections provide ample room to pass and not delay anyone. How recent is your info.
AND ... have you heard anything about an additional platform in FTW? I know that was discussed a long while back, the The T people seem to think it was never discussed and is not on any plans.
Last edited by a moderator:
Texan Eagle
Conductor
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2011
- Messages
- 1,705
Westbound TE is scheduled to arrive DAL at 11.30am and depart FTW 2.10pm, so that's almost three hours in the metroplex area, which I feel is way too much. If FTW is already a 45 minute stop with refueling crew change et al, what is the need for another 20 minute stop at DAL? From what I have seen, boarding-deboarding at DAL usually gets done in 5-10 minutes. Then there is 1 hour 35 minute running time to FTW, which accounts for the time taken by the silly backing in and out move at Tower 55. Assuming TE is routed through TRE line and is able to run DAL-FTW in 40 minutes (someone mentioned they did it in 25 minutes once, so I am being conservative here), a possible TE schedule could be DAL arrival 11.30am, departure 11.40am, FTW arrival 12.20pm departure 1.00pm. There you go- one hour ten minutes easily shaved off from the schedule. If only someone in power would read this forum....I doubt a whole hour could be taken out of the schedule. The TRE takes about an hour to get across the line with stops, so the Eagle could possibly get across in 45 minutes without padding? Eliminating the backup move would probably save another 15 or 20 minutes. Not sure how much padding they should have, because we still are dealing with UP in East Texas, and you know how that goes.
Last edited by a moderator:
daveyb99
OBS Chief
But I think there was padding put in to absorb the late trains south of Little Rock. Watch the schedule sometime: the #21 can be 2+hours late out of Texarkana, yet depart Fort Worth on time. I agree "three hours" is a long time, but ...
I agree 3 hours through the Metroplex is way too much. But we're also dealing with UP here. Sometimes they get the Eagle through without any delays, and then the next day they have a slow freight pull in front of it. It's pretty unpredictable, so at least some padding is needed. There's also lots of padding between Texarkana and Marshall. If #21 leaves Mineola on time, it can arrive into Dallas at 11:00 am. And without delays to Fort Worth, it can cross the UP in about 45 minutes, including the backup move.
I'll guess that 45 minutes is a good time to have between DAL and FTW on the TRE line. That would give it some leeway, to catch up from delays in East Texas, as well as meet times to the scheduled commuter trains along the route. Also remember, you can't leave south from FTW too early, so as to make room for the Heartland Flyer connection.
I'd love to see a later departure out of Chicago, but Illinois really likes its 5:15 PM slot for it's Lincoln Service. Leaving after that makes things really tight in FTW for a HF connection. If you look at old Texas Eagle timetables, it use to leave Chicago a lot later than it does now. I really miss having an Empire Builder connection.
- Status
