AmtrakerBx
Train Attendant
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2002
- Messages
- 44
Turboliner awaits tweaking, okay to go
Amtrak said last Friday (November 15) it was seeking a few final modifications to the first of seven rebuilt high-speed trains, dimming hopes that the first Turboliner would be running by Thanksgiving. The state of New York said it is waiting for Amtrak – and the state DOT is not very happy.
Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel described the issues as “minor deficiencies,” declining to identify them. “There is nothing major wrong with the train.”
Stessel told D:F on November 21 the RTL-3s, in their railroad nomenclature, are not having mechanical problems. He indicated the train will be ready for service “in a matter of weeks.” He also said when the trains enter service, a notice most likely will come from Gov. George Pataki’s office. He inferred the problems were more political than anything else, but the trainset nevertheless is in the Super Steel Schenectady shop for further work.
A week ago, a spokeswoman for the NY DOT told the Albany Times Union the agency had accepted the first train as ready for service and was waiting for Amtrak to give the nod.
However, NYDOT does not run the trains, Amtrak does, and the passenger railroad was not satisfied, railroad officials said.
Final testing of the first trainset, which has included midnight runs between Rensselaer and New York City, began in August.
Seven old Amtrak trains manufactured in the mid-1970s are being rebuilt for high-speed service between Albany-Rensselaer and New York City by Super Steel Schenectady under a $74.4 million state contract. The state’s entire budget for the seven-train project is approximately $98.5 million, including future upgrades to the propulsion system, a stockpile of some replacement parts and consulting work. Another $140 million is to be spent on tracks, bridges and crossings to enable operation of the trains at full speed, 125 miles per hour.
Amtrak will sign off on final acceptance of the train as soon as the company is confident that no further modifications are needed from Super Steel Schenectady, Stessel said. Then there will be another brief delay while Amtrak trains the Turboliner staff.
The Turboliners are expected to shave about 20 minutes off the 142-mile trip between Rensselaer and Manhattan, but won’t be able to reach top speeds at first. Current track speeds are between 75 and 95 mph with some areas rated at 110 mph.
Meanwhile, the Albany Business Review reported Amtrak appeared to be backing out of the deal, state officials said.
In a November 18 letter to Amtrak Chairman John Robert Smith, State Transportation Commissioner Joseph H. Boardman complained that Amtrak is no longer interested in upholding its part of a deal which was supposed to return seven rebuilt Turbotrains in service.
“Amtrak’s actions call into question Amtrak’s commitment to deliver a quality passenger service to New Yorkers,” the letter said. “Amtrak is consumed with its survival, and is no longer focused on the nation’s intercity rail passenger needs.”
“It is failing to honor its past partnerships and commitments,” Boardman’s letter stated.
Clifford Black, Amtrak’s director of media relations, said only that Amtrak had received Boardman’s letter.
“We will respond to it in due time to the commissioner,” he said.
Under the New York-Amtrak agreement, the state and Amtrak were to spend $185 million in a five-year effort to speed up railroad passenger service in New York. Under the agreement New York was to pay to rebuild seven Turbotrains at SuperSteel while Amtrak would upgrade track and signals.
Amtrak is more than $14 million behind in its share of the work, and has fallen a year and a half behind schedule for installing a double-track between Rensselaer and Schenectady, Boardman said in his letter. Those tracks belong to CSX.
Putting in a second track between the Rensselaer Amtrak station and Schenectady is a critical piece of the effort to put high-speed trains into service in New York.
On top of that, Amtrak now appears to be saying that it is no longer satisfied with the Turboliner trainset the state accepted.
“New York state recently received two letters signed by Amtrak officials accepting the first new Turboliner trainset, one indicating conditional acceptance, another indicating final acceptance. The state then received a message explaining that the final acceptance was in error, with a draft letter describing a new process for accepting the Turboliner,” Boardman’s letter said.
Now, Boardman’s letter said, “it appears that this retraction may be retracted!”
“Although Amtrak has contributed no money to this project, its staff is talking about reconfiguring the trains along the Empire Corridor, implying that unless all operating losses are covered, the Turboliner trainsets may never be used,” the letter said.
Amtrak is also more than eight months behind the project schedule for the final signal design and has also failed to order the turbines and transmissions for the remaining trainsets under construction at SuperSteel, Boardman’s letter said.
The program is in its fifth and final year.
NYDOT has been negotiating in good faith with Amtrak, but the passenger rail operator hasn’t done it’s share and New York wants action, said DOT spokeswoman Melissa Carlson.
Amtrak has a list of 54 items it says need to be fixed before the Turboliner can be accepted. They include rusting screws, panel cracks, loose trim, misplaced toilet paper dispensers, peeling paint, and passenger doors that are rusting at the bottom.
The Turbotrains date from the mid-1970s. Under the state’s rebuilding plan, they are being stripped to their metal shells and then rebuilt with new interiors, new electronics and controls, and new propulsion systems. The discovery of asbestos and lead paint slowed the rebuilding.
The first train set essentially has been complete for more than a year and has undergone several months of testing, culminating with a midnight run between Albany, N.Y., and New York City earlier this month.
New York wants assurances from Amtrak that it intends to honor its previous commitments, Boardman’s letter said.
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Amtrak said last Friday (November 15) it was seeking a few final modifications to the first of seven rebuilt high-speed trains, dimming hopes that the first Turboliner would be running by Thanksgiving. The state of New York said it is waiting for Amtrak – and the state DOT is not very happy.
Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel described the issues as “minor deficiencies,” declining to identify them. “There is nothing major wrong with the train.”
Stessel told D:F on November 21 the RTL-3s, in their railroad nomenclature, are not having mechanical problems. He indicated the train will be ready for service “in a matter of weeks.” He also said when the trains enter service, a notice most likely will come from Gov. George Pataki’s office. He inferred the problems were more political than anything else, but the trainset nevertheless is in the Super Steel Schenectady shop for further work.
A week ago, a spokeswoman for the NY DOT told the Albany Times Union the agency had accepted the first train as ready for service and was waiting for Amtrak to give the nod.
However, NYDOT does not run the trains, Amtrak does, and the passenger railroad was not satisfied, railroad officials said.
Final testing of the first trainset, which has included midnight runs between Rensselaer and New York City, began in August.
Seven old Amtrak trains manufactured in the mid-1970s are being rebuilt for high-speed service between Albany-Rensselaer and New York City by Super Steel Schenectady under a $74.4 million state contract. The state’s entire budget for the seven-train project is approximately $98.5 million, including future upgrades to the propulsion system, a stockpile of some replacement parts and consulting work. Another $140 million is to be spent on tracks, bridges and crossings to enable operation of the trains at full speed, 125 miles per hour.
Amtrak will sign off on final acceptance of the train as soon as the company is confident that no further modifications are needed from Super Steel Schenectady, Stessel said. Then there will be another brief delay while Amtrak trains the Turboliner staff.
The Turboliners are expected to shave about 20 minutes off the 142-mile trip between Rensselaer and Manhattan, but won’t be able to reach top speeds at first. Current track speeds are between 75 and 95 mph with some areas rated at 110 mph.
Meanwhile, the Albany Business Review reported Amtrak appeared to be backing out of the deal, state officials said.
In a November 18 letter to Amtrak Chairman John Robert Smith, State Transportation Commissioner Joseph H. Boardman complained that Amtrak is no longer interested in upholding its part of a deal which was supposed to return seven rebuilt Turbotrains in service.
“Amtrak’s actions call into question Amtrak’s commitment to deliver a quality passenger service to New Yorkers,” the letter said. “Amtrak is consumed with its survival, and is no longer focused on the nation’s intercity rail passenger needs.”
“It is failing to honor its past partnerships and commitments,” Boardman’s letter stated.
Clifford Black, Amtrak’s director of media relations, said only that Amtrak had received Boardman’s letter.
“We will respond to it in due time to the commissioner,” he said.
Under the New York-Amtrak agreement, the state and Amtrak were to spend $185 million in a five-year effort to speed up railroad passenger service in New York. Under the agreement New York was to pay to rebuild seven Turbotrains at SuperSteel while Amtrak would upgrade track and signals.
Amtrak is more than $14 million behind in its share of the work, and has fallen a year and a half behind schedule for installing a double-track between Rensselaer and Schenectady, Boardman said in his letter. Those tracks belong to CSX.
Putting in a second track between the Rensselaer Amtrak station and Schenectady is a critical piece of the effort to put high-speed trains into service in New York.
On top of that, Amtrak now appears to be saying that it is no longer satisfied with the Turboliner trainset the state accepted.
“New York state recently received two letters signed by Amtrak officials accepting the first new Turboliner trainset, one indicating conditional acceptance, another indicating final acceptance. The state then received a message explaining that the final acceptance was in error, with a draft letter describing a new process for accepting the Turboliner,” Boardman’s letter said.
Now, Boardman’s letter said, “it appears that this retraction may be retracted!”
“Although Amtrak has contributed no money to this project, its staff is talking about reconfiguring the trains along the Empire Corridor, implying that unless all operating losses are covered, the Turboliner trainsets may never be used,” the letter said.
Amtrak is also more than eight months behind the project schedule for the final signal design and has also failed to order the turbines and transmissions for the remaining trainsets under construction at SuperSteel, Boardman’s letter said.
The program is in its fifth and final year.
NYDOT has been negotiating in good faith with Amtrak, but the passenger rail operator hasn’t done it’s share and New York wants action, said DOT spokeswoman Melissa Carlson.
Amtrak has a list of 54 items it says need to be fixed before the Turboliner can be accepted. They include rusting screws, panel cracks, loose trim, misplaced toilet paper dispensers, peeling paint, and passenger doors that are rusting at the bottom.
The Turbotrains date from the mid-1970s. Under the state’s rebuilding plan, they are being stripped to their metal shells and then rebuilt with new interiors, new electronics and controls, and new propulsion systems. The discovery of asbestos and lead paint slowed the rebuilding.
The first train set essentially has been complete for more than a year and has undergone several months of testing, culminating with a midnight run between Albany, N.Y., and New York City earlier this month.
New York wants assurances from Amtrak that it intends to honor its previous commitments, Boardman’s letter said.
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