Permanent Slot For One Turboliner III

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Leaves Albany for NYP on Train 250 at 9:00 AM, Returns on Train 247 at 4:00 PM from New York. Get Your Photos Now.

Amtrak Sticks First Rebuilt TurboLiner in Regular SlotAuthor: TO News from Amtrak

The first of two SuperSteel New York-rebuilt Rohr TurboLiners has found a regular slot in New York City-to-Rensselaer service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor. A total of seven TurboLiners are being rebuilt and beginning last Monday, the first two had entered revenue service for evaluation and customer feedback.

Amtrak still officially classifies the TurboLiner in a final testing phase, however has assigned it to fill the Empire Corridor train 250/247 slot on the schedule. The train departs southbound for New York City at 09:00 EDT as train 250 and returns as train 247, departing NYC at 16:00 EDT.

"Passengers seem to like it very much," Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said of the Turboliner, which began carrying paid passengers last week. Customers have praised a quieter, smoother ride, and "many have commented on the bigger windows," Stessel added.

While the train is designed to run at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour and shave about 20 minutes from the 2 hour, 25 minute scheduled trip from the the Rensselaer Rail Station to Penn Station, it cannot operate above the current 110-mph limit until work to improve the tracks and crossings is done.

Stessel said the train also is performing well mechanically. He said Amtrak is using this phase of testing to continue training conductors, engineers and other crew members who will operate the Turboliners, which are 1970s-era vehicles being rebuilt by Super Steel Schenectady under a $74.4 million state contract.

For now, Amtrak is keeping a conventional train available as a backup in case of trouble with the Turboliner, Stessel said. Once a second Turboliner at Amtrak's Rensselaer yard is ready to begin carrying passengers, he said, the two reconditioned trains will be rotated into the same spot on the schedule, with one Turboliner serving as a backup for the other.

 

[jccollins]

Are these Turboliners making new runs or replacing older, slower trains on the same runs? <_<

 

[AlanB]

Are these Turboliners making new runs or replacing older, slower trains on the same runs? <_<

JC,

At present the Turboliner is simply replacing conventional equipment for a run already on the schedule.

Last I knew the game plan went as follows. As the first three sets are delivered, they will replace existing runs using conventional equipment. Once Amtrak had four rebuilt sets in service, then they would start to add an extra train here and there.

The other side of the coin here though is the fact that the Turboliners can run faster than the conventionals. However, Amtrak is supposed to pay for the necessary track improvements to allow this. Since they have no money, this work is not being done. So for the time being the total travel time between NYP and Albany will not change.