Sunset East: Good news for a change?

[NativeSon5859]

Check out this recent quote by Nick Martennilli, who's the passenger railroad aid of Corrine Brown, the chairperson of the Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials.

"Our subcommittee is planning a hearing on the Sunset Limited sometime this Spring in Jacksonville. We will have Amtrak, the Governors of the affected states and city and local officials including the Mayor of New Orleans to testify. My boss' current intention is to put some type of restoration language in the Surface Transportation bill." - Nick Martinelli, pax rr aid to the Honorable Corrine Brown.

Also, the New Orleans City Council is taking up the issue on passenger rail service east of New Orleans during its March 9th meeting. A couple of members of S.M.A.R.T are going to be speaking, as well.

 

[daveyb99]

Based on this synopsis

Don't hold your breath waiting for the Florida leg of the Sunset Limited.

from the Town Hall conference

AMTRAK ain't interested, no matter who holds what hearings or passed whatever resolutions.

This one is even more disturbing, given the amount of work KS, OK and TX have done to get service extended

Extension of Heartland Flyer through Wichita KS to KC not really on radar of senior management

 

[MrEd]

That is great news, I can't wait to ride. Keep me posted on starting date.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Nothing's running east of New Orleans until somebody pays for it. At Saturday's railfan forum in Chicago, Boardman said action on the Sunset East is now up to Congress to fund it.

 

[Larry H.]

I am confused. Evidently that service was approved by someone a long time ago and only stopped supposedly temporarily due to Katrina? How can they now say it has to be approved? Of course this is an endless story.. I would think someone could find the money in all the Stimulus Congress is holding for perks to fund this and many other lines!

 

[NativeSon5859]

Nothing's running east of New Orleans until somebody pays for it. At Saturday's railfan forum in Chicago, Boardman said action on the Sunset East is now up to Congress to fund it.

That seems like the generic answer for anything dealing with LD trains nowadays. It sure is an easy way to place blame on the states for something that wasn't state supported to begin with.

 

[Steve4031]

One additional cost that was mentioned as a barrier to sunset lmtd east service was the cost of implementing PTC on this route.

 

[NativeSon5859]

I am confused. Evidently that service was approved by someone a long time ago and only stopped supposedly temporarily due to Katrina? How can they now say it has to be approved? Of course this is an endless story.. I would think someone could find the money in all the Stimulus Congress is holding for perks to fund this and many other lines!

Basically Amtrak has held the states hostage since Katrina, wanting them to pay for something that was already part of the national network. And it sucks that no one really called them on it. That's why I like the news of this JAX meeting. But of course, I'm not holding my breath....just wanted to post the latest news.

 

[AlanB]

If something gets written into the Surface Transportation Bill, then with or without funding, Amtrak will have no choice to restore service east of NOL. Failure to do so would be a violation of law and could potentially see all Federal funding for Amtrak cut.

However, it won't be all that easy to get something written into that bill. Not impossible, but not easy either.

 

[Bob Dylan]

If something gets written into the Surface Transportation Bill, then with or without funding, Amtrak will have no choice to restore service east of NOL. Failure to do so would be a violation of law and could potentially see all Federal funding for Amtrak cut.
However, it won't be all that easy to get something written into that bill. Not impossible, but not easy either.

IINM the members attending mentioned that Amtrak indicated that the City just had to make a left turn in NOL to run to Jacksonville which the last time I checked was in Florida! That qualifies as an everyday LD train with all the needed amenities and equipment without Amtrak having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul so to speak. Some of us dont especially like losing the Sunset Ltd. but A DAILY TRAIN is the idea!(of course a stub train from SAS-HOS is not perfect but it is a train!)IINM this is a sensible,economically sound solution to the Sunset East problem, anyone else feel differently or have better ideas? (BTW-Lame excuses about having to build expensive ADA accessible stations across the South @ a cost of millions don't cut it Joe, Amshaks seem to be the answer most other places, perhaps the locals can help fund this like they have and are doing so many other places!)

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Boardman is no better then Kummant. we need someone to run Amtrak who likes trains and isn't a scrooge with his money.boardman wants something for nothing when it wasn't free in the first place.

 

[the_traveler]

this is a sensible, economically sound solution

You can't be talking about the US Government when you use those words!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[AlanB]

Boardman is no better then Kummant. we need someone to run Amtrak who likes trains and isn't a scrooge with his money.boardman wants something for nothing when it wasn't free in the first place.

Mr. Boardman is far from being a Scrooge as it were. He's simply living within the means and constraints that Congress has imposed upon him. When Mr. Boardman was working for NY State as commissioner of DOT he worked very hard to get more trains running in NY. And while we may debate the wisdom of rebuilding the Turboliners from time to time, he was quite unhappy with Amtrak when they took the trains away to Delaware. He led the suit against Amtrak and David Gunn in fact.

Mr. Boardman has also served as the Federal Railroad Administrator, so I think that he likes trains. He's done quite a bit to help promote the use of trains in both NY State and this country. We may not like every decision he makes, especially as the railfans that we are, but I don't for one moment believe that Mr. Boardman dislikes trains or that he wants Amtrak to fail. He's doing the best he can under very trying and difficult circumstances and I suspect that there is a lot that we don't know and he does that has caused him to make some of the choices he has.

As most people here know by now, I'm not afraid to criticize Amtrak when I think it warranted. And again, I'm sure that there will be decisions that Mr. Boardman makes that I won't agree with. Heck, there are decisions my wife makes that I don't agree with. That's human nature.

But I don't for one minute believe that Mr. Boardman is doing anything but what he believes is the best for Amtrak under the rules, circumstances, and funding guidelines he's been given.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The only way Amtrak will take on a service without someone footing the bill for it is if they believe that service will be, in its entirety, profitable. Not just avoidable cost. All costs associated with that service. That's reasonable. They have a zero-sum game here, and they are not going to cut a route that they can reliably predict the fiscal characteristics of for one they can't. If someone chooses to fund it, they'll go for it. But funding has to be appropriated.

If they unleash an unfunded mandate to run the Sunset east of New Orleans, my friends, something else is going to be cut.

 

[Hytec]

If Amtrak goes through with the concept of making the Sunset between San Antonio and New Orleans an all-coach (no sleeper) train, that will be more nails into the Sunset-east coffin. A 15 hour coach-only trip will lose whatever LD sleeper fares the Sunset currently has, meaning even less rider support to justify extending the train further east.

 

[Jeremy]

For those of us who are still somewhat new to Amtrak and this board, when did Sunset Limited service stop the eastern portion between NOL and Florida and what happened to cause the disruption?

If Senset east were ever restored, it would be a great way for me to go visit my brother in Rat's Mouth, FL.

Jeremy

 

[MrFSS]

For those of us who are still somewhat new to Amtrak and this board, when did Sunset Limited service stop the eastern portion between NOL and Florida and what happened to cause the disruption?
If Senset east were ever restored, it would be a great way for me to go visit my brother in Rat's Mouth, FL.

Jeremy

It stopped (was suspended) immediately after Katrina hit the area.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

i think boardman is being somewhat of a scrooge cause now he wants things for free. I understand wanting states to pay for there trains. Michigan funds the Michigan service trains but now he wants congress to fund the sunset east. Why is that now a problem. why didn't Amtrak say this 5 years before after the hurricane. CSX gave Amtrak permission to run it east again back before you required PTC ATC cab signals etc. there was no reason not to restore it.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

 

[willyvee]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

To my kowledge yes. I believe the current Sunset Limited runs with 4 sets of equipment as of now and the Capitol Limited with 3. A daily LAX-ORL Sunset would need 7.

I honestly think the above is a good idea, at least temporarily, until Amtrak gets some new Superliner (or other bilevel) equipment.

 

[SunsetLimited01]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

To my kowledge yes. I believe the current Sunset Limited runs with 4 sets of equipment as of now and the Capitol Limited with 3. A daily LAX-ORL Sunset would need 7.

I honestly think the above is a good idea, at least temporarily, until Amtrak gets some new Superliner (or other bilevel) equipment.

I don't know if it will work since there is a shortage of single level equipment, but what do I know. It may or may not work.

 

[MikefromCrete]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

From what was presented at Saturday's meeting in Chicago, it looks like excess equipment (i.e. sleepers) that will result from the Texas Eagle/Sunset changes will be used to add more sleepers to the Capital. Service may be resumed along the Sunset East (once Congress funds it), but the coast to coast Sunset of the past will probably never return.

 

[Hytec]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

From what was presented at Saturday's meeting in Chicago, it looks like excess equipment (i.e. sleepers) that will result from the Texas Eagle/Sunset changes will be used to add more sleepers to the Capital. Service may be resumed along the Sunset East (once Congress funds it), but the coast to coast Sunset of the past will probably never return.

When are the Texas Eagle/Sunset changes scheduled to occur?

 

[Green Maned Lion]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

Converted with... what equipment, Joel?

My understanding of what will happen with regards to this is, the Texas Eagle will go daily to LAX, a shuttle will go SAS-NOL daily, and then some time later, the CONO will be extended to Miami. At such time that equipment permits, through cars will be run either daily or tri-weekly at least to New Orleans, possibly to Miami, and possibly daily to New Orleans, tri-weekly to Miami.

 

[henryj]

If the Capitol Limited were converted to single level and the equipment currently used for the Capitol Limited transferred to the Sunset Limited, would there be enough equipment for daily Florida to California service on the Sunset route?

From what was presented at Saturday's meeting in Chicago, it looks like excess equipment (i.e. sleepers) that will result from the Texas Eagle/Sunset changes will be used to add more sleepers to the Capital. Service may be resumed along the Sunset East (once Congress funds it), but the coast to coast Sunset of the past will probably never return.

I don't know where this rumor comes from, but there is no excess equipment coming from the Eagle/Sunset changes. A daily Eagle to LAX takes 7 sets of equipment plus the stub trains between SAS and NOL. Currently, each train entails 4 sets of equipment. That doesn't yield any surplus the way I count it. If anything the route will be short sleepers and coaches. Increased capacity comes from having daily trains.