The Amtrak Proposal

[Guest_Fan_Trains]

From North American Railroader from Rail forum.com
This is my Plan if I were the President of Amtrak?

Step 1: The number one thing that needs to be done is to lobby to Congress for more money. I would demand two to five times the amount of money Amtrak currently receives.

Step 2: Next I would purchase 30 single level train sets, each consisting of a baggage car, crew dorm,three coaches, a cafe - business class car, a dining car, and two modified (working air conditioning) viewliners.

Step 3: Ten of the 30 sets would be pooled with all current single level trains, increase capacity in peak seasons and to create more flexibility. Two - four of these pooled viewliners would be used to reinstate sleeping car service to the Palmetto. the other 20 sets would be used to equip new overnight trains between: Boston and Halifax, New York and Montreal, New York/Boston - Detroit - Chicago, Buffalo and Cincinnati, Washington and Mobile, and Washington and Mobile.

Step 4: I would reroute one of the New York and Florida trains, and either the Miami and Chicago or the Miami - Cincinnati train via the FEC route from JAX to MIA (which is quicker than the current routes and taps an untapped market)

Step 5: Next, I would purchase 50 sets of Superliner equipment (Baggage car, Transition sleeper, 3 coaches, lounge, diner, two sleepers). Twenty of these sets would be pooled with current trains. The other thirty would be used for service between Miami and New Orleans, New Orleans and Kansas City, Chicago - Denver - Portland, Chicago - Denver - Los Angeles, and New Orleans and Denver (maybe as far as Seattle).

heres a list of my proposed service and names (*is for overnight service)

Gull* Boston - Halifax

New Yorker* New York City - Montreal

Wolverine* Boston/New York - Detroit - Chicago

Nickel Plate Limited* Buffalo - Cincinnati

Mercury Cleveland - Chicago

Sprit of St. Louis* New York - St. Louis

George Washington* Norfolk - Chicago

Hoosier Chicago - Indianapolis

Thoroughbred Chicago - Louisville

City of Miami* Chicago - Miami

Royal Palm* Cincinnati - Miami

Piedmont Ashville extension

Southerner* Washington - Mobile

Tennessan* Washington - Memphis

Alton Limited Chicago - Kansas City

Twin Cities Chicago - Minnespolis

Southern Belle* Kansas City - New Orleans

City of Portland* Chicago - Denver - Portland

Desert wind* Chicago - Denver - Los Angeles

New Orleans Zephyr* New Orleans - Denver

 

[battalion51]

Someone has high wishes that probably won't happen anytime soon. The problem with adding service is that the freight railroad hosts have to agree to it, and the capacity for the train has to be there, where it isn't available in some locations. Two words: keep dreamin.

 

[haolerider]

Nice thoughts, but they are only nice thoughts and by the way......it is a lot easier to say you would demand money from Congress than it is to make that a reality. Don't you think that is what Amtrak is doing now and has been doing for the past years?

Take a close look at the Strategic Plan posed on the Amtrak website and you can see where the future is going to be........shorter haul High Speed corridors that are supported by the Fed Govt, states and cities along the route.

Extensions of Long Distance Trains is not practical at the moment. Amtrak cannot get the existing trains from origin to destination on time, because of freight congestion. The Strategic Plan also has some very compelling information about demand vs. capacity with the existing trackage throughout the country.

 

[engine999]

I would say get new viewliner cars. To bad its not a possibility at this time.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

As things stand right now I think if a bunch of money were in fact available, the #1 priority would have to be double-tracking all the mains. NOT trainsets. If you don't have anyplace for them to run, and they are just going to spend most of the time parked on freight sidings, why bother? On route sections where there is both double track and high congestion now, add a third track. Seems to me that traffic congestion right now is the real system-killer. And make ALL new track on better stabilized roadbed with steel-reinforced-concrete ties by gov't order, to allow longer life, smoother ride, and higher max speeds. See what that does to system OTP, and see what a greatly improved system OTP does to public perceptions and overall funding.

 

[GG-1]

See what that does to system OTP, and see what a greatly improved system OTP does to public perceptions and overall funding.

Aloha

Well said, quality service, increased ridership, more money.

Mahalo more trains to ride

 

[efin98]

Interesting concepts for routes. I wouldn't mind another route out of Boston. While you are dreaming, how about making the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited a new route or giving it dining service east of Albany

 

[Amtrak OBS Employee]

Lose some more "managers," and we might be better off in the money department!!!!! That I would make a number one priority, though it may create quite a few enemies, so a backup plan would need to be in place!!! So in otherwords as "Bat51" said, "Keep Dreamin!" :lol:

 

[RidesOften]

Hey Like the Gull one

Boston to Halifax

I just drove that on vacation 700 miles around the Bay of Fundy

Don't ask me to take a boat I get Sea sick and air sick hehee

Train Anyone!!!!!!

 

[efin98]

Hey Like the Gull oneBoston to Halifax

I just drove that on vacation 700 miles around the Bay of Fundy

Don't ask me to take a boat I get Sea sick and air sick hehee

Train Anyone!!!!!!

What about routing the train via Montreal and linking it to VIA's Atlantic? Make it an overnight train out of Boston via the Lake Shore's route west then the Vermonter or Adirondack's route north.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Guest fan trains

You have some neat ideas there.

But in point three you listed Washington to Mobile twice---I suspect you mean to list Washington to Memphis.

Old-timer that I am, I am one of the people on this board who would recognize those old names (esp. those many of them which are pre-Amtrak).

In fact I recognize all of the names except New Orleans Zephyr. Am quite sure that was never used---but no reason why it couldn't!! Brings back lots of memories.

Specifically, the Royal Palm and the Tennessean(spelling) were home-town(i.e. .Chattanooga) trains of my memory.

Keep up the dreaming....maybe we will get there someday.

One suggestion, as long as we are dreaming....have the Royal Palm come all the way from Detroit, not just Cincinnati, as the original sometimes did, esp. in the winter).