Green Maned Lion
Engineer
Have you ever noticed how clearly we are not at all allied with ourselves?
The issues that are primarily being discussed don't have much to do with PTC. NEC is going to be the first place anywhere in the world that is contemplating allowing 150 or 160 mph service on legacy track centers in NJ, which are borderline inadequate or adequate for such. The concern is about collisions resulting from derailment and side swipe or crash into derailment. The other thing that was mentioned in the talk given my the safety team which is developing the safety case was that of shifted load in a freight train on adjacent track striking a high speed train. These things tend to be less of an issue in HSRs with standard track center distances, and there is no PTC system in the world that can prevent these things from happening. The issue then boils down to risk assessment and mitigation and they talked a lot about the risk models being developed and validated, how exactly I don't know, and nor am I an expert enough to fully understand them.So now that PTC is *required*, I would hope that the rules would be changed to remove the stupid rules with respect to trains which always run with PTC active.
There is no official word, but the Acela has been a hugely successful service for Amtrak. The Acela generated 25% of Amtrak's ticket revenues in FY12 with only 10.6% of the total ridership. The Acela has become a established brand name, to the point where I read a political article a couple of months ago that used the term "Acela corridor" as a shorthand for the NYC to DC political, media, financial class that reside in and travel between DC and NYC.Is Amtrak really planning on sticking with the Acela brand for new NEC high speed trains?
Amtrak172
I would be very surprised if Amtrak were not to keep the brand name and call the new HSR trains the Acela IIs to emphasize that they are new even better trains. But then again, there could be new leadership at Amtrak by the time the new trains are ready for revenue service who will want to use a entirely new name just because he can.
The what now?If this is a THIRD world country, then why is it called the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. by definition, the united states can not be described by anything other than FIRST WORLD, defined as the UNITED STATES and her ALLIES. The THIRD world is only countries not allied with either the USSR or the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
As mentioned by others, the terms First, Second and Third World have lost the original basis of their meaning due to the fall of the USSR. However, I think it is safe to say that no commonly used meaning of the term "First World" even today would exclude the United States from it. Categorizing the United States as Third World is usually a rhetorical flourish used to express ones personal dissatisfaction with some state of affairs of the United States (would seem to have been FRA rule making in this case, even though the immediate issue is a little broader than just FRA rule making as I have tried to explain in a separate message).The English language has moved on in the quarter century since the Cold War ended; First and Third world now have entirely different meanings (and Second World has gone kaput).If this is a THIRD world country, then why is it called the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. by definition, the united states can not be described by anything other than FIRST WORLD, defined as the UNITED STATES and her ALLIES. The THIRD world is only countries not allied with either the USSR or the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Whereas I agree that AAF is not a flaky project, I would disagree with the rest. AAF has an obligation to stakeholders to deliver on its promises. Now, it's possible (I haven't looked to find out) that if AAF is NOT public - either alone or through FECRR - then they wouldn't have to keep anyone invested in the loop. Such obligations may include, but not limited to, progress payments to suppliers, continued funding funneled to AAF from FEC, etc.Believe me, All Aboard Florida is not a "flaky" project. A lot of money is being invested. Because its being funded privately, it is not necessary to reveal the day to day happenings so the press and others so they can speculate about something they have no in depth knowledge of.
The current rules do jack-all to protect people in case of side swipes. We saw this fairly recently.The concern is about collisions resulting from derailment and side swipe or crash into derailment.
I'm all for some sort of rules, but the existing rules are not fit for purpose. Waiver should be granted automatically and then the FRA should come up with some actual side-swipe rules.The issue then boils down to risk assessment and mitigation and they talked a lot about the risk models being developed and validated, how exactly I don't know, and nor am I an expert enough to fully understand them.
I think you should apply for the job of the FRA Administrator and then go there and make it happenI'm all for some sort of rules, but the existing rules are not fit for purpose. Waiver should be granted automatically and then the FRA should come up with some actual side-swipe rules.
I took neroden's comment to be a facetious one.As mentioned by others, the terms First, Second and Third World have lost the original basis of their meaning due to the fall of the USSR. However, I think it is safe to say that no commonly used meaning of the term "First World" even today would exclude the United States from it. Categorizing the United States as Third World is usually a rhetorical flourish used to express ones personal dissatisfaction with some state of affairs of the United States (would seem to have been FRA rule making in this case, even though the immediate issue is a little broader than just FRA rule making as I have tried to explain in a separate message).The English language has moved on in the quarter century since the Cold War ended; First and Third world now have entirely different meanings (and Second World has gone kaput).If this is a THIRD world country, then why is it called the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. by definition, the united states can not be described by anything other than FIRST WORLD, defined as the UNITED STATES and her ALLIES. The THIRD world is only countries not allied with either the USSR or the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Several items. The Vermonter re-route may occur as soon as December 29. The Amtrak reservation system is not allowing sales of tickets to Amherst MA after December 28, 2014. A re-route in the middle of the holiday week period strikes me as odd, but if there is a goal of returning to the CT River line before the end of 2014, MA may be pushing for it. Gov. Patrick may also want to take a victory lap on his watch and his term in up in early January 2015.I've left out the NEC projects, as well as nearly everything done by the MBTA, mainly because I have no good grasp on their schedules. I haven't included California HSR or All Aboard Florida, deliberately, as their projected dates don't seem reliable. I know I'm missing some Surfliner and San Joaquin improvements, and I haven't listed the Piedmont projects individually since it seems like the benefits will mostly only come when they're all finished. I'm probably missing some other stuff too. I included urban rail improvements only where they connect large populations to the Amtrak station.
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2015:
"first quarter": Vermonter reroute
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2018:
Bilevel corridor car deliveries supposed to finish
Funded but AFAICT indefinitely delayed:
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With the start of work on September 6th on the final two segments of the catenary replacement project on the New Haven Line, we are heading down the home stretch, with the finish line in sight, on this massive effort.
Once this project phase is done in spring of 2017, the catenary upgrade project on the Connecticut-side of the line will be completed! Work on the two segments-from East Norwalk to Green's Farms and from Bridgeport to Milford-will start simultaneously and involve replacement of about 10-1/2 miles of catenary along track and in our Bridgeport Yard.
This new work will require a continuous outage of only one of four tracks, which will have a minimal impact on our operations in the area. This project is being funded and managed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
We recently completed catenary work in the seven-mile stretch between Southport and Bridgeport, allowing us to route peak-period trains on all four tracks in this area for the first time in four years. It also gave back to us greater operating flexibility and the ability to "run around" potential service disruptions during emergencies. With completion of this segment, 80% of the Connecticut catenary replacement project is finished.
I'll avoid reference to any dead economists. But let's just do what Ronald Reagan did:We're in a Long Depression a bit like the one from 1873-1896. We'll probably see some more downturns.
From an Amtrak Pere-Marquette 30th anniversary bulletin dated Wednesday 9/10/14.late September: Grand Rapids new station opens
So the Wolverine service should see some trip time improvements by next summer.September 30, 2014 -- Work is scheduled to begin this week on a West Detroit connector rail project that will improve efficiency for both passenger and freight rail carriers on Detroit's west side. The project is located near Junction Avenue between US-12 (Michigan Avenue) and Vernor Highway, just east of the Livernois-Junction intermodal yard.
The West Detroit connector project includes replacing the outdated rail bridge over Junction Avenue, installing 1 mile of new track and switches, and improving signals and communications. Once completed, on-time performance will be improved for Amtrak passenger service by eliminating the conflict with freight trains at the West Detroit and Bay City junctions.
During the project, Junction Avenue will have one lane open in each direction. Demolition of the current bridge is scheduled for this upcoming weekend, requiring crews to close Junction Avenue between Michigan Avenue and West Vernor Highway starting at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3. The closure is expected to end by 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6. During the full closure, traffic will be detoured in each direction via Michigan Avenue, Livernois Avenue and West Vernor Highway.
All work on this project is scheduled to be completed in June 2015
CT press release: GOV. MALLOY ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE NEW HAVEN LINES WALK BRIDGEThe state will come up with the extra $188 million needed to replace the decrepit Norwalk River railroad bridge, but the new span won't be in place until 2020, officials announced Thursday.
Leaving the 118-year-old bridge to continue deteriorating isn't an option, state leaders said, because it's an essential part of the busiest commuter railroad in the country and an economic lifeline between Fairfield County and New York City.
The bridge was built to swing open to allow tall boats to pass through, but in recent years its archaic machinery has been malfunctioning badly. Tens of thousands of Metro-North commuters and Amtrak riders were stranded twice in the early summer when operators couldn't get the bridge to close properly.
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Replacing the bridge appears to be a monumentally expensive and time-consuming job; the state Department of Transportation expects that it will cost $465 million and take six years to design, engineer and build.
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