The next few years

[west point]

Its not 4 trains a day each way but 5. Meteor, Star, Palmetto, Carolinian, Auto Train

 

[jis]

Er, three Amtrak trains operate through Enfield? I count 4 daily train services.

Funny that NCDOT forgot that they have one of their own trains running through there in addition to the Florida trains. Also they forgot to count the Palmetto which of course runs only down to Georgia, not Florida, through Fayetteville.
So yeah, total through Enfield is 5!

 

[afigg]

During a bad day for Amtrak on the NEC, at least there is some good news with regards to progress on system improvements in the east. There was an official ground-breaking ceremony on May 8 for the project to build the new Amtrak station in Raleigh NC. Progressive Railroading: NCDOT kicks off Raleigh Union Station construction. Excerpt:

Construction has begun on a new passenger-rail station in downtown Raleigh, N.C., the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced late last week.

NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata joined North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane at a groundbreaking event May 8 for what will be the new Raleigh Union Station.

Slated to open in 2017, the $79.8 million facility will replace the existing Cabarrus Street Amtrak Station, which is often overcrowded, NCDOT officials said. It also lacks the adequate platform size for longer trains.

 

[neroden]

Good news! I was beginning to think they'd never actually start building the new Raleigh station. (Like the unfortunate situation in Charlotte where years of planning for the CSX/NS grade separation have ended up being cancelled completely.)

 

[wolfspirit]

I have lunch next week with my SEPTA friend, I'll see what other grapevine I might be able to share about the shared keystone stations then. I know they have put up signage at the Exton station showing the new designs and what to expect during construction. However, nothing at Paoli (and boy does that station look horrible since they stopped bothering to paint, clean up the crumbling concrete roofs, etc.) about the construction that needs to happen soon. Downingtown is going to build a pedestrian bridge between the old Downingtown station parking lot, and the new one across the brandywine creek. They've also painted 1-call all over the area around the new downingtown station location, so hopefully that means they are doing bigger demolition work.

 

[neroden]

They've also painted 1-call

Please explain what this means -- When I google "1-call" I don't get anything informative.

 

[Aaron]

I'm guessing markings for underground utilities. Probably it's a regional term for something we call "blue stakes" out here. Basically a state sponsored phone number where a property owner or contractor calls, and then requests are sent to all of the various utilities in the area to come out and spray paint where their lines are running so no one inadvertently digs them up.

 

[Ryan]

Same thing is called "Miss Utility" around here.

 

[afigg]

I have lunch next week with my SEPTA friend, I'll see what other grapevine I might be able to share about the shared keystone stations then. I know they have put up signage at the Exton station showing the new designs and what to expect during construction. However, nothing at Paoli (and boy does that station look horrible since they stopped bothering to paint, clean up the crumbling concrete roofs, etc.) about the construction that needs to happen soon. Downingtown is going to build a pedestrian bridge between the old Downingtown station parking lot, and the new one across the brandywine creek. They've also painted 1-call all over the area around the new downingtown station location, so hopefully that means they are doing bigger demolition work.

SEPTA has posted their proposed FY2016 capital budget which shows spending plans projected out 12 years (next 6 years in more detail, the back-end 6 years as a lump FY2021 - FY2027 period). The Phase 1 construction of high level platforms and ADA upgrades for Paoli is from CY 2016 to 2018, so construction is not scheduled to start until next year. Phase 2 for the station replacement, an additional high level platform on the north side, parking garage is planned for FY2021-FY2027, so perhaps Amtrak should do some painting and repair for the station building to keep it from falling apart while waiting for Phase 2.

Phase 1 construction for the Exton station is scheduled for 2015 to 2017 as is Phase 1 for Ardmore so there should be signs of work at those stations for new platforms and ADA upgrades this year. I think Downington is entirely an PennDOT & Amtrak project as it does not show up in the SEPTA capital budget. SEPTA should be praised for its capital budget document. Does a good job of explaining the projects, the overall scope of work, and is quite readable. Other transit agencies in the Northeast could use to follow SEPTA's example in laying out to the public where out the funding is going.

 

[neroden]

The Paoli schedule sounds like it's right on track with the ADA lawsuit settlement agreement. Design had to be finished by roughly March 2016, construction finished by roughly September 2018. (There's an additional allowance for permit delays.)

 

[afigg]

NC DOT Rail Division has posted a June 2015 newsletter on the status of their Piedmont corridor projects and SEHSR studies. NCDOT news release page with a link to the 6 page PDF report: NCDOT Releases June Rail Report.

The relevant part for the "next few years" is the project schedule status as of the end of April on page 4 with project construction photos on pages 5 & 6. There are a bunch of projects, so the timeline is useful to get an overview of when they are supposed to wrap up.

As of April 30, 2015, NC has spent $244.7 million of $520 million, so they have still have a lot of construction money to spend. For 2015, the Duke Curve realignment has been completed and a grade separation project at Hopson road with a new RR bridge over the road is due to be put in service in June. The bulk of the track and grade separation improvement projects are slated to be completed in 2016 with the new Charlotte Maintenance Facility in early 2017. So during the course of 2016, the Piedmonts and Carolinian should begin to really reap the benefits from the ARRA NC grants.

 

[neroden]

Revised for my own entertainment. The purpose of this for me is to keep track of *dates*, to see when I should expect things to open, to watch for early openings or delays. So I haven't included much with really unclear schedules (though see the end of the list) -- where I couldn't find a projected completion date, or where future groundbreaking dates seemed wildly speculative. This includes nearly everything done by the MBTA. If you've got a project I'm missing, please link me to a recent report with a projected completion date, or at least a groundbreaking date. Year is sufficient. I'm not looking past 2018, though.

Since the last list, a bunch of stuff has been delayed. Again. Very little has opened when it was supposed to, though some of the NC rail improvements have. And Tri-Rail finally made it into Miami Central (Airport) Station, but not Amtrak.

Improvements to "commuter" rail services are welcome on the list where the rail service provides service between cities. Improvements on lines Amtrak does not run on are in parentheses.

I included urban (within-city) rail improvements selectively: only where they provide new rail connections to the intercity network (so, an extension of HBLR to a new station qualifies, new rolling stock for HBLR doesn't). This is because I am looking at it from the point of view of "where can I get to by train without renting a car at the destination".

2015:

"spring": hotel power at Albany-Rensselaer

July: Blaine WA Customs Siding.

"August": Holyoke MA supposed to start service

"October": 4th platform track, platform lengthenings, & track rearrangement at Albany-Rensselaer supposed to be done

December: Durham to Morrisville NC double track

December 31: PTC deadline -- Amtrak, BNSF, Metrolink, SEPTA, NJT, expect to meet deadline

"before PTC implementation": SEPTA/CSX separation project on West Trenton Line should be completed

"end of": permanent Northampton and Greenfield MA platforms

Hopson Road, Nelson to Clegg (NC)

Vermonter schedule supposed to become faster

Birmingham AL station supposed to open

Van Nuys-Chatworth double track supposed to start

Van Nuys second platform supposed to open

ACS-64 deliveries supposed to finish

Point Defiance Bypass supposed to start construction

Tacoma Trestle supposed to start construction

Raleigh Union Station supposed to start construction

Seattle King St. Station track improvements (next phase) supposed to start construction

(Kansas City Streetcar opens connecting to KC Union Station)

(Expo Line Phase II opens in LA connecting Santa Monica indirectly to LA Union Station)

(Toronto airport train opens)

2016:

"early" and "before schedule": Niagara Falls station open

(last I read on this as this: http://newyork.construction.com/yb/ny/article.aspx?story_id=id:7r_eJk0eWkEu_MnHuidsTX8LYbV60RB2LqblwqXohD5wcJiYrnwsQu0usHCVlB8j -- does anyone have any updates? This would be a big deal.)

"early": CSX completes crossovers on A-Line (Silver Service route)

"June": Bilevel corridor car "pilot car" delivery supposed to start

midyear: Miami Central Station (airport station) opens for Amtrak... supposedly! (Extreme shaggy dog story)

"fall": 125 mph corridor diesel deliveries supposed to start (seems unlikely)

"fall": WA Toteff siding extension supposed to open

"fall": Springfield MA Union Station (delayed yet again, quite the shaggy dog story)

"end of"/"late": "Hartford Line" commuter rail in Connecticut supposed to open with several improved stations

late: New Milwaukee platforms and trainshed scheduled to open ("15-18" months from sometime after contract was awarded in June)

Thomasville to Lexington NC double track

Graham to Haw River (NC)

Morrisville Parkway (NC)

McLeansville Road (NC)

Salisbury to Kannapolis (NC)

Raleigh Union Station (NC)

Rochester station supposed to open (contractor is The Pike Company)

New Joliet (IL) Union Station expected to be complete

Exton PA high platforms supposed to open

Viewliner deliveries supposed to finish

Indiana Gateway projects supposed to finish

("spring": off-street bus center at Chicago Union Station supposed to open, with direct elevators)

("early summer": Chicago Loop Link bus lanes to separate buses from taxis/private cars expected in front of Union Station)

(fall: "Boston Landing" station opens on MBTA)

(AAF proposed Miami-West Palm Beach service date; will probably be late)

(October or November: Detroit's M-1 streetcar opens connecting Amtrak station to downtown)

(Denver Union Station gets three more connecting urban rail lines)

(Sunrail Phase II opens and construction on those tracks finally finishes)

(Gold Line Foothills extension opens in LA)

(Seattle Link extension to University opens)

(Montreal "East" train opens)

2017:

"spring": Kingston RI station 1.5 miles of 3rd track and high level platforms (ARRA deadline)

"mid": 125 mph corridor diesel deliveries supposed to finish

NY Trackwork supposed to be finished

MI Trackwork supposed to be finished

Schenectady station supposed to open

Rochester station expected to open

Point Defiance Bypass supposed to open

Tacoma Trestle replacement supposed to open

Seattle King St. Station track improvements supposed to open

Exton PA new station supposed to be done

Ardmore PA new station rumored to be supposed to be done

WA "Kelso Martins Bluff new siding" and "Kelso to Longview Junction third main" supposed to open

Roanoke VA service supposed to start

Harrisburg NC to Charlotte double track

Charlotte NC maintenance facility

Vermont Western Corridor (Albany-Burlington) year for opening if no more federal funding is received, according to the state department of transportation in 2012 (may be delayed, of course)

Completion of Amtrak's NEC NJ HSR project between New Brunswick and Morrisville (including constant tension catenary)

NY Penn Station A interlocking ladder track realignment

Deadline for ARRA-funded improvements (such as a whole lot of Piedmont improvements as well as much of what's listed above)

(AAF proposed Miami-Orlando service date; will probably be late)

2018:

Bilevel corridor car deliveries supposed to finish

LA Union Station run-through tracks ("SCRIP") supposed to open

New Paoli station (required by lawsuit settlement!)

No dates, but definitely happening:

Downingtown PA new station (fully funded)

Coatesville PA new station (fully funded)

Mt Joy PA new station (fully funded)

(NJT Raritan River bridge replacement on North Jersey Coast Line)

(MBTA upgrade to Fitchburg Line)

(MBTA upgrade to Fairmount Line)

(MBTA upgrade to Haverhill Line) (notice a trend here?)

(3rd track from Ragan to Yard interlocking project south of the Wilmington DE station on the NEC)

Funded but AFAICT indefinitely delayed:

Waterloo IN new platform

RF&P line, 3rd track from Arkendale to Powells Creek

Texas Eagle reroute to TRE

Newark DE new station

Rockford service (delayed by Governor Rauner of IL)

Moline service (delayed by Governor Rauner of IL)

Quad Cities trackwork on Iowa Interstate section supposed to start (delayed by Governor Rauner of IL)

West Detroit Junction project (haven't heard any news of this actually being constructed)

FWIW, I think 2016 is likely to look good for Amtrak financially, assuming no more sabotage by host railroads. 2015 won't look good.

 

[afigg]

No dates, but definitely happening:

.....

(MBTA upgrade to Haverhill Line) (notice a trend here?)

(3rd track from Ragan to Yard interlocking project south of the Wilmington DE station on the NEC)

Funded but AFAICT indefinitely delayed:

RF&P line, 3rd track from Arkendale to Powells Creek

Texas Eagle reroute to TRE

....

Rockford service (delayed by Governor Rauner of IL)

...

FWIW, I think 2016 is likely to look good for Amtrak financially, assuming no more sabotage by host railroads. 2015 won't look good.

A few comments and items for the list.
No dates, but definitely happening:

Should add Middletown, PA new station for the eastern Keystone corridor set.

(MBTA upgrade to Haverhill Line) (notice a trend here?) - There was a recent newspaper report in a on-going thread on the work being done (or mostly not being done) on the Haverhill Line in the MBTA forum on railroad.net that the double track and signal upgrades work was expected to be largely complete by the end of 2015. But the news report was somewhat confusing, in large part I think because the MBTA put little effort into keeping local officials and the public informed for that project. We shall see if the MBTA under new management becomes a more transparent agency.

RF&P line, 3rd track from Arkendale to Powell's Creek: The contract for this has been awarded and it has by mid-2017 completion date. DRPT status page.

Another RF&P 3rd track project that is a VRE project is adding 2.5 miles of 3rd track south of Frederickburg to be completed in 2015. DRPT summary. This is part of the project to add a new Spotsylvania VRE station south of Frederickburg. I expect there will be some small benefit to Amtrak as the VRE trains head south from Frederickburg to/from the VRE rail yard and the 3rd track for the VRE trains should help decongest that segment.

Under transit openings in 2017, should add MBTA Green Line extension from Lechmere to Washington Street and Union Square which is scheduled to start revenue service by the end of 2017 under Phase 2/2A. The rest of the Green Line extension to College Avenue (Tufts Univ) is scheduled for 2020, so that falls beyond your 2018 cutoff. Green Line Extension About page.

I don't know what the status is in Illinois with regards to the service expansions. A google search shows that the state legislature ignored the Governor and fully funded the $42 million for the Amtrak operating subsidy for the next fiscal year, but that Rauner and the legislature are still fighting over the budget.

 

[leemell]

Van Nuys Platform and double tracking from Raymer to Chatsworth will have the RFP released this Fall. SCRIP RFP next year and finish in 2018.

 

[jis]

Also:

SunRail Phase IIa to Poinciana fully funded likely late 2017

SunRail Phase IIb to Deland, certain but dates YTBD possibly 2018

SunRail to Orlando Airport, almost certain, date somewhere between 2020 and 2022.

 

[R30A]

NYCTA 7 West Side Extension- February 24 2015 (obviously delayed, but that was the last date given. Looks like sometime late summer.)
NYCTA Second Avenue Subway Phase 1(57/7-96/2)- December 31 2016 (so far it appears this might happen on (current) schedule!)

 

[WoodyinNYC]

NYCTA 7 West Side Extension- ... (obviously delayed ...)

NYCTA Second Avenue Subway Phase 1(57/7-96/2)- December 31 2016

The blog Second Avenue Sagas today posted that the 7 line extension would open in Sept or Oct.

Today the SAS blog described the Dec 2016 opening date of the Second Avenue Subway Phase 1 as "the party line."

SAS has previously reported that the federal (part-) funders of the new line do NOT expect it to open in 2016 iirc.

Damn. I voted for bonds to build the Second Avenue subway not long after I moved to NYC in 1966. Will I live to ride even the Phase One first mile and a half? Well, not to seem too impatient. Others have been waiting since the 1920s. But meanwhile, no funding source in sight for Phase 2 up to 125th St in Harlem, much less for Phase 3 and 4 heading downtown.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

I'm guessing markings for underground utilities. Probably it's a regional term for something we call "blue stakes" out here. Basically a state sponsored phone number where a property owner or contractor calls, and then requests are sent to all of the various utilities in the area to come out and spray paint where their lines are running so no one inadvertently digs them up.

I was guessing a 1-800-number, a general alert. If you see a problem, like something dangerous, or have a question, call this 1-800 number.

I like 1-call and blue stakes and Miss Utility. Is this a great language or what? (Spelling could be simplified, but it's expressive as can be.)

 

[neroden]

I don't know what the status is in Illinois with regards to the service expansions. A google search shows that the state legislature ignored the Governor and fully funded the $42 million for the Amtrak operating subsidy for the next fiscal year, but that Rauner and the legislature are still fighting over the budget.

The agencies suspended work until the budget fight was settled. Once it's finished, assuming the funding is still present, they will presumably resume work... with everything delayed by 6 months or more from the previous schedule. Which is why they all dropped into "no scheduled date" portion of my list.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Revised for my own entertainment.

...

2015:

...

Raleigh Union Station supposed to start construction

...

2016:

...

Raleigh Union Station (NC)

Rochester station supposed to open (contractor is The Pike Company)

...

2017:

...

Rochester station expected to open

…

2018:

...

Nitpickings:

Looks like a double entry re Rochester Station, 2016 and 2017.

Can I put a bet on 2018? (Just kidding.)

--------------------------

Allegedly construction has already begun on the Raleigh station, as reported on this thread last month, and in a linked Progressive Railroading article,

"Construction has begun on a new passenger-rail station in downtown Raleigh, N.C., the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced late last week.

"NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata joined North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane at a groundbreaking event May 8 for what will be the new Raleigh Union Station.

"Slated to open in 2017, the $79.8 million facility will …"

But now they say it will not open until 2017. Not a big surprise at the delay.

 

[neroden]

Thanks. Rochester's under construction, in that a contract has been signed with the prime contractor and preliminary site-clearance stuff is being done, but I've heard absolutely nothing reliable about the schedule since construction started. Maybe I should just switch it into the "no scheduled date" category.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

Revised for my own entertainment. The purpose of this for me is to keep track of *dates*, to see when I should expect things to open, to watch for early openings or delays. ...

I included urban (within-city) rail improvements selectively: only where they provide new rail connections to the intercity network (so, an extension of HBLR to a new station qualifies, new rolling stock for HBLR doesn't). This is because I am looking at it from the point of view of "where can I get to by train without renting a car at the destination".

2015:

[last entry]

...

(Toronto airport train opens)

Railway Gazette

Toronto airport rail link opens

08 Jun 2015




CANADA: The UP Express service between Toronto’s Union Station and Pearson International Airport was launched on June 6. ...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

They are estimating huge ridership, over 2 million by 2018. Some can get a VIA train at the Union Station end.

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/toronto-airport-rail-link-opens.html

 

[TylerP42]

Dearborn station still not fully open. The Crossing to Henry Ford still closed since Henry Ford hasn't made an entrance there.

 

[Eric S]

Dearborn station still not fully open. The Crossing to Henry Ford still closed since Henry Ford hasn't made an entrance there.

Is the second (south) track and platform in service yet? When I was there a couple months ago, only the station-side platform and track were in service.

 

[neroden]

CANADA: The UP Express service between Toronto’s Union Station and Pearson International Airport was launched on June 6. ...

I have lost track of a startling number of Canadian projects. They have a *lot* in the pipeline. They're doing way better than the US at getting stuff done. (No surprise. :-( )