Will segmented train routes work?

   An issue that is bound to be heavily debated in coming months is the idea of breaking up long distance Amtrak routes into segments
that involve a series of day trains covering the same routes. 

   The idea originated with anti-Amtrak sources in the Administration, but actually dates back further, having been proposed by various think tanks with anti-rail orientations. 

   The apparent money- saving idea is that there would no longer be a need for sleeping cars and the crews to man them. The day trains would cover the same route, but there would be no overnight operation, so that travelers whose routes included an overnight portion would have to occupy hotel rooms between train segments. 

   The National Association of Railroad Passengers has been performing comparison analyses of existing long distance routes and the segmented routes that would most likely substitute for them. The results are so weighted in favor of the long distance routes that no logical justification could be made for the segments.

   Rather than creating cost saving for Amtrak, the segmenting would actually either yield no savings or raise costs, while reducing patronage to such an extent that the segmented route would fail altogether. 

   Of course, creating a route failure might be the ultimate aim of the anti-rail originators of this scheme. 

   Amtrak President Kummant and other company officials continue to mention this plan while being fairly noncommital and saying it would be evaluated carefully. If the evaluation is indeed done carefully and rationally, it would seem that no possible case could be made for segmenting. 
 
 

*Alcatel-Lucent Selected for Turnkey Integrated Communications Solution*

PARIS, April 29/PRNewswire/ -- AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd and the Transtec Gotthard Consortium today announced the contract signature for the
railway infrastructure of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The Transtec Gotthard Consortium comprises the following companies: Alcatel-Lucent's legal entity in Switzerland, Alcatel-Lucent Schweiz AG, Zurich, Atel
Installationstechnik AG, Zurich, TRSS Thales Rail Signaling Solutions AG, Zurich, Alpine Bau GmbH, Hergiswil, and Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH,
Munich, Germany. The contract for this last major construction lot on the Gotthard is worth 1.69 billion Swiss francs (EURO 1.05 billion).

Tenders for implementation of the railway infrastructure for the new Gotthard Base Tunnel rail link were received from two consortia. The
tenders were rigorously examined and evaluated according to the Swiss Federal Law on Public Procurement.

After evaluation, the tender submitted by the Transtec Gotthard consortium was chosen by the Board of Directors of AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd, selected, in part, due to its economic and technical viability.

The contract is for installation of the railway infrastructure systems for the Gotthard Base Tunnel and involves equipping the two single-track
tunnels, each 57 km in length, as well as 11 km of over ground lines to the north and south, all to the point where they connect with the existing railway network.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel will be the longest tunnel in the world upon completion, ahead of the current record holder, the Seikan Tunnel in Japan.

The railway infrastructure installations comprise the railway track, electricity supply and cabling systems for lighting and power, overhead power line and switching systems, tunnel control systems, optical and data networks and operational communications, tunnel radio systems, signalling centres and railway control systems, as well as new signalling and train safety systems. In addition, installation of these systems in the Gotthard Base Tunnel will also require extensive
temporary services and systems for logistics and transportation such as construction site railways, workshops, warehouses, personnel accommodation, cooling and ventilation systems, electric power supply,
radio and telephone.

The Transtec Gotthard Consortium will now prepare the execution project. Once approved by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT), work will begin on the railway infrastructure installation site. Installation of the
railway infrastructure through the south portal will start in 2009, and the north portal in 2012. The installation work is estimated to take about seven years. Commercial operation of the Gotthard Base Tunnel with scheduled train services is planned for 2017.

About the Alcatel-Lucent integrated communications solution Alcatel-Lucent is responsible for designing, integrating, testing and overall project management for the turnkey, integrated delivery of the fixed network, the tunnel's radio system, a highly available security
network for the links to the interlocking system, and a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network, initially using the Alcatel-Lucent 1696 Metrospan, that connects to the IT solution, also under the responsibility of Alcatel-Lucent.

The fixed network includes a data network, a  communications installation for operations (voice services) and the tunnel's control system, which
remotely monitors and controls the electro-mechanical installations in the Tunnel Control Center (TCC).

The tunnel's radio system transmits voice and data (via GSM-R and Private Mobile Radio (PMR) for concerns relating to railway technology (operations, maintenance and intervention in case of an incident). In
addition, it acts as a platform for mobile telephony providers wishing to offer their services on the Gotthard line.

Alcatel-Lucent has a recognized experience in the railway industry, especially in areas where a high level of availability is required. In Switzerland for example, Alcatel-Lucent designed, built and put into operation the optical multi-service network to connect 900 railway stations for Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), as well as monitoring and alarms solutions for a variety of technical platforms.

About Transtec Gotthard

Transtec Gotthard is a consortium composed of leading rail technology partners: Atel, Alcatel-Lucent / Thales, Alpine Bau and Balfour Beatty Rail. The four partners with equal rights provide their core
competencies in the following domains: track, overhead contact line, rail security, rail and tunnel control and communication systems,

Amtrak on April 18 released its feasibility study of a rail passenger route between the Quad Cities and Iowa City IA on a route originating in Chicago.
...Read more
  

Colorado rail relocation study announced

   Denver CO—The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Apr 11 announced the launch of Rail Relocation for Colorado’s Communities (R2C2), a study to investigate the feasibility of moving a majority of the current through-freight rail traffic away from the Front Range corridor (Denver to Pueblo) to the Eastern Plains of Colorado. 
Read more

   A study prepared for the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority shows that proposed investments in the Downeaster (Boston-Portland ME) Amtrak service would pay off in billions of dollars of economic benefits to Maine and New Hampshire by 2030. Read more

   Around 5pm on April 4 a young man and woman, the man's father and the man's dog were walking on a railway trestle over Halls Creek, which runs into the Petitcodiac River near the Moncton, New Brunswick VIA Rail station. Suddenly the Halifax-bound Ocean train appeared, heading to the station. The trespassers attempted to get out of the way of the train, but the young man went onto the tracks to pull his dog to safety. The man was hit by the train and knocked off the trestle into the creek. The creek was at high tide and its width is approximately less than the length of a railway car. Read more...

Pope Benedict XVI will visit the United States from April 15 to 20, and apparently no train riding will be included in his itinerary. Read more...

The Federal DOT Office of the Inspector General on Mar 28  released the results of a study that found that Amtrak in FY 2006 lost potentially almost $137 million because of low on-time performance, most of it caused by problems on the host freight railroads. The DOT's summary follows:

This report presents the results of our audit of the effects of Amtrak’s poor on–time performance (OTP). This audit was requested by the Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The objective of this audit was to produce a quantitative assessment of the impact of Amtrak’s poor OTP on Amtrak’s finances.

Achieving reliable OTP would substantially improve Amtrak’s finances. We estimate, for example, that an 85 percent OTP off the NEC in FY 2006 would have reduced Amtrak’s operating loss by 30 percent or $136.6 million. Amtrak’s revenues would increase by $111.4 million as more travelers would choose to take the train if they become more confident that it will arrive on time. Amtrak’s expenses would be reduced by $39.3 million mostly due to less required overtime as a result of fewer late trains, and lower fuel costs as a result of less time spent idling and less frequent accelerations and decelerations. The improved OTP also would require an increase in net performance payments paid to the host railroads of $14.1 million.

Working with the host railroads to achieve an 85 percent OTP off the NEC would be a difficult task. However, Amtrak may be able to utilize a portion of the projected benefits to further incentivize the host railroads to provide this enhanced level of service.
The full report can be downloaded at the DOT's website: http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2273

CSX Transportation Announces Establishment of Huntington Dispatching Center

HUNTINGTON, W.Va., April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- CSX Transportation is establishing a new dispatching center at its division headquarters in Huntington, with approximately 80 train dispatcher and related positions being relocated here, CSX Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Ward announced today. Read more...

   Columnist Wes Vernon reported on Jan 28 that likely GOP presidential candidate John McCain would kill off Amtrak if he were elected president.

   Vernon was discussing influential conservative rail advocate Paul Weyrich's reaction to McCain's candidacy. Weyrich said he would leave the GOP if McCain were the candidate.

   Vernon wrote: "Weyrich knows that Senator McCain, throughout his career, has been very anti-rail, and in that respect 'would be [even] worse than the present [Bush] administration,' whose Transportation Secretary Mary Peters (a big highway booster) has fought tooth and nail (as commission chairman) to block the pro-rail efforts of Weyrich and others allied with his 9-to-3 [National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study] commission majority."

   Vernon also reported "The Arizonan has said shutting down Amtrak —  if he's elected — would be 'a non-negotiable issue' for him. Short-sighted, indeed."

NY Automobile Show
RR china auction items
View collector cars
Obsolete collector cars

Join or donate to the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

 Visit our rail gift shop