Overhauling Amtrak

[TowerDude]

For the Gateway Tunnel, they will dig and assemble the new tunnels and then rehab the old tunnels, eventually resulting in four tunnels under the Hudson.

The long term plans for the Portal Bridges over the Hackensack River are for there to be a Portal North and a Portal South Bridge giving four tracks over the river.

Is there a possibility that when the Portal North Bridge is finished, to continue to use the old bridge as the 3rd and 4th tracks until the Portal South Bridge is completed?

[202_Cyclist]

Amtrak begins Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project in northeast Maryland
The project will ensure continued connectivity along the Northeast Corridor while enabling plans to expand intercity passenger rail service in the region and across the U.S.

July 24, 2024
Mass Transit


Photo courtesy of Mass Transit.

"Amtrak has begun the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project in northeast Maryland. The Susquehanna River Rail Bridge is a vital piece of infrastructure that serves approximately 110 daily Amtrak, MARC commuter rail and freight trains. The $2.7 billion project, supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will ensure continued connectivity along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) while enabling plans to expand intercity passenger rail service in the region and across the U.S.

“Amtrak is excited to kick off early work on this important bridge upgrade, one of several major Amtrak infrastructure megaprojects now underway or set to begin by the end of 2024,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. “Thanks to funding from the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, continued support from the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress and strong coordination with our partners, Amtrak is advancing a new era of passenger rail with state-of-the-art bridges, tunnels and trains on the way..."

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/...heast-maryland

[TowerDude]

Here's an Amtrak-adjacent reform that I think would greatly benefit Amtrak.

The Federal Government should take over Greyhound and turn it into the same kind of public-private transit corporation as Amtrak. Amtrak and Greyhound should also work to connect Greyhound bus depots to Amtrak train stations and have code sharing for ticketing. Other essential but financially stressed long distance bus lines should also be integrated into the new federal Greyhound.

Any Greyhound depot that is farther away than 2 miles from an Amtrak station should, where feasible, be relocated to the train station. After this system is stood up, the existing Amtrak bus lines should be absorbed into the new Greyhound.

Amtrak stations far from the urban cores of many cities could then be connected to downtown via this Greyhound network.

A federal takeover of Greyhound would allow essential long distance bus routes to remain in operation faster than the US government standing up a new national bus line from scratch, and would also mirror how Amtrak was founded taking over existing passenger rail operations.

[Paniolo Man]

Amtrak extended the bidding window for the LD fleet replacement to November after receiving no bids in May.

Just though that little bit of info may be relevant here.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Here's an Amtrak-adjacent reform that I think would greatly benefit Amtrak.

The Federal Government should take over Greyhound and turn it into the same kind of public-private transit corporation as Amtrak. Amtrak and Greyhound should also work to connect Greyhound bus depots to Amtrak train stations and have code sharing for ticketing. Other essential but financially stressed long distance bus lines should also be integrated into the new federal Greyhound.

Any Greyhound depot that is farther away than 2 miles from an Amtrak station should, where feasible, be relocated to the train station. After this system is stood up, the existing Amtrak bus lines should be absorbed into the new Greyhound.

Amtrak stations far from the urban cores of many cities could then be connected to downtown via this Greyhound network.

A federal takeover of Greyhound would allow essential long distance bus routes to remain in operation faster than the US government standing up a new national bus line from scratch, and would also mirror how Amtrak was founded taking over existing passenger rail operations.

AmeriBus

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Paniolo Man

Amtrak extended the bidding window for the LD fleet replacement to November after receiving no bids in May.

Just though that little bit of info may be relevant here.

I can't wade through all the conversations on Reddit or the Amtrak forum. Could you lay out exactly what they latest is with this. Are they going for bi-level or single level? What do you think explains the lack of interest in this RFP? Do you sense there's hesitation to work with Amtrak with all the customizations and the web of Buy America requirements or is that not a factor?

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Here's an Amtrak-adjacent reform that I think would greatly benefit Amtrak.

The Federal Government should take over Greyhound and turn it into the same kind of public-private transit corporation as Amtrak. Amtrak and Greyhound should also work to connect Greyhound bus depots to Amtrak train stations and have code sharing for ticketing. Other essential but financially stressed long distance bus lines should also be integrated into the new federal Greyhound.

Any Greyhound depot that is farther away than 2 miles from an Amtrak station should, where feasible, be relocated to the train station. After this system is stood up, the existing Amtrak bus lines should be absorbed into the new Greyhound.

Amtrak stations far from the urban cores of many cities could then be connected to downtown via this Greyhound network.

A federal takeover of Greyhound would allow essential long distance bus routes to remain in operation faster than the US government standing up a new national bus line from scratch, and would also mirror how Amtrak was founded taking over existing passenger rail operations.

I meant to respond to this the other day.

I don't know how wise or successful any attempt to nationalize a private, for-profit LD bus operator would be. Nationalising infrastructure, like rail which I advocate for is one thing, but the freight railroads would still remain private under that scenario, just working under a leased access model. Plus I'm not opposed to the notion of private passenger operations.

What may actually accomplish the goals you are describing would be working hand in hand with the USPS to create an American Postbus.

[Paniolo Man]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I can't wade through all the conversations on Reddit or the Amtrak forum. Could you lay out exactly what they latest is with this. Are they going for bi-level or single level? What do you think explains the lack of interest in this RFP? Do you sense there's hesitation to work with Amtrak with all the customizations and the web of Buy America requirements or is that not a factor?

Amtrak issued the RFP to 6 qualified bidders a few days before Christmas last year. Stadler, Siemens, CAF, Alstom, Kawasaki, and Hitachi made the cut.

The technical specification in the RFP are 1400 pages long with an absurd level of detail. They call for Bilevels with a core consist of semi-permanently coupled cars and add-on cars at either end for capacity.

The design kills the SSL as a concept and splits it into a "First Class Lounge" on the upper level of a sleeper with a bar and seating for sleeper passengers and a Cafe taking a small portion of the upper level in one of the coaches. I'm not a huge fan of this change.

The bidding window initially was to close back in May, but no bids were received and several manufacturers requested the deadline be extended. As of now the new deadline is November.

Here is a link to the first 1000 pages of the technical specifications.

Here is a link to the rest of the technical specification pages.

Extensive discussion of the car designs can be found on the AmtrakTrains forum thread on the topic.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I meant to respond to this the other day.

I don't know how wise or successful any attempt to nationalize a private, for-profit LD bus operator would be. Nationalising infrastructure, like rail which I advocate for is one thing, but the freight railroads would still remain private under that scenario, just working under a leased access model. Plus I'm not opposed to the notion of private passenger operations.

What may actually accomplish the goals you are describing would be working hand in hand with the USPS to create an American Postbus.

I agree. There are already numerous private intercity bus operators that presumably operate at a profit. Also, Amtrak operates some connecting bus service.

One thing that could be beneficial, however, is if Amtrak partnered with some of these private bus operators to align schedules and allow people to book a seamless connection through the Amtrak website. For example, booking a train ticket to Wilmington, DE, and then aligning bus schedules for a trip to the Delaware beaches would add value.

https://www.amtrak.com/thruway-conne...l-destinations

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Paniolo Man

Amtrak issued the RFP to 6 qualified bidders a few days before Christmas last year. Stadler, Siemens, CAF, Alstom, Kawasaki, and Hitachi made the cut.

The bidding window initially was to close back in May, but no bids were received and several manufacturers requested the deadline be extended. As of now the new deadline is November.

Good - I'm glad the industry is pushing back on some of these insane procurements. This is basically (or literally?) all of the qualified railcar manufacturers in the US who took a hard pass.

If the past is any guide, hopefully Amtrak will toss their spec in the trash and let manufacturers propose something that actually makes sense. This is how we got the Siemens Ventures, Metra's Alstom bilevels, (maybe) the Airo, etc.

[Busy Bee]

^ Do we really know if Amtrak specs are "insane" though or the RFP parties just need more time before figuring out their numbers? This isn't unheard of to extend and RFP for complicated rolling stock purchases here or internationally.

[aprice1828]

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