High Speed Rail and Amtrak News - Page 11

bvpcvm · #**201** Posted **Oct 11, 2013, 11:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hat

How about a new station at SE Rhine? Amtrak passenger rail to Oregon City (and Vancouver) might be more feasible/useful if built in conjunction with a MAX down Powell.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101004589@N07/9657053996/

Developing the line through Lake Oswego across the Willamette and up the existing line seems a much more direct and cost-effective route.

I've long thought OMSI would be a good place for a new station, with both MAX and streetcar, and being before that turn at the Steel Bridge. And in general, the idea of going through LO pleases me, but the turn on to and off of the bridge there would require slowing down significantly. In fact, it's probably no better than the Steel Bridge's curves. But if the LO bridge could be replaced and the curves straightened out, it might be feasible.

I recall reading somewhere, long ago, that a problem with the route through OC is that south of there along the river there's nowhere to add capacity (it's single-track I believe).

zilfondel · #**202** Posted **Oct 12, 2013, 12:08 AM**

Wow, amazed they even spent the time to study the idea of a 10-mile bored tunnel through SW Portland. Crazy! 120 mph trains... heh, it even sounds nutty for train buffs.

I really hope that they eventually build a station to serve downtown Corvallis. Having Eugene -> Corvallis -> Albany -> Salem -> Woodburn -> Wilsonville -> Portland metro would really tie the entire Willamette Valley together with high quality rail transit.

MarkDaMan · #**203** Posted **Oct 12, 2013, 12:10 AM**

Ugly little engines!

Amtrak Cascades offers tours of new trains at Portland Union Station

The crew looks like proud parents outside the new Amtrak Cascades Mt. Bachelor train. The train is owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation and carries the logo of other partners in the service. (ODOT)

Terry Richard | [email protected] By Terry Richard | [email protected]
on October 10, 2013 at 11:49 AM

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2013/10/amtrak_cascades_offers_tours_o.html

Quote:

The public is invited to check out the new trains in Portland that will soon be running between Eugene and Vancouver, B.C., on the Amtrak Cascades line.

The Oregon Department of Transportation and its partners will celebrate Oregon's new passenger trains, which will soon join the operating fleet. Displays, speakers, giveaways and tours of the train will take place Saturday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Portland's Union Station, 800 N.W. Sixth Ave.

Oregon's new trains are Talgo Series 8 trains, the only ones that will be operating in the world. ODOT purchased the trains using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

...

zilfondel · #**204** Posted **Oct 12, 2013, 12:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photogeric

What I think they should do is take that stretch of track on the inner east side and bring it below grade in the same spot it is now. They don't even need to cover it. That would allow the trains to move faster through that area, eliminate those horrible traffic problems and the countless horn honks that occur with every train that passes through that stretch. Since that is probably only a mile in total, wouldn't that be feasible? That might even be able to cut off a couple minutes for Amtrak. Has that ever been studied?

It would likely be the most ideal solution. However, the challenge is that you would need to dig down at least 20+ feet (height of the loco's), plus extra room for the bridges (several feet thick) to cross over it. Because of the extremely low grade of railroad tracks, this would require a very long excavation.

maccoinnich · #**205** Posted **Dec 8, 2013, 8:35 AM**

From Seattle Transit Blog:

Quote:

Amtrak Cascades Improves Eugene Service Beginning January 6
DECEMBER 7, 2013 AT 8:15 AM BY ZACH SHANER

After test runs over Thanksgiving weekend, Oregon’s new Talgo trains have entered regular service. They are running between Seattle and Portland this weekend, and will run between Seattle and Vancouver BC later next week (see scheduled runs here, bottom of the page).

Given the new flexibility afforded by the two new sets – each set must overnight in Seattle at least once per week, limiting the schedule somewhat – ODOT has announced a new schedule for Portland-Eugene service beginning on January 6, 2014.

A new early morning departure is being added at 6:00am from Portland to Eugene, and a 4:00pm departure from Eugene to Portland. In addition, on weekends and holidays the morning train from Portland to Eugene will depart 2.5 hours later, at 8:30am.

It's really great that they're removing the single greatest weakest in the existing system in Oregon: the inability to travel from Portland to Eugene and back again on the same day.

Photogeric · #**206** Posted **May 4, 2014, 6:15 AM**

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/hi...h-state-Amtrak-to-improve-service--40216

colganc · #**207** Posted **May 6, 2014, 6:24 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photogeric

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/hi...h-state-Amtrak-to-improve-service--40216

What kind of travel times are we looking at with these improvements vs the current times?

philopdx · #**208** Posted **May 6, 2014, 8:50 AM**

I've been following these improvements pretty closely and I don't see many dividends yet. It still takes about as long as it ever took to get back and forth to and from Seattle.

Photogeric · #**209** Posted **May 6, 2014, 3:51 PM**

Wasn't it reported that when the Point Defiance Bypass route is operational, that there would be at least a seven to ten minute reduction in travel time?

philopdx · #**210** Posted **May 7, 2014, 3:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photogeric

Wasn't it reported that when the Point Defiance Bypass route is operational, that there would be at least a seven to ten minute reduction in travel time?

Yeah, there's that. But they're promising a 40 minute+ improvement in travel time. I'm just wondering where the $280 million in stimulus funds went and how it will improve the transit time between PDX and Seattle above and beyond the Point Defiance shortcut.

BTW, I need to take the train a couple times before they switch over. The stretch along the sound is the prettiest part of the whole trip.

zilfondel · #**211** Posted **May 8, 2014, 2:13 AM**

Amtrak currently schedules a lot of padding time on the route, as the point defiance section is single-tracked, and many trains have to wait whenever there are two trains approaching. This project will make the route more predictable and less prone to congestion. They may end up cutting the padding time and shorten the scheduled trip time, who knows?

Photogeric · #**212** Posted **Apr 3, 2015, 5:13 PM**

Uhhhh, what?

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2015/04/amtraks_eugene-to-seattle_casc.html

PDXDENSITY · #**213** Posted **Apr 3, 2015, 5:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photogeric

Uhhhh, what?

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2015/04/amtraks_eugene-to-seattle_casc.html

Why isn't there the political will for these funds? This is an important part of our infrastructure. Is this ODOT holding rail funding hostage to get an increase in highway funding?

PacificNW · #**214** Posted **Apr 3, 2015, 5:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photogeric

Uhhhh, what?

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2015/04/amtraks_eugene-to-seattle_casc.html

I would hate to see this service eliminated. The ride to Portland, from Eugene, is very pleasant. No stress..

Photogeric · #**215** Posted **Apr 3, 2015, 8:18 PM**

It's time for some emails to legislators!!!

PDXDENSITY · #**216** Posted **Apr 3, 2015, 8:34 PM**

I bugged my state senator and representative... I hope they can rattle some cages? Man, I'll be sad if Amtrak goes away.

colganc · #**217** Posted **Apr 5, 2015, 3:43 PM**

http://seattletransitblog.com/2014/09/10/amtrak-cascades-ridership-by-city-pair/

http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/238/481/Amtrak-FY2014-Ridership-and-Revenue-ATK-14-096%20.pdf

Ridership is down YoY. Everything south of Portland doesn't generate revenue. Why not drop the stops south of Portland and two elsewhere. Less trains would be needed to keep the same frequency and drop travel times between some destinations. Sel the unneeded trains to keep service going while profitable risership is attempted to be boosted.

davehogan · #**218** Posted **Apr 5, 2015, 6:40 PM**

I'm curious how the new lack of container shipping to Terminal 6 mixed which will add additional freight traffic caused by Hanjin offering new train services to Tacoma will impact the Cascades route between Portland and Seattle. From the numbers getting thrown around for how much freight was handled in Portland it seems like if a good chunk of that switches to trains it could cause some more congestion of those tracks.

colganc · #**219** Posted **Apr 5, 2015, 8:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by davehogan

I'm curious how the new lack of container shipping to Terminal 6 mixed which will add additional freight traffic caused by Hanjin offering new train services to Tacoma will impact the Cascades route between Portland and Seattle. From the numbers getting thrown around for how much freight was handled in Portland it seems like if a good chunk of that switches to trains it could cause some more congestion of those tracks.

It would make sense. I remember priority issues beig the main cause of on ti e consistency problems with the Starlight in the mid-2000s.

The wiki page for the Cascades shows YoY ridership declines since 2012. Three years in a row now. Looking at the linked OregonLive article the requested budget is for $16 million. That is enough to subsidize each ticket on average $20. Throw in Washington's numbers and I bet most tickets are essentially half off. Seems pretty crazy to me.

It's too bad there aren't enough people for something like CalTrain. From personal experience it actually seems to make sense and I wouldn't be surprised if it is cost neutral.

zilfondel · #**220** Posted **Apr 6, 2015, 3:36 AM**

The ridership issue is kind of a chicken/egg conundrum: service is so bad right now that nobody rides the train. I thought that the new trains we just bought and put into service at the end of 2014 were supposed to improve service and add some riders.

Oregon and Washington need to put the infrastructure upgrades into high gear to get anywhere with train service. Amtrak averages 45 mph on both Eugene - PDX and PDX - Seattle, which is frankly abysmal.

If we lose service now right after spending $40 million on new trains, wtf?!

Anyway, I emailed my reps.