Promoting passenger trains as a transportation alternative in Florida since 1983.  We are citizens who advocate for Amtrak, commuter rail, intercity rail and transit for Florida's future.

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The Silver Rail Blog

  • CSX Gamesmanship?

    12 Jan 2010 11:11 AM | Deleted user

    This company has got to be the league leader in pigging out at the public trough!

    Full disclosure - I used to be a shareholder.

    http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=6136

    A new wrinkle to restoring the 'Sunset Limited' to Florida

     
    Published: Friday, January 08, 2010
    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In a move that could complicate a resumption of Amtrak's Sunset Limited service between New Orleans and Florida, CSX has rerouted all through freight traffic from the Florida Panhandle line used by the Sunset before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.

    The rerouting, which occurred in the last half of 2009, involved two pairs of freight trains that had operated between Waycross, Ga., and New Orleans, via Baldwin, Tallahassee, and Pensacola, Fla., and Flomaton, Ala.

    Now the four trains use a slightly shorter route. From Flomaton, eastward freights operate up the M&M and Atlanta & West Point subdivisions to Montgomery, Ala., and LaGrange, Ga. From LaGrange, they use the Lineville Subdivision a short distance to Manchester, Ga., and then follow the CSX Chicago-Waycross main line into Waycross over the Fitzgerald Subdivision. Schedules of the rerouted trains are, by and large, a bit faster than before.

    CSX would not comment on the reasons for the rerouting, but the benefits are obvious. Freight train volume across the Florida Panhandle have fallen significantly since 2000, when five freights each way (including a pair of New Orleans-Jacksonville, Fla., intermodal trains) used the route through Tallahassee, in addition to the triweekly Sunset Limited. Amtrak suspended the Sunset indefinitely east of New Orleans after disruption caused by Katrina five years ago.

    Now, with train frequency down to two trains each way plus local freights, CSX can concentrate the New Orleans-Florida business on other routes with better signaling and track structure, and presumably forgo much of the maintenance costs associated with the Panhandle line.

    Amtrak is considering a resumption of passenger train service via Tallahassee to Orlando. CSX, if it chooses, could argue that Amtrak should pay to keep the Tallahassee route maintained for speeds as high as 79 mph, because it would be the primary user. CSX would not reveal whether maintenance of the Tallahassee route has been cut, and Amtrak would not comment when asked whose responsibility it would be to pay for upkeep to support 79-mph track.

    In a study last year mandated by Congress, Amtrak suggested two options in addition to restoring the triweekly Sunset, whose present route is between Los Angeles and New Orleans. One would be to extend the daily Chicago-New Orleans train, the City of New Orleans, to Orlando on a daily basis. The other would be to run a daily stand-alone train solely between New Orleans and Orlando. Startup capital costs associated with these options range from $33 million to as much as $97 million, Amtrak says, and would include $20 million for installation of positive train control technology.

    The good news is this: CSX said last year that it would require "significant capacity improvements" as a condition to a service resumption. Its rerouting of freight traffic away from hundreds of miles of the route in question may make that demand moot. But in its place could come a demand that Amtrak pony up more money to maintain passenger-train speeds over the portion no longer used by CSX freight trains. - Fred W. Frailey

     

  • Amtrak Wants to Operate Florida's High Speed Rail System

    12 Jan 2010 9:44 AM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    Amtrak wants to join the high speed rail party in Florida, according to this article from the Tampa Tribune:

    http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/12/sp-amtrak-targets-high-speed-rail/

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • CNN: World Warming to Greener Train Travel

    11 Jan 2010 11:35 AM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    From CNN comes this article on the worldwide passenger rail scene.

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/10/green.trains/index.html

    International perspectives like this one demonstrate the potential of improved passenger rail services in the USA.

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • Tired of Airline Security Hassles? Take the Train

    10 Jan 2010 7:22 PM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    As this article from the Miami Herald describes, those tiring of increased security measures at our nation's airports are rediscovering another mode of transport:

    Rail travel.

    http://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/story/1411184.html

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • Vice President Joe Biden in Arrive Magazine

    08 Jan 2010 4:46 PM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    Vice President Joe Biden expresses his views on why America needs passenger rail in Arrive magazine this month:

    http://arrivemagazine.com/

    The article-- which is available online at Arrive's website-- makes for excellent reading.

    Arrive is the onboard magazine distributed on Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor.

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • West Palm Beach: Future Hub for Passenger Rail?

    07 Jan 2010 8:45 PM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    As the Palm Beach Post is reporting, Amtrak service over the FEC could make West Palm Beach a key point in Florida's passenger rail network.

    In the hopes and expectations of local planners and passenger rail boosters, West Palm could perhaps become a hub for passenger rail.

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • Rail Bill Draws Protesters

    07 Jan 2010 12:12 PM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    Not everyone is happy with Florida's new rail legislation, according to this article from the Lakeland Ledger:

    http://www.theledger.com/article/20100103/REPORTER/1035003

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • Progressive Railroading: Boardman to Head Amtrak for Another Year

    05 Jan 2010 12:55 PM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    Progressive Railroading magazine is reporting that Amtrak Interim President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman will head the railroad for another year:

    http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=22285

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • Buy A Brick, Help Preserve Tampa Union Station!

    02 Jan 2010 7:09 PM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    Start off 2010 by doing something fun and helping to preserve a railroad landmark at the same time!

    Join the Bricks Are Back campaign to benefit Tampa Union Station.

    For just $69.95, you can buy an engraved brick bearing the name of you, your family, your business, or your organization which will be placed in the sidewalk in front of historic 1912 Tampa Union Station.

    Proceeds from the sale of engraved bricks go to support the Tampa Union Station Preservation Fund at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. The Fund is a permanent endowment that benefits ongoing restoration work at Tampa Union Station.

    Or, if you prefer, you can make a tax deductible donation to the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay by using this form on the FCRP website.

    To learn more and to buy a brick in the Bricks Are Back campaign, go to www.tampaunionstation.com

    The ongoing efforts to preserve Tampa Union Station are an initiative of Friends of Tampa Union Station, which was founded in 2008 by the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers in cooperation with the City of Tampa.

    --Jackson McQuigg

  • New Chinese High Speed Train Is World's Fastest Passenger Train

    29 Dec 2009 11:34 AM | Jackson McQuigg (Administrator)

    This article from the Financial Times covers China's latest accomplishment: a high speed train (now in service) has become the fastest in the world.

    China has invested billions in passenger rail and high speed trains in the past decade.

    It wasn't that long ago (the 1990s) that China was still producing new steam locomotives!

    --Jackson McQuigg

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