Passenger Trains > TxEagle moves to TRE, DAL-FTW

FLYING LIKE AN EAGLE: NEW ROUTE BETWEEN FORT WORTH AND DALLAS TO
IMPROVE AMTRAK RELIABILITY

Dec. 27, 2015

> FORT WORTH, Texas — Amtrak has successfully concluded negotiations
> and changed the route of the Texas Eagle train between Fort Worth and
> Dallas. There are no missed stops or public schedule changes at this
> time for the daily service of Trains 21 & 22 between Chicago and San
> Antonio via St. Louis; Little Rock, Ark.; Dallas, Fort Worth and
> Austin, Texas.

> “This change puts Amtrak Texas Eagle passengers on a better route
> shared with Trinity Rail Express (TRE) commuter trains and avoids the
> freight train operations that were challenging our trains every day
> on the previous routing,” said Mark Murphy, Amtrak Senior Vice
> President and General Manager of the business line that includes the
> Eagle. “This route simplifies our movements through the Fort Worth
> Intermodal Transportation Center and will improve reliability for
> more than 100,000 Amtrak passengers who use our Fort Worth gateway
> every year.” Mike Chandler, Amtrak Deputy General Manager responsible
> for the Texas Eagle, attended an event in Fort Worth to thank the
> team that worked through the complicated talks involving TRE, its
> parent agencies in Fort Worth and Dallas, Union Pacific and other
> carriers. Murphy and Chandler credited constant support for this
> improvement from TEMPO, the Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance
> Organization, and Texas Rail Advocates.

-Amtrak news release
 

So what's the effective date?

Wow, no more backup moves at Tower 55! If it's on time there's going to be a really long dwell time at Fort Worth!

Posted from Android

Reading strains Magazine Article about Tower 55 back in the late 90s it seemed 21 and 22 always had their share of delays so smart move on avoiding that maneuver!

Posted from Android

Supposed to have been doing it today.

To be sure, I tried to look at Track-A-Train when one of the Eagles would
have been on the line but alas...it was down.  Still is (only a blank white
screen loads here [Windows 7, Firefox]).

Need eyes on the ground!

However, 22(17) gained 13 minutes between FTW and DAL.  I don't think
there is much recovery time on that segment.  21(16) gained 41 minutes,
DAL-FTW; and there IS recovery time there.
 



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/15 15:18 by GenePoon.

Ex Burlington-Rock Island joint track

This is great news.

Just for reference for those who are not familiar, the Trinity Rail Express route is 34 miles vs. 31 for the current route on UP.  The UP route is more or less a straight east-west shot between Dallas and Fort Worth, whereas the TRE heads east-northeasterly out of Fort Worth, then parallels the UP about 5 miles to north of it before heading southeast into Dallas Union Station.

Current Amtrak schedule for #22 is 1 hour.  For #21 it is 1 hour 20 minutes.

Most TRE trains are scheduled to travel from the Fort Worth ITC to Dallas Union Station in 54 minutes (plus or minus a minute or two for a few trains).  This time includes seven intermediate stops.  So if we assume each stop takes two minutes (probably conservative), a non-stop run at maximum speed would be about 40 minutes or less.  Given the number of TRE trains and the amount of single track on the line, it is probably necessary to allow for some time for conflicting moves or to run behind commuter trains, particularly on days when Amtrak is running late (it will be interesting to see how they handle a late Amtrak train during rush hour).  However my guess is it will be better than running the gauntlet on the UP.  And of course avoiding the infamous backup move at Tower 55.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/15 16:51 by czephyr17.

Expect  greatly improved timekeeping. A little victory!!

Well I guess my trip yesterday backing into and out of Ft. Worth and passing Tower 55 was history on the making..... on that note maybe a great move for Amtrak as 21 arrived ahead of schedule then sat, just on the other side of the freeway from T-55/station, long enough to be late into Ft. Worth on account of a freight train ahead of us.  

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Supposed to have been doing it today.
>
> To be sure, I tried to look at Track-A-Train when
> one of the Eagles would
> have been on the line but alas...it was down. 
> Still is (only a blank white
> screen loads here ).
>
> Need eyes on the ground!
>
> However, 22(17) gained 13 minutes between FTW and
> DAL.  I don't think
> there is much recovery time on that segment. 
> 21(16) gained 41 minutes,
> DAL-FTW; and there IS recovery time there.
>  

No this did not go into effect today, per Trains "Still, there were a number of details that had to be worked out with several third parties before the shift to the TRE corridor could take place.  It took nearly a year, but DART, The Forth Worth Transportation Authority, and Amtrak completed the arrangements and were able to switch the trains to the TRE route."

Sorry, Railfan 83.  TEMPO (Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization) reported
40 minutes ago in response to an inquiry:

"Yes, first trips in each direction over TRE took place today, Thursday December 17."

At least we have seen a little benefit from the "Stimulus".

This seems to be a small positive step and I am glad to see it completed.

It should be added that the agreement to move Amtrak to the TRE route was a side deal in a package of eight different agreements that were signed on Thursday that will allow TEX Rail, a new 27 mile commuter line from downtown Fort Worth to Grapevine and DFW Airport, to start construction.  The ageements required signatures from UP, DART, and Fort Worth & Western, to allow TEX Rail rights over various pieces of trackage to start the new line.  If all funding is received, service on this line could start by 2018.

With regard to the Amtrak move to TRE, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (the "T") had to agree to buy a $21 million insurance policy to indemnify Amtrak in the event of death or injuries on the tracks.  Language spelling out the terms of that indemnity was included in the agreements signed Thursday.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/15 06:52 by czephyr17.

< At least we have seen a little benefit from the "Stimulus".

Rerouted and faster Vermonter is another. I have seen the pdf of the National schedule that comes out in January. They are finally taking out another half hour in running time north of Springfield.