Home | Open Account | Help | 351 users online |
Member Login
Discussion
Media SharingHostingLibrarySite Info |
Eastern Railroad Discussion > Amtrak Special between Atlanta and MaconDate: 03/07/01 08:01 Amtrak Special between Atlanta and Macon Author: PeachFuzz Here's the story:
Rail trip shows problems, possibilities of new system Kelly Simmons - Staff Wednesday, March 7, 2001 They came from Colorado, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to promote high-speed rail. The trip, however, was anything but. For 3 1/2 hours Tuesday, rail proponents were wined and dined on a special run of the Amtrak Crescent to Macon from Atlanta. Stopping occasionally for passing freight trains, and creeping through urban areas, the train traveled at speeds of up to 50 mph along the 70-mile route. "If we could speed this thing up by two hours, we could start running it every day," Macon Mayor Jack Ellis quipped as the train pulled into Macon. Advocates for high-speed rail say that's exactly what they expect to happen during the next few years. "Eventually it will be the fast route --- there's no doubt about it," Ellis said. Ellis pulled together the demonstration train ride, which began in Atlanta Tuesday, and will continue on to Savannah today, to promote passage of the High-Speed Rail Investment Act, which would provide $12 billion in financing for Amtrak to develop high-speed rail corridors throughout the United States. The Southeast high-speed rail corridor would link Houston; New Orleans; Meridian, Miss.; Birmingham; Atlanta and Jacksonville. A second corridor would link Atlanta with Charlotte through Greenville, S.C. Among those participating in the trip were mayors from Denver; New Orleans; Birmingham; and Meridian, Miss., all of them bound for the National Conference of Black Mayors being held this week in Savannah. The conference has endorsed the idea of high-speed rail across the nation. Tuesday's trip was just a demonstration, with Amtrak footing the bill to run the Crescent --- which typically operates between New York and New Orleans --- from Atlanta to Savannah on Norfolk Southern-owned railroad tracks. But local rail advocates used it as an opportunity to show the ease of train transportation, and the opportunities that would be available if the rail lines were upgraded to accommodate high-speed trains. For example, future Atlanta-to-Macon trains likely would not run on the busy Norfolk Southern rails that were used for Tuesday's trip. Rail officials say they would prefer to upgrade and use a second set of secondary Norfolk Southern tracks. In addition, the route would be double tracked through many areas to allow two trains to safely pass. "We should be able to deliver passengers from Atlanta to Macon in an hour, an hour and a half," said Stan Raymond, a member of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority. The trip was the first time a passenger train has operated between Atlanta and Macon since 1994, when a historical society sponsored a train to celebrate the society's convention. The last time trains operated regularly on the route was 1971 when the Nancy Hanks, as the train was called, ended its twice-daily run between Atlanta, Macon and Savannah. Date: 03/08/01 14:39 RE: Amtrak Special between Atlanta and Macon Author: CRRBilly Just for the record,
After leaving Macon, GA, this special train proceeded to Jesup on the NS and then backed around the eastern NS/CSX interchange track onto the CSX. At approxamately 1:20 pm the train continued north on the CSX 'A' line to Savannah, GA. We had a few delays enroute, arriving at the Savannah Amtrak station at 3:15pm to a flock of TV cameras and media personnel. All mayors and passengers on board then de-trained for a press conference held inside the station. The empty train departed at 4:00pm for a trip to Jacksonville. The consist was new P42dc's #143 built in Feb. 2001 and the #142 built in Jan. 2001 followed by a Superliner coach and diner borrowed from the Auto-Train, and a Superliner lounge on the rear. The P42's were painted in the new Acela scheme. This train did not follow the entire route of the late great Nancy Hanks. |