Passenger Trains > "Biggest hurdle" for Gulf Coast service: Drawbridges??????????

From Politico Morning Transport 9-6-16:
Re: the fits-and-starts “revival” effort for the Gulf Coast route


" - Big bayou carry me home: Lawmakers will get an update this week on
efforts to revive Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast, our Lauren
Gardner reported for (Politico Pro Subscribers). The biggest hurdle to bringing
Amtrak service back to a route through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and
Florida seems to be Coast Guard regulations, which require boats to have the
right of way at drawbridges."

==============================================

What a crock of crap. Politico's editors are normally
smart enough to know that this priority has existed since
time immemorial. So now it's a "hurdle" for one crummy
train per day?

I wonder whose propagandists are spreading this irrelevance.

https://www.politicopro.com/transportation/story/2016/08/lawmakers-due-for-update-on-amtrak-gulf-coast-service-127798

...but it's Members Only.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/16 17:23 by GenePoon.

Really?!  What about the drawbridges on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Boston?  Or the Cascades corridor?  Were the drawbridges a problem when the Sunset used to run (or whatever trains operated before Amtrak?

Any excuse not to run the train.  

As long as some people will believe it, Mission Accomplished.  

My God!

How do the Michigan trains, the Cardinal, the Lake Shore, and the Capitol ever get in and out of C.U.S.?  There's a lift bridge at 21st Street!

And there's a drawbridge on the Air Line too!  Oh, the HORROR!

And Manchac north of New Orleans!  We may never see the City make another run!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

That is because no one wants to talk about the elephant in the room, which is finding the money for it, lest someone get the tail pinned on their donkey rear end with the responsibility to fund it.

need $$$$$$$$$$$ to start ANY passenger service.........

66

Actually Gene, the biggest obstacle is the detour around Mobile, north to Atmore and then south to Pensacola when I10 cuts straight across Mobile Bay.  It's always been an issue.  The old Gulf Wind took14-15 hours to go the 600+ miles and Amtrak took 17.  It's just too slow.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/16 16:17 by jfrank39.

Yes, it would be very interesting to know who gave them that line of bull.

Too slow? By what standards? When the Sunset was running east of New Orleans in the beginning, it regularly was a fairly full train, even with the annoying trip via Flomaton. The train has to go where the railroad is, so they say.

Many studies have shown most passengers are less concerned about how long it takes, than a train leaving and arriving on time (predictability), and providing a comfortable ride with decent amenities. In this country, rarely does anyone ride the train for speed. They ride it by choice or because there is no other form of transportation available. Those who want to leave and arrive on their customized schedule drive their own vehicles. Those who don't believe "getting there is half the fun" (a slogan from decades past) or "See America First" (another decades past slogan) avail themselves of the horrors of flying.

There is a market for all types of transportation for all types travelers for all types of needs. Many don't take the train because they simply don't know it exists.
 

johnpage Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is a market for all types of transportation
> for all types travelers for all types of needs.
> Many don't take the train because they simply
> don't know it exists.
=======================================

In the case of New Orleans - Florida, they don't even have THAT choice, since Amtrak assassinated the train, 
and the much-touted, Amtrak-created and NARP-approved PRIIA closed the casket by removing it from the 
legally-constituted National system.  And now...drawbridges?

Oh brother! I for one hope it can still happen, but not an extension of 59 and 58!

Drawbridge enthusiasts and boat enthusiasts have needs too.

What's next the alligators don't like the Superliners unless they go in the water? Come on. This line seemed to have had a pretty good following at one time, and it can again.  

Personally, I would like to see North South service through Atlanta before restoration of gulf train.

Well, this is mostly speculation on my part, but the timekeeping standards--recently re-tooled by the STB to include intermediate points--could be causing some heartburn for CSX.

They don't want to be held financially responsible for drawbridge delays over which they have no control. Does seem a minor sticking point to be resolved by contract, yet, the knee jerk desire to "get tough" with the host railroads over delays could be having some unintended consequences. It just makes it all the more attractive for the hosts to simply say no.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> johnpage Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There is a market for all types of
> transportation
> > for all types travelers for all types of needs.
> > Many don't take the train because they simply
> > don't know it exists.
> =======================================
>
> In the case of New Orleans - Florida, they don't
> even have THAT choice, since Amtrak assassinated
> the train, 
> and the much-touted, Amtrak-created and
> NARP-approved PRIIA closed the casket by removing
> it from the 
> legally-constituted National system.  And
> now...drawbridges?

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

I think you hit the nail on the head.  With over a dozen drawbridges, there can be multiple delays out of railroad control.  This is an unusual situation.  But, there is no relief in PRIIA for this kind of situation.

Dcmcrider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, this is mostly speculation on my part, but
> the timekeeping standards--recently re-tooled by
> the STB to include intermediate points--could be
> causing some heartburn for CSX.
>
> They don't want to be held financially responsible
> for drawbridge delays over which they have no
> control. Does seem a minor sticking point to be
> resolved by contract, yet, the knee jerk desire to
> "get tough" with the host railroads over delays
> could be having some unintended consequences. It
> just makes it all the more attractive for the
> hosts to simply say no.
 

is ptc going to be installed on this line?

66

goneon66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> is ptc going to be installed on this line?
>
> 66

For a single passenger train a day and no hazmat traffic they will probably manage to get a waiver.

BTW, contrary to what Gene suggested above, New Orleans to Orlando via Jacksonville is actually more than 750 miles hence the train can be funded as a national network train. of course there is no law that says that no one else other than the feds is allowed to fund a train that runs longer than 750 miles either.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/16 07:18 by Jishnu.

It is still a dashed line on the map because they chickened out of the 180-notice posting.

> Many studies have shown most passengers are less
> concerned about how long it takes, than a train
> leaving and arriving on time (predictability), and
> providing a comfortable ride with decent
> amenities. 

Yes, of course, anyone who actually cared about speed gave up on Amtrak LD trains decades ago.

If your vision of Amtrak is a cruise-liner, yes, speed does not matter. If your vision of Amtrak is useful intercity transporation that succeeds in pulling people out of their cars for everyday travel, speed definitely matters -- as does reliability. This is one of the essential differences between LD trains and shorter corridors. The underlying question is whether a resurrected New Orleans - Florida trains should be treated as an LD train or the first step in a Gulf Coast corridor.