Passenger Trains > Roanoke Amtrak Service to Start Oct 31

According to the Roanoke Times, Amtrak service to Roanoke starts on Oct 31.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke/passenger-rail-service-returns-to-roanoke-on-halloween/article_5aa9dc13-117a-59db-865e-6edde67ce943.html

Good news!

Again,  envy at the progress  some  states  make.

cutboy2 Wrote:
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> Again,  envy at the progress  some  states
>  make.

Virginia has put money on the table for rail expansion under Democratic and Republican Governors, as has North Carolina. Amtrak puts some money in, the state puts some money in. Money gets results.

cutboy2 Wrote:
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> Again,  envy at the progress  some  states  make.

Surprising what progress can be made when you aren't shilling Kool-Aide for unattainable results (aka Florida's Tampa-Orlando "HSR").

Virginia has a knowledgeable Department of Rail and Public Transportation that does excellent work analyzing before spending.
Here's a link to their website, including current initiatives (eat your hearts out...or better yet, show to your state officials): http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/17 18:45 by hazegray.

They're smart alright, I for one get sick and tired of hearing, "We need high speed rail!" Bull crap, why not start conventional and work from there, it pays off on the long run!

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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> They're smart alright, I for one get sick and
> tired of hearing, "We need high speed rail!" Bull
> crap, why not start conventional and work from
> there, it pays off on the long run!
I agree with you 100%, you stated it well.
John

Not sure how I feel about a Halloween service start day, but I guess it's better than April Fools!
Christmas might be best...

One train a day is not all that exciting!

The objective needs to be at least 3 trains a day, otherwise you end up like the Hoosier State.

Halloween means they will capture Thanksgiving traffic. Looks good on the books.

One train a day... well, you have to start somewhere. Raleigh-Charlotte started with one train a day. Now it's three and next year, four.

Getting it in before the statewide elections, by the way. Virginia has "off year" elections.

Progress on this project can be charitably called "glacial." It was first being bruited when I started at U.Va. (in 1991). The project was green-lit at the end of the previous governor's (Rolex Bob McDonnell's) term, and will be opened just before the end of McAuliffe's single four-year term.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/17 14:34 by Dcmcrider.

Dcmcrider Wrote:
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> Progress on this project can be charitably called "glacial." It was first being bruited when I
> started at U.Va. (in 1991). The project was green-lit at the end of the previous governor's
> (Rolex Bob McDonnell's) term, and will be opened just before the end of McAuliffe's single
> four-year term.

To plagiarize a cliche from the aviation world, better a late "glacial" take-off than an early (unscheduled) landing!

reindeerflame Wrote:
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> One train a day is not all that exciting!
>
> The objective needs to be at least 3 trains a day,
> otherwise you end up like the Hoosier State.


Picky picky picky, at least they're doing the right thing, and besides that train's pretty long anyway running to/from New York City and the ridership's pretty good too!

It takes about three hours from the District to Lynchburg. What would it take to make that two hours?

Posted from Android

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> It takes about three hours from the District to
> Lynchburg. What would it take to make that two
> hours?
>
> Posted from Android

Lynchburg to DC is 173 miles, so a railroad where you can *average* 90 mph. That's what it would take.

Three hours is not that bad...still faster than driving it if you hit Northern Virginia traffic, but bear in mind the current schedule is 3:48 on the Crescent and 3:38 on the Regional train.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/17 06:42 by Dcmcrider.

You lose at least 15 minutes just getting from Washington Union Station to Alexandria and doing the station stop there. The run to Lynchburg has 3 intermediate stops. Allow 3 minutes for each of those stops (dwell plus delays for braking and acceleration). If your target is 2 hours flat, you'll have to rebuild nearly all of the line for 110 mph. That's not easy because the line traverses some hill country with significant curves. Probably would be a billion-dollar project, based on estimates for a similar 110 mph project for Raleigh-Petersburg in 2 hours flat. Lots of earth to be moved in either project.

Or you recover a few minutes between DC and Alexandria by spending several hundred million to build a new bridge over the Potomac and to straighten out the curves on the far north end of the RF&P.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/17 06:48 by ctillnc.

Thanks for the informed comments.

Do these Lynchburg trains have a notable time-of-the-week volume surge? People going to or from their weekend homes? Many Amtrak trains out of the upper Hudson Valley NY area have Monday morning / Thursday pm bumps as people return to to their country homes.

Same thing happens with MetroNorth out of Wassaic. The parking lot always has plenty of MA VT etc plates during the week.

Dcmcrider Wrote:
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> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It takes about three hours from the District to
> > Lynchburg. What would it take to make that two
> > hours?
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
> Lynchburg to DC is 173 miles, so a railroad where
> you can *average* 90 mph. That's what it would
> take.
>
> Three hours is not that bad...still faster than
> driving it if you hit Northern Virginia traffic,
> but bear in mind the current schedule is 3:48 on
> the Crescent and 3:38 on the Regional train.

Manassas to the Rapidan River, south of Culpepper, is mostly 79 MPH. Most of the rest of the route has curves, mostly 45 to 60 MPH, with some sections of 79 MPH. The ends of double track from Orange south are equilateral turnouts restricted to 45 MPH, although some are to be converted to normal turnouts with a straight side and reverse side that would speed up trains taking the "main line" route. There are 25 MPH restrictions in Orange and Charlottesville. So it would take a LOT of money to materially speed up the former Southern Railway, which was once upon a time all double track from DC to Atlanta.