Passenger Trains > Schumer wants FRA to speed up permitting and testing of new Acela

Link to article https://www.eveningtribune.com/news/20200108/alstoms-new-train-awaits-permit-for-cross-country-trip-to-test-track

Schumer wants testing speeded-up to get new train sets in service as soon as possible.  We don't need another example of testing fast and ignoring problems like is going on at Boeing.  Just do it right like the test track folks have over a long period of time.  Even with testing the first Acela sets had issues that came forward during initial service.  Equipment that is out there for a 30 to 50 year life span always has issues over time.

jtwlunch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Link to
> article https://www.eveningtribune.com/news/20200
> 108/alstoms-new-train-awaits-permit-for-cross-coun
> try-trip-to-test-track
>
> Schumer wants testing speeded-up to get new train
> sets in service as soon as possible.  We don't
> need another example of testing fast and ignoring
> problems like is going on at Boeing.  Just do it
> right like the test track folks have over a long
> period of time.  Even with testing the first
> Acela sets had issues that came forward during
> initial service.  Equipment that is out there for
> a 30 to 50 year life span always has issues over
> time.

I don't understand what the rush is, it's not like the current stuff is falling apart as it runs down the tracks.  I whole heartedly agree, test it right and don't take any shortcuts.

Nathan

jtwlunch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Schumer wants testing speeded-up to get new train
> sets in service as soon as possible.  We don't
> need another example of testing fast and ignoring
> problems like is going on at Boeing.  Just do it
> right like the test track folks have over a long
> period of time.  Even with testing the first
> Acela sets had issues that came forward during
> initial service.  Equipment that is out there for
> a 30 to 50 year life span always has issues over
> time.

I agree with your general sentiments and I sure am not a fan of Schumer, but it sounds like he is just trying to get them out to Pueblo as soon as possible.

I seem to remember Santa Fe derailing about eight passenger cars on the way to Pueblo in the early 1990s. Is my memory good? Anyhow, the test train needs to be able to get there safely.

The first sentence:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer on Wednesday urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to approve Amtrak’s permit application for a one-time movement of its just-constructed Next Generation High-Speed train from Hornell to Colorado.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/20 07:19 by darkcloud.

The whole story reads like a press release.  Not sure if it is from Schumer or Alstom.  No info on how long or why they are waiting on a wavier or if Amtrak has actually submitted a request yet.

I believe Schumer is well known for his publicity stunts.

Amtrak move from Niagara Falls to Hornell going to Alsrom this morning with a P42 and a Viewliner II Diner. Word is going for equipment testing. Will have to use the turntable at Alstom to turn the P42 so it canhead back west.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/20 11:23 by PCCRNSEngr.

As I understand this article -  

For some reason, the first completed train set must be tested and approved in Colorado--otherwise, construction must stop on remaining 27 sets.
But, before the train set can  be moved - the FRA has to approve Amtrak's application to move it to Colorado.

I can see the possibility of the FRA (not a friend of Amtrak) dragging their feet - and thus stopping or delaying further construction of the Acela-2project.

I'm glad Schumer is shining the spotlight on the FRA to fast track Amtrak's application.  I think he know how "The Swamp" can play games with Amtrak.
Apparently, he was instrumental in securing a loan for this project to begin with, according to the article.

Is Schumer up for re-election and needs a photo op? It would be typical of him.

There's an old saying in the equipment acquisition business that goes something like this:  " If you want it bad ...... you get it bad".
The HHP-8 is an excellent example .......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/20 16:17 by cr2581.

ronald321 Wrote:

>
> I can see the possibility of the FRA (not a friend
> of Amtrak) dragging their feet - and thus stopping
> or delaying further construction of the
> Acela-2project.
>

Why is the FRA "not a friend of Amtrak"?

Schumer's an idiot, how come the Cascades Train went on the ground!

Posted from Android

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Schumer's an idiot, how come the Cascades Train
> went on the ground!
>
> Posted from Android

That's a non sequitur in my book.

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Schumer's an idiot, how come the Cascades Train
> went on the ground!
>
> Posted from Android

This thread provides an interesting microcosm of how broken our political discourse is these days.  An elected official - in public, not in some secret venue - asks a federal agency to speed up a very simple permitting process to keep a major public investment program on schedule.  But instead of congratulating that official for trying to make the Federal bureaucracy more responsive, most posters here deride both the action and the motivation with non-sequitors and outright falsehoods.  Did any of you read the newspaper article?  No where does it suggest that the Senator proposes to cut short testing of the train.  What he’s asking is that the FRA simply move expeditiously to allow the train to get to where it will be tested.  It’s telling that the same voices that - with some justification - are quick to pounce on the previous administration for not adequately following through on Federal rail investment now criticize someone who is trying to do just that.

Dave



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/20 13:50 by DavidP.

DavidP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did any of you read the newspaper
> article?  
>
> Dave

It doesn't sound like it.  The senator never suggests that the FRA is in any way dragging its feet -- or that the waiver application has even been submitted.  This is a story in a local newspaper for local consumption supporting a local industry by a politician representing the area.  Every politician worth his salt does the same.  There is no news here.  Yet folks are quick to label the senator a fool and the FRA as anti-Amtrak. Maybe both are true but there is nothing in the article to suggest that.  Oh well.

Gordon



 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/20 05:37 by gbmott.

Let him do what he can to get this project done.  Other than that, I can't stand the guy.  He's obnoxious.

Yes, some people are so blind,  that they can't see when a politician is trying to help then.

Senator Schumer doesn't face serious opposition when he runs for re-election.

But he does pay close attention to issues like employment in Hornell, Elmira, and other passenger rail manufacturing and assembly places. It is a huge deal upstate.

He goes back to NY every week end.

Posted from Android

NY's Southern Tier is also very economically impoverished and has for 40 years been de-industrializing and de-populating. They cannot get beyond their manufacturing basis. The various universities is what keeps them on the map. 

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Schumer's an idiot, how come the Cascades Train
> went on the ground!
>
> Posted from Android

Even by your standards this is a pretty absurd post. What does one have to do with the other?