Passenger Trains > Amtrak suspends service to San Bernardino station

Amtrak's Southwest Chief service at San Bernardino has been suspended due to the closure of the platform used by Amtrak.

The reason is unsafe light poles (installed three years ago) that can topple in high winds!!!!

You truly can't make this stuff up!

The Santa Ana etc winds aren't something new.  I wonder if the lightpole specs didn't reference standing up to 60 mph winds, etc, or if the inspectors just ignored a non-compliance. 

Here in coastal Florida, the power company is replacing all of its wood electric poles with concrete towers.  The goal is to replace 500 miles of main service in 2020 in our county.  Much easier to string new wire than install new poles and string wire.

That why you pay big $$$ for such questionable legal wisdom. Rudy G work for Amtrak besides Trump

GenePoon Wrote:
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> Amtrak's Southwest Chief service at San Bernardino
> has been suspended due to the closure of the
> platform used by Amtrak.
>
> The reason is unsafe light poles (installed three
> years ago) that can topple in high winds!!!!

Thought it was the Metrolink Downtown San Bernardino station that was closed for 30 days for emergency repairs.
At least that's what metrolink has been putting out for the past week or so.
The lights at the San Bernardino Depot have been there for awhile.

(Yes, there is a difference between the Downtown San Bernardino station and the San Bernardino Depot station.)

Eliminating a stop will reduce ridership.  What else do we need to know?

Any excuse (or cover-up) will do. "Safety" is always a good cover to hide behind. 

Instead of replacing the light poles---drop the stop -- Get the picture?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/20 17:19 by ronald321.

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Eliminating a stop will reduce ridership.  What
> else do we need to know?
>
> Any excuse (or cover-up) will do. "Safety" is
> always a good cover to hide behind. 
>
> Instead of replacing the light poles---drop the
> stop -- Get the picture?

San Bernardino station is not owned by Amtrak. The decision to suspend Amtrak and Metrolink service at SNB was not made by Amtrak.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/20 17:40 by prr60.

Seems the work done at San Bernardino Station and San Bernardino Transit Terminal was done by the same contractor.  Low Bid comes to mind.

So yes the transit terminal is shut down for Metrolink, San Bernardio Station now has  limited platform length for Metrolink.

As to loss Amtrak passengers for closing San Bernardino station, its 20 minutes away from Riverside, which provides overnight parking which San Bernardino does not, offers more and better security then San Bernardino.

The owners of San Bernardino Station have been near impossible to work with for the past 20 + years. Amtrak should have pulled out years ago after having been jerked around. I was part of team when Amtrak was trying to obtain space to have a staffed station again.  First offer was a about a 20 x 20 ft room, with the ticket window being accessed only from the platform, no weather protection. Historian's remember this as the Santa Fe company mail room and before that the position of Station Master occupied  until the late 1940's.

Then space now occupied by the Historical Society was looked at later, but conditions and cost were out of reach.

Many years ago I was stationed on Okinawa.  Okinawa is in typhoon country.  There were concrete polls all over the place.  They even had concrete stop signs and other traffic signs cast in concrete and usually, they were on concrete polls.  I guess that if the sign broke loose from the standard, it would fall to the ground instead of sailing through the air and injuring someone.  While I was there we had a typhoon approaching with wind gusting to over 200 MPH.  It turned north about 36 hours before it would have hit us but we still had constant winds of about 50 MPH.  There were no wired down as far as I know.

John

 "Rudy G work for Amtrak"
**************************************
Source?
 

SANSR Wrote:
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>  "Rudy G work for Amtrak"
> **************************************
Speaking from personal knowledge, SANSR has finally summed up what Amtrak management is all about..."Next Stop Will Be: Philadelphia Four Season Landscaping Station." Let's see, the code could be: PFL or PFS or maybe PRG.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/20 09:45 by RRBaron.

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Eliminating a stop will reduce ridership.  What
> else do we need to know?
>
> Any excuse (or cover-up) will do. "Safety" is
> always a good cover to hide behind. 
>
> Instead of replacing the light poles---drop the
> stop -- Get the picture?

Ronald, more proof that LD has a short shelf life?

Date: 11/15/20 09:22
Re: Amtrak suspends service to San Bernardino station
Author: RRBaron SANSR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  "Rudy G work for Amtrak"
> **************************************
Speaking from personal knowledge, SANSR has finally summed up what Amtrak management is all about..."Next Stop Will Be: Philadelphia Four Season Landscaping Station." Let's see, the code could be: PFL or PFS or maybe PRG.
*******************************************************************
RRB, just for clarification, I did not initate the 'Rudy G' statement.  It came from another individual.  I was merely inquiring if there was a source for the declarative, or was it a moot point wishful thinking-out-loud approach.
Thanks
S in VA

I hope they are not running any trains on the tracks by the platform. Lamp post might fall on a freight train and kill the crew members.
Dennis

Posted from iPhone

This is gonna make some people upset! 

Are these the light poles that are the issue?  I took this shot in 2016 after the platform rehab.  That platform is like an airport landing strip!
The base of the poles could be a little more stout, I guess.

---

That explains why they have to shut it down, but hen again what you get when you go cheap, a terrible product!

ronald321 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Eliminating a stop will reduce ridership.  What
> else do we need to know?
>
> Any excuse (or cover-up) will do. "Safety" is
> always a good cover to hide behind. 
>
> Instead of replacing the light poles---drop the
> stop -- Get the picture?

What picture, you never been in that neck of the woods when the winds get extremely nasty where trucks on I15 have a Hell of a time trying to stay upright!

Any updates?   I haven't seen anything in the San Bernardino Sun / Press Enterprise or local TV news on this one.  

In genera,l the newspapers only report on a News Release that crosses a reporters desk,  Or is a rape or scandal.

The old beat reporter is gone.