Passenger Trains > Current NEC consists

In looking at videos and doing actual railfanning from Old Saybrook and Clinton, CT., it appears Amtrak NEC regionals are running with 9 or 10 cars.  These appear to be the BOS-WAS trains.  I think these consists appear to be pre-pandemic.  I am assuming they are running full.  Anyone have additional information.

I rode #82 from Washington to Boston yesterday (Sun 5/28/23), and the train was pretty full the entire way.  This was the middle day of a 3-day weekend, which is supposed to be the slow travel day!  I'd say 75-80% of all seats full almost the entire way. 

dwatry Wrote:
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> I rode #82 from Washington to Boston yesterday
> (Sun 5/28/23), and the train was pretty full the
> entire way.  This was the middle day of a 3-day
> weekend, which is supposed to be the slow travel
> day!  I'd say 75-80% of all seats full almost the
> entire way. 

Interesting that Amtrak can find enough coaches to run the northeast corridor properly, but the rest of the country that also pays taxes gets scraps. Two coaches on the cardinal in summer season does not cut it. First of all, we only get a tri weekly train, and then they won’t even put enough cars on it. I’m tempted to write my congressman and tell them just to cut Amtrak spending off if they’re going to keep giving all the other states crap service. This nonsense needs to end.

Posted from iPhone

"Tempted to write?"   Everyone here who cares about the anemic condition of the LD trains, should be writing to congress and the sec of transportation
 

The NEC Congressional delegation does not really care and have swallowed all of Gardner's cockamamie excuses and kool-aide when pushed. That was my experience with Schumer's staffer. But definitely write to all the others.

Forget Buttigieg. He is Coscia and Gardner's choir boy, PR rep, and doesn't know squat despite being an ex-officio director on the Amtrak Board. He also AWOL during the last Chicago PTC meltdown.

Interesting that Gardner judges Superliners as not commercially viable to restore to service when the oldest one is still two years newer than the newest Amfleet-1, 1/3rd of the Horizon fleet is 5 years newer yet but mothballed, while all too many and older Amfleet-2 are in Corridor services. It's called slight of hand and sabotage.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/23 03:58 by joemvcnj.

Some are 8.

I don't think many people would be comfortable riding in a 50 year old Amfleet corridor coach from NY to Florida, or Boston to Chicago.  No leg rests, minimal recline, one rest room, higher capacity seating as there's less room between the seats.

But, I suspect people would be very happy to be riding in a downgraded Acela 1 coach on these routes...

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think many people would be comfortable
> riding in a 50 year old Amfleet corridor coach
> from NY to Florida, or Boston to Chicago.  No leg
> rests, minimal recline, one rest room, higher
> capacity seating as there's less room between the
> seats.
>
> But, I suspect people would be very happy to be
> riding in a downgraded Acela 1 coach on these
> routes...

Nobody said to run Amfleet-1 to Florida.
It is physically impossible to convert Acela cars into regular railroad cars with traps. 

There are now 18 Amfleet-2 cars on the two Canadian trains. Pre-pandemic, there were 10.
There are now 16 Amfleet-2 cars on the Pennsylvanian/Palmetto. Pre-pandemic, there were 12.   
That makes 12 more on eastern corridor trains.

Adding a 6th coach to the Lake Shore and a 3rd coach to the Cardinal requires just 5 of them 
There are numerous Amfleet-1 and Amfleet-2 cars on Chicago corridors. 
There are 35 Horizon cars NOT active. 

Gardner is actively conducting sabotage to the LD network. 

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/23 06:41 by joemvcnj.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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>[[Mr Buttigieg] was also AWOL during the last Chicago PTC meltdown.
>

AWOL? What was he supposed to do? Show up with an entourage for photo ops after "touring" the Chicago coach yards? Thump and rage like a well-known tycoon and publicity hound? In the alternative, issue inane "press releases"? Anyway, I suspect that the Sec'y of Transportation has a lot of things to worry about, even (or maybe especially) in the Age of Deregulation.

 

widowsihler Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> >[ was also AWOL during the last Chicago PTC
> meltdown.
> >
>
> AWOL? What was he supposed to do? Show up with an
> entourage for photo ops after "touring" the
> Chicago coach yards? Thump and rage like a
> well-known tycoon and publicity hound? In the
> alternative, issue inane "press releases"? Anyway,
> I suspect that the Sec'y of Transportation has a
> lot of things to worry about, even (or maybe
> especially) in the Age of Deregulation.

Well he did that during Southwest Airlines issues over the holidays.  However it did seem he was nowhere to be found for Amtrak's PTC problem.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/pete-buttigieg-calls-out-southwest-airlines-letter-lays-out-priorities

widowsihler Wrote:
>
> AWOL? What was he supposed to do? Show up with an
> entourage for photo ops after "touring" the
> Chicago coach yards? Thump and rage like a
> well-known tycoon and publicity hound? In the
> alternative, issue inane "press releases"? Anyway,
> I suspect that the Sec'y of Transportation has a
> lot of things to worry about, even (or maybe
> especially) in the Age of Deregulation.

For a month, he would not stop talking about SWA all over the news channels. 
He sits on the Amtrak Board, unlike SWA. When everything departing Chicago for 3 days is cancelled, he can off his duff, investigate, and make public statements. This is not an MTH train set. Amtrak management is obviously deficient but Chair Coscia obviously does not care, so another Board member who happens to be also the DOT Secretary should not be playing lap dog. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/23 11:58 by joemvcnj.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are now 16 Amfleet-2 cars on the
> Pennsylvanian/Palmetto.
>
> Gardner is actively conducting sabotage to the LD
> network. 
>
>  

Putting Amfleet 2 cars on the Palmetto is active sabotage to the LD network? I am sure Amfleet 2 cars are appreciated on the really long haul day routes such as the Palmetto the same they are by overnight coach passengers on other routes - and this is a long distance train even officially. Somehow I suspect if they put Amfleet 2 cars on 65/66/67 that’d be ok to many here because many people seem to classify those along with the overnight long hauls even though some of these day running routes run longer distances. It seems to many it’s more about overnight travel and sleepers and diners than it is about trains providing long distance transportation. I’m all for those things where it makes sense and it makes sense in a lot of the network but ultimately it’s about providing transportation and there are many instances where day running service has advantages - the Palmetto provides a decent daytime service to many stations that the meteor hits at zero dark thirty. There’s a lot of places where more trains like the Palmetto and Carolinian would do good - not replacing or phasing out overnight service but in addition to as well as a building block to expand service to unserved areas. Seems like if a train only runs during the day around here it’s somehow not worthy.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/23 15:35 by lordsigma.

lordsigma Wrote:

> Putting Amfleet 2 cars on the Palmetto is active
> sabotage to the LD network? I am sure Amfleet 2
> cars are appreciated on the really long haul day
> routes such as the Palmetto the same they are by
> overnight coach passengers on other routes - and
> this is a long distance train even officially.
> Somehow I suspect if they put Amfleet 2 cars on
> 65/66/67 that’d be ok to many here because many
> people seem to classify those along with the
> overnight long hauls even though some of these day
> running routes run longer distances. It seems to
> many it’s more about overnight travel and
> sleepers and diners than it is about trains
> providing long distance transportation. I’m all
> for those things where it makes sense and it makes
> sense in a lot of the network but ultimately
> it’s about providing transportation and there
> are many instances where day running service has
> advantages - the Palmetto provides a decent
> daytime service to many stations that the meteor
> hits at zero dark thirty. There’s a lot of
> places where more trains like the Palmetto and
> Carolinian would do good - not replacing or
> phasing out overnight service but in addition to.
> Seems like if a train only runs during the day
> around here it’s somehow not worthy.

Yes, it is sabotage. Look at the consists on the other past and present trains and figure it out for yourself. They didn't make the Maple Leaf have 5 Amfleet- 2 cars as opposed to 3 of them because it is a long trip to Toronto as the boasted when they killed bike service, which was Amtrak's excuse because you can put everyone in Canada who ride that train in one coach. 

The Amfleet-2 cars are on all those corridor trains in greater number than pre-pandemic so as to screw the overnight trains and leaves 1/3rd the Horizon fleet parked. 3 Amfleet-2 and 1 Amfleet-1 are fine for the Pennsylvanian and Palmetto which occasional swap train sets. Activate 4 Horizon coaches, send 4 Amfleet-1 coaches from Chicago to NY, assign to those 2 trains,.and there is the 3rd coach for the Cardinal sets plus 2 spares. 



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/23 16:14 by joemvcnj.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think many people would be comfortable
> riding in a 50 year old Amfleet corridor coach
> from NY to Florida, or Boston to Chicago.  No leg
> rests, minimal recline, one rest room, higher
> capacity seating as there's less room between the
> seats.
>
> But, I suspect people would be very happy to be
> riding in a downgraded Acela 1 coach on these
> routes...

Actually, a standard amfleet coach would do just fine for shorter distance riders on any of the eastern long distance routes. Just assign people traveling under 300 miles to them. That certainly could be used on the cardinal to fill in the much-needed third coach. Instead, no imagination Amtrak just lets the train run with ridiculously low capacity, because you know that’s how you really make more money. 🙄

Posted from iPhone

Are any of the Horizon cars still fitted for LD service?

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I don't think many people would be comfortable
> > riding in a 50 year old Amfleet corridor coach
> > from NY to Florida, or Boston to Chicago.  No
> leg
> > rests, minimal recline, one rest room, higher
> > capacity seating as there's less room between
> the
> > seats.
> >
> > But, I suspect people would be very happy to be
> > riding in a downgraded Acela 1 coach on these
> > routes...
>
> Nobody said to run Amfleet-1 to Florida.
> It is physically impossible to convert Acela cars
> into regular railroad cars with traps. 
>
> There are now 18 Amfleet-2 cars on the two
> Canadian trains. Pre-pandemic, there were 10.
> There are now 16 Amfleet-2 cars on the
> Pennsylvanian/Palmetto. Pre-pandemic, there were
> 12.   
> That makes 12 more on eastern corridor trains.
>
> Adding a 6th coach to the Lake Shore and a 3rd
> coach to the Cardinal requires just 5 of them 
> There are numerous Amfleet-1 and Amfleet-2 cars on
> Chicago corridors. 
> There are 35 Horizon cars NOT active. 
>
> Gardner is actively conducting sabotage to the LD
> network. 
>
>  

ST214 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are any of the Horizon cars still fitted for LD
> service?

Not any longer. The 8 that were have long since been converted back. 

pdt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Tempted to write?"   Everyone here who cares
> about the anemic condition of the LD trains,
> should be writing to congress and the sec of
> transportation
>  

That seemes to not even be worth it the way things are going!