Thieves loot freight train on Chicago West Side
No word on whether Jesse James was there.
"It is a crime of opportunity in a West Side neighborhood that Shaw said, for many, is empty of opportunities.
"Who's really doing something about this, right?" Shaw said. "Because obviously this is a broken system."
If you'll gather 'round me, children
A story I will tell
'Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw
Oklahoma knew him well
Thieves loot freight train on West Side, Chicago police say; at least 6 arrested
Indiana’s Rochester & Erie doubles carload business in first year of operation
"The Rochester & Erie — operators of 13 miles of former Nickel Plate and Erie lines between Rochester and Argos, where it interchanges with NS. It was formerly known as Patriot Rail’s Elkhart & Western Railroad. It serves Grube’s scrapyard and Prairie Mills Products, providing Monday through Friday service as needed."
Indiana’s Rochester & Erie doubles carload business in first year of operation - Trains
Model train layout for 1940's Monon
Lafayette to Greencastle to Bloomington. The good old days!
The S scale Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville layout - Trains
Startup company proposes novel way to speed train passenger service
I love this! No idea if it's practical or not, but it's certainly innovative. The idea is to add self-propelled cars to trains, then the cars attach and detach themselves to trains on the fly. The cars stop at stations while the full train saves time since it doesn't have to stop. 🤯
#trains
Startup company proposes novel way to speed passenger service - Trains
Amtrak's Chicago-Miami Floridian
🤨 You can actually buy a seat on this train and keep it all the way from Chicago to Miami if you want to. But since it routes through Washington, D.C. and has a travel time of 48 hours I don't think I would.
https://www.narprail.org/happening-now/news/blog/amtrak-unveils-chicago-miami-floridian/
Michigan City Quiet Zone approved on South Shore Line
"The Federal Railroad Administration has approved the pending South Shore Line Michigan City quiet zone. Horns in the city will cease on Oct. 21.
“We are pleased to finally have the approval for the Quiet Zone,” Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch says. “This is something I helped champion for our neighborhoods last year as a member of the Common Council. "
Michigan City Quiet Zone approved on South Shore Line - Trains
IL should create an intercity bus program within Illinois DOT’s rail division
Expanding intercity bus service within the passenger rail program will achieve three key goals:
* Add missing frequencies to existing passenger rail routes
* Add service where none now exists, in advance of Amtrak service.
* Add smaller towns into the network
Passenger cars make move to Indiana Rail Experience
"Heavyweight Pullman Kitchi Gammi Club and former Union Pacific sleeper Pacific Island are shown in South Bend...the cars will be on the Pere Marquette for a move to Grand Rapids; after that, they will move as freight to the Indiana Northeastern Railroad."
It's all very nice I suppose, but I wish you could use these fancy trains to actually go places, rather than just have experiences.
News photo: Passenger cars make move to Indiana Rail Experience - Trains
Busting Some Passenger Rail Myths
"Whether it’s conspiracy theories about Amtrak, the paranoia about reducing car dependency, or any other myth, we’ve had to talk to people about it. For those feeling on the fence about passenger rail, here are some of the common myths we hear almost every day, and the truth about each one."
https://www.narprail.org/happening-now/news/blog/busting-some-passenger-rail-myths/
Virginia Buys Manassas Line from NS for Passenger Rail
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller: "(The line) will provide tremendous value to the Commonwealth—particularly Northern Viriginia—by not only supporting intercity rail, but also enabling VRE to implement night and weekend service to better meet customer demand. The deal achieves all of this while saving nearly $100 million.”
Electric Big Rigs Are Poised to Revolutionize the Trucking Industry
OK, but surely trains would be even better?
"Nationally, transportation accounts for nearly one-third of carbon emissions, and heavy-duty trucking is responsible for a quarter of that, adding more than 400 million metric tons of greenhouse gases to the earth’s atmosphere every year. "
Seeing America by train
What it’s really like to travel cross-country by rail.
(This is a long-form cartoon, actually, so click the gift link to see the pictures)
"I started in Northern California, and over the course of 80 hours, 12 states and 3,397 miles, I meandered my way alongside deserts, forests, mountains, rivers; through coal plants, suburban backyards, vast cornfields, and the occasional Big American City"
Railfan Roads: Pennsylvania’s U.S. 22
"U.S. 22 runs from Cincinnati to Newark, N.J., and generally follows the former Pennsylvania Railroad and Reading mainlines across Pennsylvania. U.S. 22’s railroad interest comes from the scope and variety of railroad attractions along the way — like a horizontal Christmas tree, with the railfan attractions as ornaments."
Why a giant coal merger matters to Class I railroads
Wow. A thoughtful, careful analysis on how the walking dead coal industry affects railroads. Maybe next they'll consider the effects of the horse-and-buggy industry.
Why a giant coal merger matters to Class I railroads: Analysis - Trains
Expanding capacity at Penn Station: it shouldn't be that expensive
"Even with very high turnover of passengers at central train stations, the dwell time is still usually measured in tens of seconds, and not minutes. In the limiting case, an American commuter train should be able to dump its entire load of passengers at one station in around two minutes."
#trains #transit #NewYork
by @Alon 
More on American Incuriosity, New York Regional Rail Edition, Part 2: Station Dwell Times
Plans to restore Midwest, Fort Wayne passenger rail system chug along
"Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA) helped the city secure a $500,000 grant for phase one funding in the project, dubbed the Midwest Connect Passenger Rail Corridor.
The corridor would serve Pittsburgh, Columbus, Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Chicago, and other cities in between. The proposed route would connect a population of 14.7 million, spanning roughly 545 miles."
Plans to restore Midwest, Fort Wayne passenger rail system chug along
4th Annual Midwest Railroad Fair to Be Held at Linden Depot Museum
"The Linden Depot Museum is set to host the 4th Annual Midwest Railroad Fair on Saturday, August 10th, from 10 AM to 4 PM. This eagerly anticipated event promises a day of family-friendly activities and a chance to immerse in the rich history of railroads.
A highlight of this year’s fair will be the operation of the museum’s historic 1837 steam engine."
How to Improve Domestic High-Speed Rail Project Delivery
A study from NYU with five recommendations to expedite these projects:
* Long-term funding and staffing at the federal level
* Adopt technical standards set by the USDOT
* Stronger ties among universities and industry
* Invest in staff to develop and manage well-defined projects
* Separate the planning process from environmental reviews.
A New Path to Chicago-Milwaukee Regional Rail
Could there be an hourly train from Chicago to Milwaukee? This is a very technical article on how to get that done. I don't fully understand the details, need to study it more.
"Chicago and Milwaukee are big enough, and close enough, that hourly service should be the minimum.
Rebuilding the Union Pacific’s lakefront line to extend Metra’s UP North service is the quickest way to make it happen."
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/a-new-path-to-chicago-milwaukee-regional-rail/
If all flights of less than 1,000 miles were moved to rail, there would be a 5.6% reduction in emissions but only 0.17% of journeys would be affected.
"Less than 3% of our trips are responsible for around 60% of miles and 70% of emissions shows how important long-distance travel is in the fight to combat climate change."
The study only covers the UK, so I wonder if numbers for the USA would be similar.
True scale of carbon impact from long-distance travel revealed
Boston: Massive Economic Benefits to Building the North-South Rail Link
I'm not sure I understand this project. Any Bostonians help me out?
"The Rail Link is a less than 3 mile tunnel that would finally unify Massachusetts: enabling electric Regional Rail for all of Eastern Massachusetts, frequent service to Springfield, Pittsfield, and Albany, transfers with MBTA rapid-transit, and Amtrak service from Maine to New York. "
Electric Trains are the Powerhouse EVs
"The kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy consumed by a French TGV high-speed train with 350 riders is less than half the energy needed to move the same number of people in electric cars (7,084 kWh vs. 14,420 kWh). And that’s assuming 1.7 passengers per car. The average car occupancy in the US is closer to 1.5 people."
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/electric-trains-are-the-powerhouse-evs/
Amtrak major train schedules
Legacy intercity rail operator Amtrak and up-and-comer Brightline are competing for a chance to operate rail between major cities in the state of Ohio.
"At Brightline’s Florida speeds, Clevelanders could travel to Columbus in 100 minutes, to Detroit in 2 hours and 15 minutes, Cincinnati in three and a half hours and downtown Chicago in four and a half hours. Travelers will enjoy stations and trains that are modern, clean and bright"
Designing Moon Trains
"In rail engineering, lateral acceleration is usually measured not in units of acceleration, but in units of distance...
a = (e/k)g
The upshot is that a standard-gauge railway on the Moon can expect to have a maximum total equivalent cant of 300 mm or somewhat more, same as on Earth – but that is compatible with a value of a of 0.33 m/s^2. In effect, curve radii have to be six times wider, assuming equal technology."
A New Path to Chicago – Milwaukee Regional Rail
"With just seven roundtrips daily, the Hiawatha is already the most popular state-supported Amtrak route in the Midwest. Hourly trains trains will bring Chicago and Milwaukee closer together, strengthen the economic and social ties between them, and help revitalize both city centers.
This corridor is also the foundation for building regional rail to Green Bay, Madison, and many other cities"
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/a-new-path-to-chicago-milwaukee-regional-rail/
@mekkaokereke If Amtrak comes through on the new Miami to Chicago line, something as environmentally unfriendly as flying may no longer be necessary in Atlanta. #trains
Fixed Seats Come to the Northeast Corridor
I'm fascinated by this. Apparently now, Amtrak crews spend three hours each trip reversing all the seats in the cars so they all will face forward for the trip. The change means that half the seats will face forward and half backward. This is a big "so what?" for me, but I guess there are people who get trainsick from sitting backwards. But man, three hours?
https://www.narprail.org/happening-now/news/blog/fixed-seats-come-to-the-northeast-corridor/
Amtrak proposing a Chicago-Miami line #trains
Arizona GOP lawmakers move to derail chance for Tucson-to-Phoenix commuter train
“People love their personal automobiles. They love the freedom that it entails them, they love the ability to go when they want, where they want, how they want.” - Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman, who wants to spend a gazillion jillion taxpayer dollars on highways instead.
Arizona GOP lawmakers move to derail chance for Tucson-to-Phoenix commuter train
Attention, Michigan: Start building the Coast to Coast line now
"Supporters at the Michigan Environmental Council call it the “Coast to Coast Corridor” because it runs from Holland on Lake Michigan to Detroit on the narrows that joins Lake Huron and Lake Erie...the Coast to Coast corridor is 177 miles long as originally proposed. That’s the mileage from Holland to Detroit via the former Pere Marquette Railroad, now part of CSX Corp."
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/attention-michigan-start-building-the-coast-to-coast-line-now/
Valley Metro opens new service line in northwest Phoenix
"The project showcases the first elevated rail station in the city with a bridge going over Interstate 17.
It will run west from 19th and Dunlap avenues and curve north on 25th Avenue, then west on Mountain View Road to where the old Metrocenter Mall is. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego says the light rail will bring in new investments."
South Shore Line's Double Track Northwest Indiana project is 97% complete.
"The almost $650 million project that includes 16.9 miles of a second track is estimated to be complete in May. The new track will go from Gary to Michigan City.
Construction of the Miller Station building is underway and should be finished later this month...Construction of the new Portage/Ogden Dunes high-level platform is almost done."
Pretty exciting, @pollak ?
Double-track project 97% complete, according to latest update • Northwest Indiana Business Magazine
O’Hare flights that could be served better by trains
This is kind of pie-in-the-sky, and I really prefer longform articles to this kind of hyperlinked infographic...still, conceptually, I love the idea!
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/ohare-flights-served-better-by-trains/
Plans underway to bring Amtrak back to Louisville and Southern Indiana
"Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Friday the grant will be the first step in bringing a passenger rail service back to the region. The grant will fund research into the viability of creating the 115-mile corridor between Louisville and Indianapolis.
The potential track would include new stops in the Indianapolis International Airport, Jeffersonville and Columbus."
Plans underway to bring Amtrak back to Louisville and Southern Indiana
A very pessimistic take on all the new rail line investments announced this week.
"I expect the money to, in 10 years, be barely visible as intercity rail improvement – just enough that aggrieved defenders will point to some half-built line or to a line where the program reduced trip times by 15 minutes for billions of dollars, but not enough to make a difference to intercity rail demand."
The United States Learned Little from Obama-Era Rail Investment
Planning will get underway for a daily run of the Amtrak Cardinal route through Indiana. The Cardinal runs from Cincinnati to Chicago with stops in Indianapolis, Lafayette, and other towns.
"Daily Cardinal Service, increasing service frequency from three days per week to daily on Amtrak’s current service to Cincinnati between New York City, Washington, DC and Chicago, IL via the States of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois."
NPR's Michel Martin talks to Ganesh Sitaraman about the challenges of air travel. He is the author of: Why Flying is Miserable and How to Fix It.
(You fix it with high-speed rail, sir)
Flying has become miserable — but it hasn't always been that way
Extreme Weather Is Forcing Redesign of World’s Busiest Airports
"Airports around the world are relocating sensitive electrical equipment to rooftops to protect it from flooding, reinforcing runways to handle extreme temperature swings and revving up air conditioning as climate change complicates operations."
Ooh, I know! Perhaps they could redesign them into train stations!
President Biden announced plans for a new rail and shipping corridor that will connect India, the Middle East and Europe — a long-term push to improve the way goods, energy and information moves across borders.
Now if we could only get him to build a rail corridor in THIS country
#trains #g20
At the G20, Biden joins forces with India and the Middle East, sidelining China
Small cities are being cut off from the air travel network? Hey NPR, they need to build train lines not airports.
More small airports are being cut off from the air travel network. This is why
Teach them a real lesson, Pete! Put money into building high speed rail lines instead!
DOT Secretary Buttigieg wants to hold airlines accountable for delays, cancellations