Comments on: Transit-Oriented America, Part 4: The Trains

By: Dave H.

Dave H. — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:31:16 +0000

TGV’s are electric. From Wikipedia:

“It was originally planned that the TGV, then standing for très grande vitesse (very high speed) or turbine grande vitesse (high speed turbine), would be propelled by gas turbine-electric locomotives… The first prototype, TGV 001, was the only TGV constructed with this engine – following the increase in the price of oil during the 1973 energy crisis, gas turbines were deemed impractical and the project turned to electricity from overhead lines. The electricity was to be generated by France’s new nuclear power stations.” But it is true that Acela-like speeds can be reached by gas-turbine trains, like Bombardier’s jet train.

The NEC is only 150mph in two places – both short stretches between New Haven and Boston. Between New Rochelle and New Haven, I think track speed is a measly 79 mph, often even lower. This does prove your point about Amtrak-ownership, though: New Haven to New Rochelle is the only non-Amtrak dispatched and maintained section of the NEC (it’s owned by ConnDot and NYDot and dispatched by Metro-North).

By: Angus Grieve-Smith

Angus Grieve-Smith — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:29:50 +0000

Sorry to quibble, D, but the TGV is electric:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6521295.stm

Sadly, political fumbling means we still haven’t gotten high-speed diesel-electric trains on the Empire Corridor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turboliner

By: D Rock

D Rock — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:10:24 +0000

Not sure the NEC is fastest due to electrification; that only makes a significant difference for frequent starts and stops. (FYI: the TGV isn’t electric.) NEC isn’t even up to 150 MPH in many parts due to track curvature. But Amtrak’s ownership of tracks matters a lot.

A case in point: Amtrak owns a large portion of track around the IN-MI border on the Chicago-Detroit “Wolverine” line — and trains on that section of track hit 110 MPH in regular service. As for getting stuck behind freights: the Chicago-Milwaukee “Hiawatha” service has the highest on-time percentage of anything Amtrak runs — although it is limited to the FRA usual of 79 MPH.
- – - – -
Too bad you didn’t ride the South Shore train froom South Bend, IN into Chicago — and then take Metra north to connect with Amtrak. And I woul dhave liked to have read someone’s impression of LA’s Metrolink. But hey, great trip!

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:42:24 +0000

This railway love-in would be incomplete without mention of the Sunnyside railyards at the Hunters Point Ave LIRR Station. On the weekends it is completely deserted and you can check out the various “specialty” cars up close (snow plow, rail car washer, tie layers, as well as watch the 6 or so different working passenger types in action. When we lived in LIC I used to visit here often with my son. Almost as much fun as the MTA musuem in downtown Brooklyn and its free!

By: Michael Gehl, MD

Michael Gehl, MD — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:46:52 +0000

Well! Someone else who enjoys trains! As the son of a railroad executive, I was lucky to be among the last generation to ride “The Great Trains”. I was in medical school on May 1, 1971 (“Amtrak Day”), and thought it was all over. Fortunately, not true. Living in New York City, I use the Northeast Corridor/Acela extensively, and try at least one or two times a year to make a long-distance trip, my most recent one almost identical to the author’s, only in reverse. Why would I wish to go any other way? Anerica (except a few junkyards) IS “The Beautiful”, and needs to be seen from the ground without gripping a steering wheel. Lets’ hope a new administration will finally let Amtrak spread its wings (oops – wrong metaphor…), and give us a “Green” mode of transport, both high-speed corridors and long-distance routes so we can All see “America the Beautiful”!

By: DaveKCMO

DaveKCMO — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:39:28 +0000

glad you had the parlour car on the coast starlight. i was surprised to get one on my trip and it made for the most enjoyable segment. wine+train=goodness.

By: Aaron Donovan

Aaron Donovan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:53:12 +0000

Momos, I would say the northeast corridor is generally faster than the rails beyond. You don’t have to worry about getting stuck behind freight trains because Amtrak owns much of the right-of-way on the corridor. Of course it’s also electrified, which may or may not have an affect on speed or acceleration.

By: Angus Grieve-Smith

Angus Grieve-Smith — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:17:05 +0000

Paul Theroux has taken some of my dream rail trips, although the way he tells them, they weren't exactly dreamy.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:40:01 +0000

It’s not only Caltrain that’s accommodating to bicyclists. All the Amtrak California routes (Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquin, Capital Corridor) have bike racks in every coach. Amtrak California even publishes a brochure listing all the great biking routes/destinations that are accessible by train. The big commuter service in So Cal (Metrolink) also has racks in every coach.

By: Kevin Monaghan

Kevin Monaghan — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:21:39 +0000

You have taken my dream rail trip; I am green with envy of your green adventure. Thanks for documenting it.

By: Ken F

Ken F — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:51:29 +0000

Gee, this whole series is great!

The Lakeshore ride reminds me of a train we have here in Washington, D.C. It also goes to Chicago, but it leaves from one of our grand old stations, that is still a train station, Union Station. It also uses the high level cars that Amtrak runs in the west. In fact, last time I checked, the equipment continued to L.A as the Super Chief.

By: ddartley

ddartley — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:17:19 +0000

Speaking of Amtrak, wish me luck–I just did a voiceover audition for a couple of their radio spots. Let there be karma!

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:49:18 +0000

The bike car in Caltrain is a nice feature, and in fact I use it twice a day, every day now. There’s a very simple reason for that: I live in San Francisco, and work in Silicon Valley. And the public transportation in Silicon Valley is so bad that the bike is almost literally the only way to get from the station to where I work. Well, I suppose I could take a bus from the train, which would require taking a slower train and add maybe 40 minutes to my commute. They have those bike cars there because there’s a very significant demand for them!

By: momos

momos — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:52:17 +0000

This is fascinating stuff. Thanks for the great photos. I’m especially interested in how the Northeast Corridor was the same or different than the rest of Amtrak’s network.