Acela & Amtrak NEC (HSR BOS-NYP-WAS and branches only)

Shepard said:
By that logic why two stops in Boston?
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Shep -- you can't get up to much speed between South Station and Back Bay so the time spent starting and stopping is relatively painless -- note I would not stop the Express at Rt-128 as the run from Ruggles on is quite fast
 
WormtownNative said:
And why not stop in Providence?
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Wormtown -- for Express service you would go on to South Station and then either take a local Amtrak or T Commuter Rail back to Providence or you could take the Non-Express that would stop at Providence
 
Unfortunately the problems are often curves and bridges, not stops.

Acela's current pattern of stops is honed by very careful market analysis and is not likely the problem. Dropping NLC Groton was brave enough--express trains traditionally stopped there in part because the curve and bridge had slowed them to a crawl anyway, so there wasn't mych time lost in stopping and decent $ captured by doing so.

RTE 128 is great at targeting big travel $ close to home and far from Logan and TF Green. Same for New Carrollton on the DC End. They are great for out-competing air on convenience in rich 'burbs far from the Shuttle airports.

With more service throughout the day, you are likely to see a top Acela tier at rush hours stopping at "A" markets but some Acelas stopping at B+ stops like BWI. Metropark, and NLC/Groton (on the shoulders of the day)
 
whighlander, some of what you just said made sense, some of it did not. Yes, eliminating Route 128 makes sense for improved performance, as it lies on a high-speed stretch, outside of a major population center, and is served by Commuter Rail trains coming from either side (Providence or Boston). That brings me to my next point: Providence should not be skipped, even on express runs:

  1. Unlike Route 128, passengers can not just disembark one stop early (Connecticut, any way you slice it), and reach their destination via a Commuter Rail trip.
  2. Unlike Route 128, trains do need to slow down significantly when passing through Providence's underground station.
  3. Most importantly, unlike Route 128, Providence Station lies in the middle of a major population center, the second largest urban area in New England.

NOTE: In a full-build Commuter/Regional Rail Crazy Transit Pitch, Providence should be the only Amtrak stop in RI, but make no mistake that it should still be an Amtrak stop serving all intercity runs.
 
kevtron2000 said:
I want high-speed rail, but we should connect North and South Station first.
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Don't link them. It isn't the same "we" --either in who builds it (Amtrak HSR vs MassDOT NSRL) nor the same target passenger (intercity vs "suburban" trips).

Improving Orange headways and Back Bay ventilation is the best we can do in the next five years at connecting North-of-boston to Acela II

On Acela II procurement, they asked for proposals in July 2014 and bidders had to respond by October 2014, and last I heard they' get an approval trainset in late 2016 but not delivered in numbers by late 2017 (somebody correct me)
 
No train should ever skip Providence, for the reasons mentioned by Bigeman312. (By the way: yes, it's possible to revive Providence Union Station and the East Side Rail Tunnel, but it would require severing the connection to the existing line to the north, toward Pawtucket and Woonsocket. The curve radius would produce squeal, and the above-ground flying junction doesn't belong in the middle of a city center.)

Back Bay is actually reasonable to skip, via the Fairmount Line, which also doesn't have the sharp turn into South Station. Target speed for Fairmount should be 160 km/h, and this is about on a par with a Southwest Corridor with speed zones of 70 km/h from South Station to that sharp turn, 100 km/h through Back Bay without a stop, and 200 km/h farther south. 70 km/h into South Station would require the trains to mentally think of the station as starting one car-length farther south, and of the remainder as buffer. 100 through Back Bay depends on whether I measured the curve radius correctly on Google Earth, which isn't the easiest since it's underground there. If one of these is not possible, just go via Fairmount.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
What and where is that statue?!
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This is trackwork to go with the new 165mph constant-tension cateneary in New Jersey, yes? (based on the tall overhead transmission lines), so the sculpture, Spirit of Freedom is in Hamilton NJ.
pitynski-spirit-of-freedom.jpg

Pinpointed here: https://goo.gl/maps/Y7rmy

So all of Nexis' photos are from just northeast of Trenton NJ.
 
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Alon said:
No train should ever skip Providence, for the reasons mentioned by Bigeman312. (By the way: yes, it's possible to revive Providence Union Station and the East Side Rail Tunnel, but it would require severing the connection to the existing line to the north, toward Pawtucket and Woonsocket. The curve radius would produce squeal, and the above-ground flying junction doesn't belong in the middle of a city center.)

Back Bay is actually reasonable to skip, via the Fairmount Line, which also doesn't have the sharp turn into South Station. Target speed for Fairmount should be 160 km/h, and this is about on a par with a Southwest Corridor with speed zones of 70 km/h from South Station to that sharp turn, 100 km/h through Back Bay without a stop, and 200 km/h farther south. 70 km/h into South Station would require the trains to mentally think of the station as starting one car-length farther south, and of the remainder as buffer. 100 through Back Bay depends on whether I measured the curve radius correctly on Google Earth, which isn't the easiest since it's underground there. If one of these is not possible, just go via Fairmount.
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Fairmount will have the capacity for HS rail when it's running 18 minute headway DMUs?
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Fairmount will have the capacity for HS rail when it's running 18 minute headway DMUs?
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No, but it will have the capacity if it runs EMUs on 15-minute headways. 18-minute frequency is a terrible idea in general, but it also forces HSR to also go at 18-minute frequency, and since HSR has to share tracks with the Providence Line and the New Haven Line... you see where this is going.

If intercity trains do not divert to Fairmount, the only correct way to schedule the Providence Line is a 2-overtake schedule provided here. (The schedule does not mention South Coast trains, but, if electrified, they can fit without overtakes.) If intercity trains divert to the Fairmount Line, then the one-overtake schedule becomes a bit more attractive, and it's even possible to move the overtake to Mansfield, which is less tight.

The basic problem with the Fairmount diversion: it doesn't permit higher frequency than 15 minutes on each of regional and intercity trains, not without four-tracking more of the line. If Amtrak can fill more than 4 long tph then it can afford four-tracking wherever it wants, so I'm less worried about the Providence Line, but the MBTA might want to run more than 4 tph on the Fairmount Line in the future.

EDIT: I should add, the MBTA already runs the Providence Line at 3 tph, rising to 4 if you include Stoughton and 7 north of Readville including Franklin. Regardless of electrification, wherever HSR goes, Franklin Line trains should not go: if HSR runs on the current route, there's no room for Franklin Line trains and they should all divert to Fairmount to provide extra frequency. (And, FFS, the Franklin Line needs electrification more than the Providence Line, because of the frequent stops.) If HSR diverts to Fairmount, then Franklin Line trains should stay on the Southwest Corridor, unless they're all merged into Fairmount Line trains. In either case, every Providence and South Coast train should stop at Readville to facilitate transfers.
 
Northeast Corridor viewed from the SilverLiner V rear window in PA

1.

Northeast Corridor in Torresdale,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

2.

Northeast Corridor somewhere in PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

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Northeast Corridor somewhere in PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

4.

Northeast Corridor somewhere in PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

5.

Amtrak Silver Meteor #97 Rocketing down the NEC in PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

6.

Northeast Corridor in Croydon,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

Croydon Station

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Northeast Corridor in Croydon,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

8.

Northeast Corridor in Croydon,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

9.

Norfolk Southern in Croydon,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

10.

Northeast Corridor in Bristol,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

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Northeast Corridor in Morrisville,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

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Northeast Corridor in Morrisville,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

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Northeast Corridor in Morrisville,PA by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr


Trenton Cut

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Northeast Corridor in Trenton,NJ by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

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Northeast Corridor in Trenton,NJ by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr
 
Love the shape of those new Amtrak baggage cars!! :cool:
 
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