Other People's Rail: Amtrak, commuter rail, rapid transit news & views outside New England

The EGE said:
I have to wonder how much is simply due to the number of grade crossings, both as collision points and as access points for trespassers and suicidal people. A lot of the lines in Florida and California didn't have much population density until midcentury, so they missed out on the periods (especially the 1890s and 1930s) when denser areas like the Northeast had a lot of grade separations. The low terrain and high water table of Florida also means that underpasses aren't really feasible - you have to elevate either tracks or road.

Florida and California also have more sprawl with convoluted street layouts, so there's more incentive to illegally cross or walk along tracks to get where you're going. Chicagoland does have sprawl and grade crossings, but the densest areas are mostly grade separated, and most of the suburban areas have road following the tracks.
Click to expand...
Not surprising that the Brightline extension to Orlando airport has seen zero fatalities due to grade separation.
 
bdurden said:
Not surprising that the Brightline extension to Orlando airport has seen zero fatalities due to grade separation.
Click to expand...
The Orlando extension is also Class 7/125 MPH track, which requires a sealed corridor with security fencing at vulnerable access points. The FEC mainline is Class 6/110 MPH, which allows for much more porous access to the ROW.
 
gothamist.com

NYC subway and bus fares rising to $3 in 2026, MTA officials say

Fares have been $2.90 since 2023.
gothamist.com gothamist.com
The MTA is also introducing a new unlimited weekly pass for express bus users once they spend $67 in a week, similar to the seven-day unlimited pass subway and bus riders who use OMNY have now.

Commuter trains will also cost 4.4% more and tolls on bridges and tunnels will rise 7.5% — an increase the MTA said it needs to meet inflation and revenue goals. Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road riders will also no longer be able to buy round-trip tickets, rather they’ll have day passes that expire four hours after being activated.
[...]
The cost of a reusable OMNY card will increase from $1 to $2 next year.

The MTA is planning to phase out the MetroCard completely by the end of December, forcing all subway and bus riders to use OMNY. The agency announced it will stop selling MetroCards in January, and will no longer accept MetroCards later in 2026, although the MTA didn’t give an exact date.
Click to expand...
 
OK, someone explain this to me in plain English. What are Metro North or LIRR "day passes that expire four hours after being activated"?
Click to expand...

The article butchered the actual statement from MTA. Here are quotes from MTA's page on changes: https://www.mta.info/fares-tolls/2025-changes

No more ticket activation

All One-Way mobile tickets would auto-activate upon purchase, and the ticket would expire after four hours. Paper tickets would also expire four hours after purchase.

More flexible ticket offerings

A new Day Pass for unlimited travel would replace the Round-Trip ticket. The Day Pass would be valid on the day of purchase until 4 a.m. the following day. On weekdays, the Day Pass would cost 10% less than two one-way peak tickets; on weekends, it would cost the same as two one-way off-peak tickets. Unlimited Day Passes are also available for CityTicket and Far Rockaway ticketholders, priced at $14.50 in the peak and $10.50 in the off-peak.
Click to expand...
 
fatnoah said:
The article butchered the actual statement from MTA. Here are quotes from MTA's page on changes: https://www.mta.info/fares-tolls/2025-changes
Click to expand...
OK, This is sort of better.

The one-way mobile tickets auto activating is an issue. Many stations on Metro-North have poor cell coverage for some carriers (looking at you AT&T) -- you cannot reliably buy a mobile ticket while at the station -- so I often buy in advance when on Wi-Fi. Now you won't be able to do that (or you risk timing out).
 
JeffDowntown said:
you cannot reliably buy a mobile ticket while at the station -- so I often buy in advance when on Wi-Fi. Now you won't be able to do that (or you risk timing out).
Click to expand...

You will have four hours upon activation to use it. One can theoretically buy and activate the ticket at a long stoplight or a short coffee run en route to the train. Wouldn't that suffice?
 
wicked said:
You will have four hours upon activation to use it. One can theoretically buy and activate the ticket at a long stoplight or a short coffee run en route to the train. Wouldn't that suffice?
Click to expand...
Rather depends on what else you are doing, where else you are going before going to the station. Cell service is bad in most of Westchester County (they don't want visible cell towers).
 
www.masstransitmag.com

CA: California high-speed rail has a plan to build to Gilroy, Palmdale simultaneously with Central Valley segment

The CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Ian Choudri, said he is pushing to build the railroad north to Gilroy and south to Palmdale simultaneously with construction...
www.masstransitmag.com www.masstransitmag.com
But in an interview with the Bay Area News Group this week, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Ian Choudri, said he is pushing to build the railroad north to Gilroy and south to Palmdale simultaneously with construction in the Central Valley.

That plan, though, hinges on a major factor — California lawmakers’ approval for over $1 billion each year to fund it.

“From day one when I came on board, my goal has been to connect to the population centers as fast as we can,” Choudri said.

The vision: Even if the first phase of high speed rail doesn’t extend all the way to San Francisco and Los Angeles, it will at least end at stations with transit connections to those cities’ downtowns.
Click to expand...
 
I've seen this proposed previously, and every time I do, I can't help wondering why they don't simply string some wire from Gilroy to San Jose, and from Palmdale to LAUS. The tracks are anything but high speed, but you could then have a one seat ride from LA to SF, most of it at very high speed, with a slow stretch at each end. That seems to me like a useful service, especially for people starting or ending trips in the Central Valley, who would then have quick access to the the two mega regions.

Over time, the final high speed work could be done, along with extensions like Sacramento, Anaheim, and San Diego. It would also tie things in more quickly to the High Desert Corridor and Brightline West.
 
www.trains.com

New boarding platform opens at Washington Union Station - Trains

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has opened a new track and platform at Washington Union Station, expanding the facility’s capacity. Track 22, on the station’s lower level, previously was a storage track with no passenger access. It will primarily serve Virginia Railway Express commuter trains, as well as...
www.trains.com www.trains.com
Track 22, on the station’s lower level, previously was a storage track with no passenger access. It will primarily serve Virginia Railway Express commuter trains, as well as Amtrak long distance and Virginia trains. The project required rebuilding of the platform, construction of a new hallway to provide access, and rehabilitation of columns.
Click to expand...
 
www.trains.com

Minneapolis to end Northstar commuter service in January - Trains

MINNEAPOLIS — Metro Transit will pull the plug on its Northstar commuter rail service in January due to a lethal combination of low ridership and rising costs. More frequent bus service will replace the trains beginning Jan. 5, 2026, Metro Transit officials said during a Metropolitan Council...
www.trains.com www.trains.com
 
www.masstransitmag.com

AL: Coalition pitches winter commuter rail runs between Anchorage and Mat-Su

It's an idea that's been around for more than 40 years: commuter rail service between Anchorage and Mat-Su, where tens of thousands of people hit the Glenn Highway for trips into...
www.masstransitmag.com www.masstransitmag.com

While this proposal is anything but new, if it ever happens, it would be the most northerly commuter rail service on the continent, and probably up there (so to speak) among the most northerly in the world
 

Single-level Long Distance fleet replacement

Amtrak has started the process to procure cars to replace existing single-level equipment used on long-distance routes. A procurement opportunity has been posted for interested parties to sign up to receive the RFP. Notably, unlike the Bilevel posting of a similar nature, this opportunity does...
www.amtraktrains.com www.amtraktrains.com

Amtrak issues RFP for its single-level Long Distance route coach and cafe car replacement, to replace the Amfleet II's that are assigned to all East Coast-originating LD routes. These have fewer seats and more generous seat recline than the corridor-service (and sucky-recline) Airo sets. No power car variants like the Airos, so Long Distance trains on the NEC will continue to require Sprinter locos and engine swaps for the foreseeable future. Notably, the base order also includes a bunch of "high-capacity coach" expansion units for the corridor services, done as regular 1-car coaches instead of the semi-permanent coupled integrated trainsets like the Airos. Indicative that they see future demand outstripping even the Airo order, and have a need to increase seating by +1 coach units. Also probably an indication that the Horizon fleet yanked from service a few months ago due to corrosion issues may be too far gone to repair at all and keep as short-term expansion bodies. Siemens would obviously be the overwhelming favorite to win the bid for parts commonality with the Airos/Ventures.

Option orders on the contract for additional Long Distance coaches to support expansion of the East Coast LD network (note: there's a separate bi-level Superliner-replacement RFP covering all Western/8-inch platform LD routes), as well as yet more options for the corridor routes, cab car options for corridor routes, sleeper cars to replace the Viewliner I's and expand the sleeper ranks, and dining cars and baggage-dorm car options to supplement the Viewliner II fleet. Options that of course don't have to be picked up if funding isn't there, but it appears that Amtrak has covered its ass for a good number of years on flexibility to generously expand all manner of East Coast services.

1755204914347.png

1755205023029.png

1755204936660.png

1755204978275.png
 
www.amny.com

MTA to approve $1.97 billion tunneling contract to push Second Avenue subway into East Harlem | amNewYork

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is set to approve a $1.97 billion contract to bore tunnels and start construction on two new Harlem subway stations,
www.amny.com www.amny.com
The MTA board is expected to vote Monday to award the contract to Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture of Halmar International and FCC Construction. The work is part of Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, a $6.99 billion project slated to open in September 2032.

The contract covers converting a 2,500-foot tunnel built in the 1970s between 116th and 125th streets into a station box, boring an 8,400-foot tunnel to Malcolm X Boulevard, mining the cavern for the 125th Street Station, and excavating shafts for ancillary buildings and future entrances.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top