AMTRAK NEC: Springfield Shuttle/Regional/Valley Flyer/Inland Routing

Look at the springs on the trucks. Empty cars have springs that usually sit about 3/4 of the way up, loads usually sit below half. This isn't always true but it's a handy rule of thumb.

Larry wrote:Spotted in Hartford CT yard on new track #four are 17 brand new looking Amtrak Hopper cars in yellow paint and have solar panels on them. They have been there a few days now with no engine in site and I can't tell if they' re loaded or unloaded. To me they look unloaded of any ballast at this time. Not sure how long they will stay graffiti free based on their location in the yard.

They're empty.

They must of had something in them because the new track heading north had ballast dumped yesterday and I saw and heard nothing so I am stumped. The new track had from the Hartford yard north to Barber street a small layer of ballast.

For anyone wondering whether the Amtrak shuttles would be continuing it seems to have been answered in this document:

http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/Executive ... 202017.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They sort of buried this document in the press release on the fares, but it has additional key information. According to the above the new CTrail service will actually only be running a total of 8 round trips to start out, 5 between New Haven and Hartford and the remaining 3 running the whole line to Springfield. All current Amtrak service will continue and 3 additional Amtrak round trips will be starting in 2018. No details in there on the specifics of the Amtrak routes other than that they will fulfill the additional 3 round trips between New Haven and Springfield promised by the state's NHHS program. Could these end up being New Haven to Greenfield, MA trips? Will be interesting to see what happens.

Somewhat expanded the scope of the thread since it seems possible there's funding for an extension (of the shuttles, presumably) to Greenfield, and that Amtrak crews are qualifying.

Vermonter discussed here: Amtrak Vermonter (Montreal Greenfield Boston CT River Line)

Pan Am Connecticut River line discussed here: Connecticut River Line (Pan Am)

Hartford Line (CtDOT) operations discussed here: Hartford Line CtDOT New Haven-Springfield - NHHS

From the Hartford Line thread and member F-Line:

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:CDOT presents 5 alternatives for Hartford Union Station relocation during the I-84 reconstruction project: http://www.courant.com/real-estate/prop ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

lordsigma12345 wrote:According to the above the new CTrail service will actually only be running a total of 8 round trips to start out, 5 between New Haven and Hartford and the remaining 3 running the whole line to Springfield. All current Amtrak service will continue and 3 additional Amtrak round trips will be starting in 2018. No details in there on the specifics of the Amtrak routes other than that they will fulfill the additional 3 round trips between New Haven and Springfield promised by the state's NHHS program. Could these end up being New Haven to Greenfield, MA trips? Will be interesting to see what happens.

Could be either/or:

1) Amtrak is laying the groundwork for eventual NHV-Greenfield and NHV-SPG-Boston service by having these 3 additional NHV-SPG round trips in place so that they could have plenty of options to chose from as to which trains go where, if anywhere. Obviously Boston is a ways off, but it won't be that far off into the future with CSX and MassDOT having an agreement in place. Greenfield sounds like a sure thing with everyone up and down the Pioneer Valley calling for increased service in the wake of the impressive ridership numbers. An additional 3 RTs to Greenfield would appear to at least at first satisfy those demands. And if I'm not mistaken the plan was for at least 4 RTs SPG-Boston when the time comes.


2) ConnDOT figured there wouldn't be enough "in service" locomotives in rotation in time for both SLE and when the Hartford Line starts up in May with the GP40-2H and P40 fleets out for rebuild; however many units at a time. Thus, additional Amtrak service will be making up the difference until the refurbished equipment comes back and the double tracking is completed to allow for more service.

That document also seems to indicate that the schedule will be made for the services to complement rather than compete with each other to maximize the amount of service along the line. Given how much this program is going to rely on the Amtrak service, in order for them to really make this program successful as a commuter service they should somehow negotiate a deal to integrate the services somewhat so that long term rail passes for CTrail would also work on the NHV-SPG Amtrak rail service to maximize the times available for commuters while maintaining separate ticketing for single rides on each service. Not sure if such an arrangement would be possible, but given the way this corridor is going to be structured it seems like the right move.

I'm stunned to read that Amtrak will continue to stop at Berlin, Meriden and Wallingford for all their trains. I understand the merits of the through trains such as 141/55/56/148 stopping at those stations, but shuttles too? I can only guess there is sufficient (expected) traffic on the shuttles connecting to Amtrak NEC trains to warrant the extra stops. Maybe they're expecting ridership miracles once the shuttle replacement buses are forever banished.

Figure on ConnDOT having a "few" startup problems along with the contractor involved as NHV -Hatford commuter service.
also figure on a major traffic restriction as the I-84 rebuild/trench build ramps up near Hartford station.

What are they going to do about the fact that Amtrak presently charges $24 SPG-NHV while the upcoming ConnDOT NNHS CR will be charging $12.75.

Probably nothing, it’s not unusual for Amtrak to charge higher fares than commuter rail agencies for the same destinations.
For example, TRE charges $5 (each direction) between downtowns Dallas and Fort Worth, Amtrak charges $8 for the same trip (each direction).

lordsigma12345 wrote:That document also seems to indicate that the schedule will be made for the services to complement rather than compete with each other to maximize the amount of service along the line. Given how much this program is going to rely on the Amtrak service, in order for them to really make this program successful as a commuter service they should somehow negotiate a deal to integrate the services somewhat so that long term rail passes for CTrail would also work on the NHV-SPG Amtrak rail service to maximize the times available for commuters while maintaining separate ticketing for single rides on each service. Not sure if such an arrangement would be possible, but given the way this corridor is going to be structured it seems like the right move.

Is CTrail going to run on weekends? Because I cannot imagine Amtrak would be happy about that.

Although my home station is NY Penn, I actually started my trip to Orlando from Hartford because I attended a concert the day before, coming up from NYP. (And I was originally booked on the rail shuttle on that Saturday before it was bus-stituted.) That southbound shuttle train, #401 on Sunday, was the first time I ever saw a 1-car train. There were some passengers before Hartford but more came from that station. The trip was slow due to single-tracking operations. The shuttle was late coming into New Haven and we had to do a painful non-cross-platform transfer which I'm sure confused a party of two who were traveling to the South due to personnel not initially guiding them to the correct platform.

I also noted an incident where a passenger from Hartford wanted to ride to New Haven using some sort of pass. The conductor told him passes would not be accepted until next year and he was to be let go at the following stop if he didn't want to pay the Amtrak fare. (This should not be read as Amtrak will accept those passes; I'm just recounting what I heard.) He got off at that stop.

I make no claims on the typical ridership of this route, but this is not a positive sign. Competing bus service is also a consideration. I don't say a one-car train should not be run, but I surmise Amtrak would rather look for better opportunities for its fleet.

bratkinson wrote:I'm stunned to read that Amtrak will continue to stop at Berlin, Meriden and Wallingford for all their trains. I understand the merits of the through trains such as 141/55/56/148 stopping at those stations, but shuttles too? I can only guess there is sufficient (expected) traffic on the shuttles connecting to Amtrak NEC trains to warrant the extra stops. Maybe they're expecting ridership miracles once the shuttle replacement buses are forever banished.

I am not sure that my train even made a stop at Wallingford. (Obviously the conductor had to make sure no one was boarding or detraining to make that decision.) The train was late anyway.

LM Train wrote:Is CTrail going to run on weekends? Because I cannot imagine Amtrak would be happy about that.

Um... what?????

Shore Line East runs on weekends on Amtrak owned rails using Amtrak crews. SLE, like the Hartford Line, is a ConnDOT service that the state of CT funds, provides the equipment for, and sets the fare structure. Why on earth would Amtrak be unhappy about Hartford Line weekend service?

The Amtrak Springfield Line trains are scheduled to connect with NEC trains at New Haven. Most tickets will have through fares, and Amtrak passengers will not pay such a high amount to connect to other Amtrak trains.
Hartford Line is where most of the local passengers, and those connecting with Metro-North will likely ride.

Lee