Amtrak Michigan: Wolverine, Blue Water, Pere Marquette

Matt Johnson wrote:

EricL wrote:Superliners (as well as NPCUs) are normally rated for 100mph. However, they are currently banned by general order, apparently pending some sort of FRA approval.

Banned from running faster than 79 mph, or banned from the route altogether?

The latter, at least the way I read it...

The 10002 geometry car was out there today. Does anyone have any information on how things are holding up?

Geometry not so good. Speed cut to 25 mph on NS.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 9505.story

The slow zone imposed by Norfolk Southern Railway, which cited track safety reasons, is adding as much as 1 1/2 hours to the total scheduled trip time of 5 1/2 hours between Chicago and Detroit, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

The slow order was imposed Thursday by Norfolk Southern on stretches of track the railroad owns between Kalamazoo, Mich., and Ann Arbor, officials said. Amtrak trains formerly operated at up to 79 mph on the segment.

I thought the track maintenance problem had been resolved. I guess the negotiations for Michigan to buy the NS route aren't going fast enough for NS. Having an NS spokesman saying "25 mph is good enough for our trains" is not very good PR and certainly good be taken out of context when the NS tries to get more public money to improve its routes.

Taken out of context ??? I'm not sure 25 mph can be made to sound much worst .

Hopefully the State of Michigan can take control of the tracks and bump that stretch up to 110 mph. That would really be another large segment of rail. In order to upgrade this segment would require quite a significant amount of track geometry work to where maybe 79 mph would be the best goal and improve all the incremental tracks where they cannot go 79 mph. Either way, I hope the process to buy the tracks from NS is sped up soon.

Official Amtrak response at http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServe ... uption.pdf

Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) has ordered passenger trains to slow to 25-to-30 mph on certain Michigan track segments it owns and controls between Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor, starting today. These restrictions from previous top speeds of up to 79 mph have an even larger impact than those imposed by NS last year. Amtrak is advising passengers to expect delays of 45 to 90 minutes on Wolverine Service trains to and from Chicago and Detroit/Pontiac, including Jackson and Dearborn, with lesser delays on the Amtrak Blue Water to and from Chicago and Port Huron, via East Lansing and Flint.

Does NS need to access Amtrak-owned rails anywhere? If so, perhaps it's time to park some freights on a siding for a few days.

Hamhock wrote:Does NS need to access Amtrak-owned rails anywhere? If so, perhaps it's time to park some freights on a siding for a few days.

We could hammer them to death at NEC entry/exit points between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Then, they turn around and attack the Crescent, The Pennsylvanian, The Lake Shore, etc.

An eye for an eye leaves...............

I wonder if a complaint to the STB is in order.

Having just ridden the line (well, to Ann Arbor) a week ago, this comes as a surprise to me.

Simply from a passenger's perspective, the ride was smooth, and hardly as I described my trip to Detroit last year as "torturous". The only notable slow order I recall was to the West of New Buffalo on the Amtrak owned 110mph segment.

I would think with the pending sale of the line to the State (has that closed, anyone?), provisions would have been negotiated to cover excess maintenance between the date a survey was made at about the time of the "handshake" and the actual closing. If such be the case, i fail to see how NS's interests could be enhanced by letting the line "go to pot".

Oh well, guess for my scheduled trip to Detroit next month (support the Detroit Symphony; they need all the help they can get - and hear a world class ensemble perform while so doing), guess it will be fly or drive - even though the wampum for either will be "heap big". FWIW, the fare paid for my journey to Ann Arbor last week (Biz Class) was $128, or about two fill ups for my "ride". Anyone beyond the "hey Dad, may I borrow the car; I'll fill 'er up" age, knows there are a "few more" costs involved in operating a motor vehicle than fuel.

disclaimer: author holds long position NSC

1 step forward and 2 steps back...

I agree this is quite surprising As an article I read states that the line will be slow ordered indefinitely "we have no plans to lift the speed restrictions, which will be there for the foreseeable future." NS spokesperson states. Amtrak says they don't know how long the delays will be but track work will begin in 3 weeks however the devil is in the detail, If I may play the devils advocate here NS in there statement seems to be leaning towards the fact that even after the repairs are done to the track the speed limit will still be in the 25-30 mph range or slightly higher ( range of say class 3 track: 40 freight 60 mph passenger), and they will not be returning it to the 79 mas it was previously.

With all regards Mr. Norman I have to have a slight chuckle as you travel 250 miles away to listen to the Detroit symphony, A city know for its greatly departed population in some ways due to the violence bestowed on the cities landscape. However I wonder to myself was this choice a easily decided option as it seems the Chicago symphony's recent fisticuffs would make the 250 mile journey worth the trip, especially in the case that one of the individuals in the Chicago symphony's altercation was in your "retirement tour group". http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fist ... 2OyCFb4slQ

It train speed were measured in metronome tempo markings instead of, say, km/h, I'd say the "Wolverine Symphony" is in for a long slow movement!

Largo= 40-60 beats per minute
Adagio= 60-76
Andante= 76-108
Allegro= 120-168
Presto= 168-200

This message is off topic to address the non rail points raised by Mr. Buddah (as such, if it is killed, I'll understand).

Quite obviously, the Chicago Symphony is being quite "mum" about the whole "Brawl in the Hall" incident (not aware of any "To our patrons, we are deeply sorry about...." letters out there). I can't think of anything that has caused them embarrassment to this extent. Since i wasn't there, I can't positively be certain what caused such, but I'm willing to bet that it came about owing to the protocol that is delineated both at the CSO's website as well as in the programs that in the Box seats (about $200 a ticket) patrons seated in the first row of three during the first half of a performance are expected to relinquish those seats to the patrons seated in the third row. It seems fair and square to me (I've never done Boxes at Orchestra Hall, but have at Carnegie Hall in New York), but in this yeah for me and fuck you of today, it is no wonder and incident such as this has occurred.

Now regarding Downtown Detroit, I am reminded of the movie "On The Beach" and scenes at "the end" showing an abandoned city. It is clean and the abandoned buildings have been "boarded up' with murals. During daylight hours, I think it quite safe to walk about, however for the Symphony last year, I took a taxicab to and from the hotel and surely will do same this year.

But to end Amtrak related, I am astounded how the line could have deteriorated so badly over the course of one week; unless the "baddy bad' is East of Ann Arbor.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:But to end Amtrak related, I am astounded how the line could have deteriorated so badly over the course of one week; unless the "baddy bad' is East of Ann Arbor.

I'm guessing the baddy bad is located quite a bit further east.

I'm hopeful that Norfolk Southern, Michigan and Amtrak can work out an agreement shortly. Further, I'd like to see Amtrak and Michigan extend ITCS to Detroit as soon as possible - and if Norfolk Southern continues to act as it has, to solicit overhead traffic from a company with a vested interest in accessing Chicago swiftly.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Having just ridden the line (well, to Ann Arbor) a week ago, this comes as a surprise to me.

Simply from a passenger's perspective, the ride was smooth, and hardly as I described my trip to Detroit last year as "torturous". The only notable slow order I recall was to the West of New Buffalo on the Amtrak owned 110mph segment.

I would think with the pending sale of the line to the State (has that closed, anyone?), provisions would have been negotiated to cover excess maintenance between the date a survey was made at about the time of the "handshake" and the actual closing. If such be the case, i fail to see how NS's interests could be enhanced by letting the line "go to pot".

Did the line "go to pot" in less than a week or did someone whack a few ties with a backhoe or end loader in the middle of the night?