by Greg Moore
DutchRailnut wrote:Actually replacement of Amfleets is high on priorities list but unfortunatly they don't have money to replace the currently nearly 35 year old Amfleets.I've heard that mentioned. Not sure if it means much. Congress still has to allocate some money.
The replacements will probably be based on Viewliner but with single row of big windows ala Acela, The view liner is biggest car to fit anywhere on Amtrak system without any restrictions.
Amtrak last year hired engineering people to reverse engineer the current viewliner and to make it comply with todays CFR 49 requirements.
small windows like Amfleet are no longer allowed in new construction.
As for why folks ride the train. Experience is part of it. However, especially on the ALB-NYP route, it's business. Get me there comfortably and on time and I'm happy.
If we can break 2 hours, that's great (and the current equipment can do that.)
We don't need 125 mph on that route (thought it might be nice) we need more 110 mph running.