by STrRedWolf
South of... okay, that's a new one on me. New route near Chicago? Just a pointer please, no need to spend time if it's been explained before.
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
Pittsburghers, Amtrak, NS and PennDOT
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“AS WE CONTINUE to get comments submitted on the Keystone West, we’d like to have Amtrak provide PennDOT with a high-level cost estimate for the addition of one to two trains a day to/from Harrisburg. This estimate should include operating and capital costs.
“We know that, ultimately, in order to make this happen, we would need to work with Norfolk Southern and Amtrak to identify timing for the potential trains, get trainsets ordered, and work through proposed labor to run the trains.
“At this time … we only need a high-level estimate. Before we take on any of those bigger picture steps, we need an order of magnitude cost of what it would take to fund an additional one to two trains a day on the Pennsylvanian.
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At the Aug. 23 hearing, Norfolk Southern Vice President Government Relations Rudy Husband referred to the 204-mile main line between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh as a “premiere corridor” for rail freight between the East Coast and Midwest: “We will coordinate the operational feasibility study. We will provide estimated costs to the sponsoring public agency, but these studies, they’re not cheap, and they take time, at least a year or probably more.”
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Alcochaser wrote:Harrisburg to Baltimore is VERY possible from the track all being there. Nothing would need done with it. It would need to be diesel as the wires are gone. (Well the 12.5KV wires are gone, most of the route still caries the 138 kV transmission lines from the Safe Harbor hydro plant for Amtrak)And my thought is... this may work. Pittsburgh to Baltimore/DC via Harrisburg and the NS Port Road.
Since the south end of the Port Road dumps into the NEC to get to Baltimore. NS doesn't run SQUAT daytime hours. Amtrak would have a up to date CTC railroad all to itself. But with one end in PA and the other in MD. Who pays for it is a big question.
liftedjeep wrote:The P42DC's (that are equipped with PTC) are the standard power on The Pennsylvanian between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and return (having replaced the B32-8WH's). The reason for this to my knowledge, is because the overhead catenary ends in Harrisburg. Rather than swap out the electric for diesel there, it's taken care of at 30th St Station. Obviously, a City Sprinter replaces the P42 at 30th St for the final leg to New York.It may be easier to swap it at 30th (PHL) than Harrisburg (HAR), namely because you have multiple tracks beyond four, so you got room to move stuff around and not interfere with Keystones, NEC trains, and I think the NJ Transit Atlantic line as well is down on the lower tracks.
Ben