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Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1591824  by justalurker66
 
WhartonAndNorthern wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:29 pmWith NICTD/South Shore Line building the West Lake Corridor out to Dyer (opening 2025), has there been any talk of rerouting the Cardinal (and a potentially resurrected Hoosier State) on the new route? Oddly, the last stop on the line is at Dyer/Main Street, a half mile north of the Amtrak station.
NICTD would like to go further south to Lowell and has even proposed a branch over to Valparaiso from Munster. They reduced the proposal to end at Dyer.

There will be no rail connection between the NICTD's track and CSX's track. The NICTD West Lake line is completely isolated and grade separated from all railroads it crosses until it joins with the NICTD South Shore Line in Hammond.

The station in Hammond is being rebuilt to allow for better parking and transfers between South Shore and West Lake trains. Four trains per day (each direction) from West Lake will go all the way to Chicago (not stopping in Hammond).

The only discussion of Cardinal on NICTD I have seen is from rail fans. While adding a connection would be easy in south Munster (as simple as a crossover) getting the Cardinal off the other end in Chicago would be more difficult. Amtrak is not going to terminate a NY-DC-Chicago train anywhere else in Chicago than Union Station and Metra has no connections north of where NICTD joins their line. So a theoretical connection would end up with the Cardinal on CN making the same reverse move dance as the City of New Orleans and Carbondale trains. While the current path is complicated, it is fairly straight forward with only one major choke point. That area will be upgraded by the CREATE project you mentioned.
WhartonAndNorthern wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 12:29 pmPresently, Amtrak is scheduled for an hour and a half run between Dyer and Chicago Union Station, a distance of only 29 rail miles (only 59 minutes westbound). NICTD proposes a running time of 38 to 46 minutes from Munster/Dyer Main Street to Millennium Station.
As noted, a lot of padding is added to the last stop on Amtrak trains. Look at the outbound schedule for a better idea of the actual travel time via the current path.

That being said, I have beat the train between Dyer and CUS in both directions, taking pictures at both locations. It wasn't difficult.
 #1591863  by scratchyX1
 
It looks like extending the branch to the amtrak station, even for a platform to platform connection would require one grade crossing. I'm not sure what local bus stops are near the station, but It seems short sighted, to not connect.
If potential CHI-ind-ohio corridor service used cab cars, then the direct connection to the NICTD would make sense, but not for LD trains.
 #1591864  by eolesen
 
NICTD seems perfectly happy keeping a closed system and foreign railroads off their property. I don't see that changing.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

 #1591906  by justalurker66
 
scratchyX1 wrote: Tue Feb 15, 2022 12:16 pmIt looks like extending the branch to the amtrak station, even for a platform to platform connection would require one grade crossing.
And a place to put 900-1400 cars. West Lake will be commuter rail. People drive to the trains. There is not adequate parking at the Dyer Amtrak station for hundreds of commuters each day.

Amtrak attracted around 3000 riders per year at Dyer when there was seven day a week service. (If anyone has current figures please share.) More than likely Dyer will lose ridership when NICTD opens and gives people a more reliable and frequent connection to Chicago.
 #1595301  by BAR
 
What type of sleeping cars are currently in the Cardinal consist? Are they Viewliner I or Viewliner II?
Thanks.
 #1595309  by Matt Johnson
 
BAR wrote: Fri Apr 08, 2022 6:28 pm What type of sleeping cars are currently in the Cardinal consist? Are they Viewliner I or Viewliner II?
Thanks.
Viewliner I except for the bag-dorm which I believe houses crew only.
 #1595315  by west point
 
We certainly cannot know how the legislation will be interpreted by Amtrak. If the Cardinal is considered to become daily by Amtrak it will not come quickly. Even though it will only take one more train set the lack of equipment will not allow for daily until as a wild guess the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2023. IMO it is going to take that long for Amtrak to clear the back log of out of service cars and locos. Availability of train sets may depend on the final results of the gulf coast case. If it goes Amtrak's way, then equipment may be spread out more. Otherwise ----

Sunset using Superliner cars and needing more than one additional train set complicates daily service on that route.
 #1597335  by BAR
 
Is dinner available for sleeping car passengers after the 5:55 PM Chicago departure? Thanks for any infol
 #1597356  by Bob Roberts
 
BAR wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 6:13 pm Is dinner available for sleeping car passengers after the 5:55 PM Chicago departure? Thanks for any infol
I can speak to the Cardinal directly but dinner was served to sleeping car passengers on the City of New Orleans last week after the 8pm departure from Chicago.

Having said that, the menu these days is pretty limited, you can do much better with some takeout from Chicago. I -highly- recommend a sandwich from JP Graziano in the west loop (they close at 4)
 #1597380  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. Roberts, your immediate hits on what I think will become the "new normal" for Loop restaurants.

Simply, the knowledge workers who pre-COVID were "5X" at the office, will be going to maybe "RTO 3X". Otherwise, they're never coming back.

Restaurants popular with knowledge workers such as Miller's Pub (Adams & Wabash) is now closed two weekdays. Berghoff (Dearborn & Adams) is open only for limited hours 12N-6P.

Opus in Orchestra Hall remains permanently shut; last word I had was the Symphony "is trying to get someone in there".

The famous Breakfast restaurant near CUS, Lou Mitchell's (Jefferson & Jackson) also has reduced hours.

I can't foresee any change anytime soon. This morning on my walk, several METRA's passed. It was hard pressed to see any faces in the windows. METRA says they now have 50% of their pre-COVID business back: you couldn't prove it by me.

So those choosing to "chow down" before boarding either The Cardinal or City in lieu of "Amtrak Cuisine" will need to look a bit harder. I like The Gage, Monroe and Michigan, (open both Lunch and Dinner) but some might consider it "a bit pricey".
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