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

[GirlOnTheTrain]

He acts like it was an abandoned line prior to Hartford line service...

[asull85]

I've never enjoyed blowing the horn for Bridge Lane and Parsons Road more than I do now.

[jamoldover]

What's the difference between a quiet zone (which I think of as a place that has no horns at all), and a grade crossing that has a wayside horn, and a grade crossing where the train sounds its horn?

I live near a crossing that was long grandfathered but when that waiver expired and the trains had the sound all horns it was unbearable, and my city immediately spent something like a million dollars to restore the peace.

All current Quiet Zone crossings that aren't grandfathered in have to have wayside horns. The wayside horn constantly blows a crossing sequence on loop the whole time the gates are down. Compare that to a normal crossing where a train just blows one crossing sequence.

In the case of Meriden the people there were getting annoyed with the constant sounding of the wayside horn and opted to just have them turned off.


In my opinion quiet zones crossings are useless and dangerous. The horn is on the train for a reason.

A slight correction - the wayside horn is a non-quiet zone way for a municipality to get some reduction in the sound, since the horn is aimed at the roadway, and therefore isn't required to be as loud. A quiet zone is exactly that - no horns at all, but in exchange, the crossing has to have 4-quadrant gates and barricades to prevent traffic from using the wrong side of the road to get around the gates (and maybe some other things, too).

[Traingeek3629]

You are an engineer asull85?

[lordsigma12345]

ACSES is operable on the Springfield Line as of this morning.

[Arlington]

What are the practical benefits of ACSES here (higher speeds?)

[lordsigma12345]

None that I know of but this corridor has enough traffic now where PTC is mandatory.

[DutchRailnut]

PTC (ACSES) has little to do with speed, the track class does. PTC is required on any track were a passenger train can encounter other traffic or were hazmat is being transported.

[asull85]

There is a washout from todays heavy rain combined with the snow melt with temperatures in the mid-50's today. 148 will be terminated in New Haven. One shuttle will run to Windsor Locks as 478. Two shuttles are stranded in Springfield, one of which is sick. 141 will originate in New Haven tomorrow. It is unknown what trains, if any will run on Friday.

[gprimr1]

After a long wait, I finally got to see the Hartford Line and all the changes made to the CT River Line and Vermonter. My thoughts

The CTRail stations look really nice. Clean and Professional. I'm surprised though they didn't include heated shelters like Metro North and LIRR.

The new Amtrak stations in Greenfield, Northampton and Holyoke also look nice. Northampton and Greenfield are a bit minimalistic, though I think the wood frame fits with the theme of New England and the Pioneer Valley. The Greenfield Transportation center was also a nice addition. Holyoke station looks nice, but there's just not much there. None of the stations seem to have much parking but at least Greenfield and Northampton have good bus service.

Springfield...WOW! I lived in MA in 2005-2006 and I remember when that was an abandoned building. That station is beautiful. It looks like there is still some work to do though. Amtrak is still operating out of Lyman Street. The big beautiful sign in the station does not display Amtrak arrivals or departures. It looks like also they are getting a high-level platform.

I still see Hartford is a single track mess, but I saw that they may have to move the entire station, so I'd say it makes sense not to waste money double tracking the station, only to rip it up.

I got to see the Vermonter do it's thing at Springfield. I still think there HAS to be a better option and I still think it involves paying CSX to add a switch between Columbus and Main St to allow East Bound trains to go from 1 to 2 east. The Vermonter could then go from 2 to 2A. Then you have a few options. Either go back onto 2 and use the switch from CSX to Amtrak, or build a west side connection between 2A and the Amtrak main track. The first option is cheaper, but the second option lets you minimize time fowling CSX's main. It just seems a much faster and more sustainable solution, esp if you want to run additional service north of Springfield, or if you really wanted to go for broke, restore that old platform on the North/South line and connect it to Springfield station via a long, secure, underground tunnel.

All and All I was amazed to see what they've done with the line. Next time I'd like to ride the Vermonter on the new CT River line. Just gotta figure out how not to have it take up a whole day.

[gokeefe]

I had no idea there was ever a north-south platform. Thanks for the heads up and your report. Amtrak is indeed getting a Hugh level platform.

[Backshophoss]

Don't believe there ever was a north/south platform at Springfield,there was a connecting track from the B&M side to the station.
Not sure if that connection is still exists or is long gone.

[mtuandrew]

I remember reading about a mail/express platform on the Conn River Line, but that is a mile away from Springfield Union. Isn’t making riders walk a mile from platform to platform a little extreme just to avoid the Springfield Shuffle?

[gprimr1]

I coulda sworn someone here posted once that there used to be a separate station that served the North/South trains running on the CT River line. There is an old Express platform south of the station. I admit the idea of the tunnel and people mover was a bit farfetched, but if you look at London Heathrow for example, it's quite a walk from the main terminal to terminal 2.

That said, I am still an advocate for the switch from 1 to 2 and 2A to the Amtrak main on the west side as the best long term solution for efficiently moving trains through Springfield.

[gregorygrice]

If you are talking about the platform south of Springfield Station on the Springfield Line, that is the old Mail platform that was used for mail trains.