NOLA to JAX (Sunset Route)

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C

Crossover

Train Attendant
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
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58
Location
Houston, Texas
This corridor is still under much speculation as to whether it should reopen. There are those who say it is unfeasible and there are those who say it is . People prefer it as a vacation destination . It follows I-10 from end to end east to west / west to east . I believe it should be reopened . Should it be reopened or not ? What is your opinion ?
 
The reason of believe it should be reopened . As intermodal traffic is increasing in the southeastern/Florida with the construction of the MIT terminal and tunnel in Miami , it is highly possible Amtrak may resume traffic on that portion if it was doubletracked from Jacksonville to New Orleans though some of the route would be on a viaduct due to the parrishes , swamps , Mississippi River , Mobile River , and other open waterways along the Gulf and it is apart of the I-10 . There are small towns and cities like Baton Rouge ,Tallahassee , Mobile , Pensacola , Passagula , Biloxi that really need the service .
 
My short answer and reply to your question is YES, there should be a service restoration to that NOL-JAX region.

The Gulf region is growing and a new service would provide a seamless network to/from NOL north, west and east, then south to all points and MIA/TPA plus northbound. The connections would create new opportunities for many riders seeking transit north and south from Florida to the mid-south and upper Midwest.

My solution would be two trains servicing the LAX - JAX route meeting in NOL for a turnaround.

In other words, one train from LAX-NOL-LAX and the other JAX-NOL-JAX. The trains would connect/feed passengers::

(At SAT) To/from Dallas on the Texas Eagle,

(At NOL) To/from Chicago on the City of New Orleans, including service to/from Florida for 15+ major northern cities.

(At JAX) To/from Miami/Tampa on the Silver Service including north/south to/from North Carolina.

I have ridden the Sunset Limited from Miami to LAX and the train was totally full the entire trip on every occasion and the SSL lounge and dining car was always busy with people waiting in line to get in... It was quite a trip, lasting three days and offering a unique view of the amazing beauty of the American south. It was a rolling party!

Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina presented an opportunity to suspend service and we know the history from there, The concerns are capital needed to startup and whether the stakeholders are willing and patient to support a startup of a NOL-JAX sector. A team effort from state and local municipalities and rail-fans talking up the service potential, plus a solid marketing effort from Amtrak could make the NOL-JAX sector work.
 
Crossover said:
This corridor is still under much speculation as to whether it should reopen. There are those who say it is unfeasible and there are those who say it is . People prefer it as a vacation destination . It follows I-10 from end to end east to west / west to east . I believe it should be reopened . Should it be reopened or not ? What is your opinion ?
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No, Amtrak cannnot afford to run a daily Texas Eagle due to the Extortion demands by UP! And even if it happened there would have to be a State Supported Train Stub Train between NOL and SAS to connect with the Eagle that Texas and Louisiana( and Mississippi and Alabama also)!) would Not Pay for plus Stations etc.!!!! Amtrak does Not have the Equipment, Money or Crew to run this Route Currently, and even if they did ,it would End Up Being like the Old Sunset Ltd. that was Treated like a Step Child by UP and had an OTP that makes the Current Empire Builder Mess look like a Swiss Run Operation!

The Money, Equipment and Crew that this would Suck Up could Better Be used to Improve Service on the other LD Routes that so Badly need it! (ie ALL of Them! ;) )
 
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There's not a chance in hades that the Sunset Ltd will operate between New Orleans and Florida again. What could work, if the governments of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are so inclined (good luck with that!), is a state-funded train that runs New Orleans-Pensacola or something similar.
 
xyzzy said:
There's not a chance in hades that the Sunset Ltd will operate between New Orleans and Florida again. What could work, if the governments of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are so inclined (good luck with that!), is a state-funded train that runs New Orleans-Pensacola or something similar.
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Never say never! Much stranger things have happened.
 
It seems like a twice daily between New Orleans and Mobile would be the appropiate starting point. If they did it right and got ridership going then you could talk about moving further. Whatever feeds New Orleans feeds and improves the LDs out of there.

Mobile to Pensacola there practically isn't a rail line, any realistic talk about restoring coast to coast ops will need to address that.
 
Amtrak's position seems to be that the folks who would benefit directly from such service, specifically the states that it would pass through, should be the ones to pay for it. Although that's not an unreasonable position several of the states the Sunset East would pass through are firmly in the anti-rail political camp. There are cities along the route that are pro-rail to varying levels but unfortunately those cities do not have enough money on their own to launch and maintain such a route. In today's "every man for himself" era, convincing several contiguous states to agree on virtually anything expensive or controversial is almost like trying to herd cats, which probably explains why nationwide services like Amtrak are doomed to perpetual mediocrity.
 
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The only viable solution for a return of passenger service, which has been disussed previously, is a continuation of the CONO from New Orleans along the gulf coast to Mobile. With a running time of about 3.5 hours, a 3:30 departure from New Orleans would have passenger in Mobile by 7:00 pm. To keep costs down, only the coaches from the train would be needed and perhaps add one of the surplus CCC cars, with the rest of the equipment remaining for servicing. A 8:00 am return would have the train back in New Orleans before noon, plenty of time to connect with the rest of the equipment for its 1:45pm departure.

But, Boardman is playing a defensive game now and just trying to hold onto the current network. So, the only way this would happen is for Mississippi and Alabama to get CSX agreement to allow its operation, pay for the operating costs, and provide new stations. With the popular tourist and casino spots on the gulf, stranger things have happened, but certainly not likely.
 
OK>.so on this subject..IM in south MS..Hattiesburg MS.. why cannot i change trains in NC to get to South FL?? it wants to sell me a blasted ticket all the way to DC then south.. wouldnt be so bad if Amtrak wasnt so bloomin slow... any hints on how to get to south FL? guess I'll just fly.. but train is more relaxing if i have the time..and not too pricey... they just dont have it worked out. Tnx.. Merlin
 
keyman1202 said:
OK>.so on this subject..IM in south MS..Hattiesburg MS.. why cannot i change trains in NC to get to South FL?? it wants to sell me a blasted ticket all the way to DC then south.. wouldnt be so bad if Amtrak wasnt so bloomin slow... any hints on how to get to south FL? guess I'll just fly.. but train is more relaxing if i have the time..and not too pricey... they just dont have it worked out. Tnx.. Merlin
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The Crescent doesn't have a connection to the Silver Meteor or Silver Star via North Carolina.

You'd have to take the Crescent to Charlottesville, VA and then take a Thruway bus over to Richmond, VA.

You'd be sitting in Richmond for several hours, though, so it's almost better to just run up to DC. I'd rather be on the train and hang out in DC for a few hours than transfer to a bus and then wait at the Richmond station all day.
 
keyman1202 said:
.. they just dont have it worked out.
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Amtrak does indeed have it worked out - Hattiesburg to DC to South Florida. With all due respects you're the one who doesn't have it worked out. Get familiar with which way the various trains run and make life easier on yourself. This map may explain why you can't easily avoid going past North Carolina and up to Washington DC:

3NCJunctions.jpg

Notice I said "easily" because it is actually possible - but it involves taking a third train and long waits in Greensboro and either Carey or Selma. As SaraZ said - going to DC like Amtrak had you routed is much, much quicker and easier.
 
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Amtrak does not and will not have equipment for several years so this proposal would have to be postponed for at least 5 years. Available locomotives have actually decreased by 20 at the end of FY 2014 from 2013. Available passenger cars although they have increased are only partially covering increased passenger demand on present routes. We do not need to limit the available seats on present trains to run this or any other new route until the shortage of equipment is solved.
 
Thanks for pointing out the mistake...

xyzzy said:
Your map is correct except "Cary" not "Carey".
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...and in the process of correcting that one...

3NCJunctions.jpg

...I hope others weren't made. There are probably people besides Keyman1202 who can't understand why Amtrak routes them a certain way through this area. This shows the reasons and those reasons can't be seen on the big fold-out Amtrak System map in the timetable book. I initially figured it out using Google Earth and USGS topgraphical maps.
 
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By the way, as I understand it Amtrak will not ticket a connection at SSM because the station is not staffed. Amtrak wants you to ride to the next station north, WLN (Wilson), and make the connection there. It used to be that Amtrak didn't ticket a connection at CYN for the same reason, forcing riders to connect at RGH when traveling between Charlotte and Florida. But the CYN station is staffed now.
 
Yes, I just noticed SSM is not an option to avoid going to D.C. Shame too, because it looks like a very pretty station with a lot of old-time classiness: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/86902193?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com So to avoid going to D.C., it's a short ride from Greensboro to either Cary or Raleigh to catch the Silver Star. But the total elapsed time is the same for both routes. So as SarahZ said the choice is having either a single layover in D.C. (of a little over 5 hours) or two layovers, first in Greensboro (of about 5 hours) and then in either Cary or Raleigh (of about 11 hours). If $ is tight, avoiding D.C. is about US$54 cheaper on the date I checked. But I think the down side of saving the $54 would be missing breakfast on the Crescent on the way to D.C. and dinner on the Silver Star after departing D.C.

After all, for me at least, it's the train ride - not the destination.
 
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You would ultimately depart New Orleans at he same and arrive in Florida at the same time whether you changed in washington or in North Carolina. Changing in North Carolina causes one to get off the train in the middle of the night and have two layovers in smaller stations. I prefer changing in washington with only one layover. The station is a better place to change trains because of the facilities.
 
Very crazy to pay $500-1200 to do this when you can fly it for $250 and be there in five hrs or less.. thats precisely why Amtrak wont put track back in place from NOL to JAX... too many still flying.. and train just too slow..Highs speed would help a bit..
 
keyman1202 said:
Very crazy to pay $500-1200 to do this when you can fly it for $250 and be there in five hrs or less.. thats precisely why Amtrak wont put track back in place from NOL to JAX... too many still flying.. and train just too slow..Highs speed would help a bit..
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track is back in place. The problems are equipment and stations.
 
xyzzy said:
By the way, as I understand it Amtrak will not ticket a connection at SSM because the station is not staffed. Amtrak wants you to ride to the next station north, WLN (Wilson), and make the connection there. It used to be that Amtrak didn't ticket a connection at CYN for the same reason, forcing riders to connect at RGH when traveling between Charlotte and Florida. But the CYN station is staffed now.
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Maybe Amtrak won't ticket a connection, but they'll sell individual tickets for each leg of the journey. I just tried it for giggles. The current timetable on Amtrak's website shows Selma as an "Attended Station" and the Carolinian and Palmetto both stop there. But if someone really wanted to avoid going to D.C. on the Crescent and see that neat station in Selma too, this is possible if individual bookings are made - say from Hattiesburg MS:

• Dep. Hattiesburg MS at 0930hrs on the Crescent arr. Greensboro NC at 0337hrs the next morning

• Dep. Greensboro NC at 0839hrs on the Carolinian arr. Selma NC at 1100hrs

• Dep. Selma NC at 1452hrs on the Palmetto arr. Savannah GA at 2103hrs

• Dep. Savannah GA at 0434 the next morning on the Silver Star arr. Miami FL at 1805hrs

Did this leaving Hattiesburg on 16 March 2015 and total cost for coach was US$285.50 getting to Miami on the 18th. This costs US$2.50 more than going all the way up to D.C. first, but you get to ride four different trains (instead of two), the total elapsed time is the same as going up to D.C. plus you get to mill around for about four hours in that neat station in Selma too! What's not to love about a route like this? :p
 
keyman1202 said:
Very crazy to pay $500-1200 to do this when you can fly it for $250 and be there in five hrs or less.
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I think you're missing something: for some of us, it's the journey itself that counts. Arriving at the final destination may be a letdown. If Capt. Kirk hovered the Enterprise above me and offered a teleportation to the destination - instantaneously - free - I'd say "No thanks, Cap'n - I'll take the train." So I'm crazy. They haven't caught me yet! :blink:

Just my US2¢ worth.
 
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