Philly Amtrak Fan
Engineer
So far the news about the Hoosier State sounds good. Even Lt. Governor Eric Holcomb praised it: http://www.jconline.com/story/money/business/2016/06/09/officials-hoosier-state-rail-collaborative-feat/85591436/
So certainly many would like to see expanded service on the HS. Right now, the Hoosier State functions as the fill in for Cardinal service between CHI-IND. While discussion of the Cardinal becoming daily is another topic, I think having one daily Hoosier State on top of the Cardinal would be better. I think 7 HS+3 Card is better than 4 HS+3 Card (7 Card+0 HS would be better for passengers east of IND but would not increase service between CHI-IND and could mean the end of the Iowa Pacific agreement).
To go to 7+3 or set up for a possible 7+7, the Cardinal and Hoosier State would eventually need to be split off from each other. I have discussed previously about shifting the Cardinal to leave IND later and arrive in IND earlier and leave the HS in the current slot. Under that scenario, the HS service can still be run using a single set so no increase in equipment from IP would be required. The only other scenario I can see running the HS daily on a single train set would be to flip the schedule so it leaves CHI early in the morning going south and arrives in CHI late at night.
Proposal:
Southbound leaves CHI 7am, arrives in IND around 1:05pm, Northbound leaves IND around 7pm, arrives in CHI around 11:05pm
Assuming the Cardinal stays on its current schedule, a passenger from IND would be able to choose from 6-10:05am and 7-11:05pm on Cardinal days with return trips either 7am-1:05pm or 5:45-11:50pm. I think the times are slightly better than the Cardinal but not much. Plus, arriving in CHI after 11pm and leaving at 7am means no transfer possibilities at all from Union Station. Plus, this would assume a turn around in IND in under 6 hours. To get any convenient HS times between IND and CIN, you're going to need two sets from IP.
If you are going to require two sets for a single daily frequency, you can entertain the discussion of expansion to CIN. My proposed times for the rescheduled Cardinal were:
Westbound: CIN 7:46am, IND 11:20am/noon, CHI 4:05pm, Eastbound: CHI 11:45am, IND 5:50/5:59pm, CIN 9:17pm
Perhaps this would be a good schedule for an expanded HS between CHI-CIN. AIf you had to go to two sets for the HS, I think it would be better to go to CIN and give them at least a decent schedule to/from CHI. It would also make getting a stop at Oxford, OH (Miami U) more practical as the train would stop there at decent hours vs. the graveyard shift on the current Cardinal.
Assuming the early departure out of IND/late night arrival in IND is off limits, I can't think of any schedule which allows for two daily HS separate from the Cardinal that can be run on just two sets.
Possible schedule for two dailies CHI-IND each way:
Northbound noon-4:05pm, 7-11:05pm
Southbound 7am-1:05pm, 11:45am-5:50pm
This requires 3 sets with the early southbound turned around as the late northbound.
Then you are comparing one daily CHI-CIN on 2 sets vs. two dailies CHI-IND on 3(4?) sets.
I don't know how practical this would be but if they keep the HS+Card day setup maybe they can move the northbound HS back to leave at 8am instead of 6am to give IND residents a later arrival and still allow them to catch the TE and CZ (a shorter train would be less susceptible to delays). The southbound HS can't be moved up without sacrificing the transfers from the SWC and CZ.
In reality for the HS to expand it has to be split off from the Cardinal in some way. In theory, expanding the HS from 4x/week to 7x/week should be a lot easier than making the Cardinal daily. Also, making the Cardinal daily should not come at the expense of the Iowa Pacific equipment.
So certainly many would like to see expanded service on the HS. Right now, the Hoosier State functions as the fill in for Cardinal service between CHI-IND. While discussion of the Cardinal becoming daily is another topic, I think having one daily Hoosier State on top of the Cardinal would be better. I think 7 HS+3 Card is better than 4 HS+3 Card (7 Card+0 HS would be better for passengers east of IND but would not increase service between CHI-IND and could mean the end of the Iowa Pacific agreement).
To go to 7+3 or set up for a possible 7+7, the Cardinal and Hoosier State would eventually need to be split off from each other. I have discussed previously about shifting the Cardinal to leave IND later and arrive in IND earlier and leave the HS in the current slot. Under that scenario, the HS service can still be run using a single set so no increase in equipment from IP would be required. The only other scenario I can see running the HS daily on a single train set would be to flip the schedule so it leaves CHI early in the morning going south and arrives in CHI late at night.
Proposal:
Southbound leaves CHI 7am, arrives in IND around 1:05pm, Northbound leaves IND around 7pm, arrives in CHI around 11:05pm
Assuming the Cardinal stays on its current schedule, a passenger from IND would be able to choose from 6-10:05am and 7-11:05pm on Cardinal days with return trips either 7am-1:05pm or 5:45-11:50pm. I think the times are slightly better than the Cardinal but not much. Plus, arriving in CHI after 11pm and leaving at 7am means no transfer possibilities at all from Union Station. Plus, this would assume a turn around in IND in under 6 hours. To get any convenient HS times between IND and CIN, you're going to need two sets from IP.
If you are going to require two sets for a single daily frequency, you can entertain the discussion of expansion to CIN. My proposed times for the rescheduled Cardinal were:
Westbound: CIN 7:46am, IND 11:20am/noon, CHI 4:05pm, Eastbound: CHI 11:45am, IND 5:50/5:59pm, CIN 9:17pm
Perhaps this would be a good schedule for an expanded HS between CHI-CIN. AIf you had to go to two sets for the HS, I think it would be better to go to CIN and give them at least a decent schedule to/from CHI. It would also make getting a stop at Oxford, OH (Miami U) more practical as the train would stop there at decent hours vs. the graveyard shift on the current Cardinal.
Assuming the early departure out of IND/late night arrival in IND is off limits, I can't think of any schedule which allows for two daily HS separate from the Cardinal that can be run on just two sets.
Possible schedule for two dailies CHI-IND each way:
Northbound noon-4:05pm, 7-11:05pm
Southbound 7am-1:05pm, 11:45am-5:50pm
This requires 3 sets with the early southbound turned around as the late northbound.
Then you are comparing one daily CHI-CIN on 2 sets vs. two dailies CHI-IND on 3(4?) sets.
I don't know how practical this would be but if they keep the HS+Card day setup maybe they can move the northbound HS back to leave at 8am instead of 6am to give IND residents a later arrival and still allow them to catch the TE and CZ (a shorter train would be less susceptible to delays). The southbound HS can't be moved up without sacrificing the transfers from the SWC and CZ.
In reality for the HS to expand it has to be split off from the Cardinal in some way. In theory, expanding the HS from 4x/week to 7x/week should be a lot easier than making the Cardinal daily. Also, making the Cardinal daily should not come at the expense of the Iowa Pacific equipment.
