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  1. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    What the future holds is that there will be more Hiawathas between MKE and CHI. But SOME of them will be extended to GB, MSP, and MSN. What would be be confusing to non-foamers is that there are 4 completely different names for a train that goes between MKE and CHI. What would make a lot of...
  2. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    I don't know who chose it. The point still stands against whomever did make the choice. Two swings and two misses? Will they get a third swing? I hope so.
  3. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    I guess it should be no surprise that Amtrak got two bites at the naming apple, and screwed up both of them. The name should have Hiawatha in it, period. It is so simple even a caveman could do it. But not Amtrak.
  4. Kramerica

    Detroit Peoplemover and Q-Line

    I rode the DPM the Sunday morning of Metallica weekend November 2023. Very few riders. The two stations we visited had one or two security guards. The DPM goes counterclockwise around its circuitous downtown loop. We rode it just for the sake of riding it and to see downtown. It was a nice...
  5. Kramerica

    Progress on service to Madison WI

    I hope a CHI-MSN-MSP train would not swap ends of the train mid-ride in Madison. Many people (my wife for one) cannot ride backwards on a train or they'll get motion sickness.
  6. Kramerica

    Progress on service to Madison WI

    You make a good point about train/plane connections at the Madison airport not being that important. As for car rentals, it may not be a big part of the customer base for the trains, but I can certainly see someone from MSP or CHI wanting to take the train and the drive the last bit. Just...
  7. Kramerica

    Progress on service to Madison WI

    Wisconsin State Rail Map Too bad there isn't a good way to have the train enter Madison from the southeast (through McFarland), then up the isthmus to a stop at Monona Terrace, then up to a stop at the Madison Airport, then continue on to the north and west. Then there would be no back-up...
  8. Kramerica

    Twin Cities (Minnesota) Local and Suburban Rail Service discussion

    Where can I read more about this I-94 rail connection between SPUD and Target Field?
  9. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    At least that's good news about the name. Great River is a terrible name for a train that spends as much time near to Lake Michigan as it does the Great River. Calling this train some derivative of the Hiawatha is what makes the most sense.
  10. Kramerica

    Midwest Venture introduction

    To answer the question about what type of cars the BC car is semi-permanently coupled to, there was this update to the article: "— Updated at 3:20 p.m. CDT to clarify that business cars will be semi-permanently coupled to coaches, not just cafes."
  11. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    Projected timetable, from Wikipedia: "The Great River train will make 13 total stops from Chicago to St. Paul. Westbound, the journey will take 7 hours and 11 minutes, while it will take 7 hours 27 minutes eastbound. Each direction, the train will have a 5 minute long stop in Milwaukee. The...
  12. Kramerica

    Ambitious restoration and transformation in the Chicago area

    Do you know of any information where you can find out what four projects those will be? I was unable to locate that information.
  13. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    Great River (train) - Wikipedia Looks the train has a new name: Great River I do not like it. Doesn't even spend a third of its route along the Mississippi. Should call it the '400', except for the fact that our modern Amtrak can't manage to get this train to run on a 400 minute schedule...
  14. Kramerica

    Siemens Caltrans/IDOT Venture design, engineering, testing and delivery (2012-2024)

    That's what we're worried about. It is isn't the trainsets themselves. It is Amtrak's competence. What have they done in the last two decades to inspire confidence that they'll do things properly?
  15. Kramerica

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    So if the diners cannot handle the capacity... doesn't that mean the diners are desirable and we should add more? Cutting them because they are too popular doesn't make any sense to me. Yes, I'd love it if they disconnected meals from the sleepers and adjusted the pricing. That would reserve...
  16. Kramerica

    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    My two cents on a couple of the the points made above: - Can't have backwards-facing seats on LD trains. The fact that they have them on corridor trains is really annoying. There are many people (my wife) that can't face backwards or they'll get motion sickness. Just turn the dang train at...
  17. Kramerica

    No Business Class on the Coast Starlight

    From my experience riding coach with my family in August 2022 on the LSL, the full cafe was barely adequate if not inadequate. Coach was packed; they could have easily used a half cafe half BC car in addition. There were long lines at the cafe quite often, and there was a lack of seating as well.
  18. Kramerica

    Progress on service to Madison WI

    Exactly. On a different forum I wrote this: "Obviously the GOP was the big problem for the train failure in 2010, but the Dems (and the media) didn't do as well as they could have either. You mention one major thing above. Why this was typically labelled as a MSN-MKE train is a huge question...
  19. Kramerica

    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    Regarding the TCMC (Twin Cities Milwaukee Chicago) second frequency, that is actually a go. They have the funding, the environmental approvals, and a schedule to start construction in 2023. So there will be two round trips now, including the one Empire Builder frequency. The TCMC will leave...
  20. Kramerica

    Progress on service to Madison WI

    My recollection from 2008 is that Monona Terrace and the Airport were the two leading candidates, picked from this same group of options. I don't think things have changed much since 2008. IMO the yellow 1st Street area is too far away from the walkable Capitol / UW area to be useful for...
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