Amtrak to Make Come Back in Tallahassee

[Caesar La Rock]

http://www.thefamuan...assee-1.2679781

I'm not going to say anything about this yet because I am too tired and I'm going to lie down. Then I'll come back.

 

[Agent]

The Sunset Limited was a commuter train that linked New Orleans and Jacksonville, with stops in Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee.

I didn't know the Sunset Limited was a commuter train. You learn something new everyday.

 

[stntylr]

"The Sunset Limited was a commuter train that linked New Orleans and Jacksonville, with stops in Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee"

Souds like a reliable source to me.

 

[George Harris]

To some news outlets, train = commuter.

 

[Trogdor]

I wonder who's having these "new discussions," other than the City Commission.

I suppose the cities along the route could come up with the money needed to reextend the route, but given the fact that Amtrak's operating budget is being cut, you can pretty much guarantee that Amtrak is not going to restore the service on its own (that much has been obvious for the last six years).

 

[fairviewroad]

Jay Townsend, assistant city manager, said [snip]

"A passed resolution was sent to congressional delegation that states the commission supports to bring it back."

Now let's all sit back and witness the mighty power of a passed resolution!

For the record, though, it's worth noting that this is a college newspaper we're talking about...so a little slack may be in order.

 

[Ocala Mike]

The writer of this article should repeat Journalism 101, presumably at FSU. Almost every town council or other local governmental body along the route east of NOLA has passed a similar resolution (which wound up in File 13).

Folks, it ain't comin' back!

 

[johnny.menhennet]

Even if they wanted to bring it back, the necessary superliner equipment has probably been reassigned to a much more useful rotation

 

[Caesar La Rock]

I'm pretty much not going to pay too much attention to the circumstances of what takes place with the Sunset Limited going to Florida. As far as I see it there is only two ways this can go.

1. The SL doesn't come back to Florida.

2. The SL does return to Florida.

With that said that's all folks.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

"The Sunset Limited was a commuter train that linked New Orleans and Jacksonville, with stops in Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee"

Would a trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville have to be an overnight, or could it be done in a day? IMHO, "commuter train" is what many like to call a train trip that is short enough to be done in a day.

 

[the_traveler]

Would a trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville have to be an overnight, or could it be done in a day? IMHO, "commuter train" is what many like to call a train trip that is short enough to be done in a day.

I befieve it could be done in the da

 

[afigg]

Even if they wanted to bring it back, the necessary superliner equipment has probably been reassigned to a much more useful rotation

By accounts, Amtrak would not realistically have the Superliner equipment available to support this service now. But, the current shortage should be taken care of when a Superliner III order is placed and new Superliners are delivered. Equipment is not the issue. The key issue is that Amtrak is under a lot of pressure to reduce operating losses. Amtrak is not going to restore a loss leader service unless they have specific funding for it or they can reduce losses enough on the other LD trains over the next several years that they can afford to cover the restored service from the annual operating subsidy. The best strategy, though, may be to wait for $5 to $6 a gallon gas.

The title of this thread is mis-leading, BTW. It should read Amtrak asked to come back to Tallahassee.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Even if they wanted to bring it back, the necessary superliner equipment has probably been reassigned to a much more useful rotation

By accounts, Amtrak would not realistically have the Superliner equipment available to support this service now. But, the current shortage should be taken care of when a Superliner III order is placed and new Superliners are delivered. Equipment is not the issue. The key issue is that Amtrak is under a lot of pressure to reduce operating losses. Amtrak is not going to restore a loss leader service unless they have specific funding for it or they can reduce losses enough on the other LD trains over the next several years that they can afford to cover the restored service from the annual operating subsidy. The best strategy, though, may be to wait for $5 to $6 a gallon gas.

The title of this thread is mis-leading, BTW. It should read Amtrak asked to come back to Tallahassee.

$5 to $6 gas? That may not be a very long wait if you ask me.

 

[Acela150]

If I had a nickel everytime this story came up... But I'll believe it when I see it.. But a commuter train?? Not so reliable..

 

[George Harris]

Would a trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville have to be an overnight, or could it be done in a day? IMHO, "commuter train" is what many like to call a train trip that is short enough to be done in a day.

I befieve it could be done in the day

The best ever run time for the Gulf Wind was 15 hours. I doubt that it could be done much faster if any faster today. Distance by rail, 617 miles

Per mapquqest: road distance 546 miles, drive time 8 hours 17 minutes.

With signals throughout and a number of other upgrades to deal with slow spots, the run time MIGHT be brought down to around 10 to 12 hours, but not likely much less.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

If I had a nickel everytime this story came up... But I'll believe it when I see it.. But a commuter train?? Not so reliable..

I agree with you. If it does happen though it will probably be the most surprising things Amtrak has done since.... well I'm not sure what was the last surprising thing Amtrak has done.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Would a trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville have to be an overnight, or could it be done in a day? IMHO, "commuter train" is what many like to call a train trip that is short enough to be done in a day.

I befieve it could be done in the day

The best ever run time for the Gulf Wind was 15 hours. I doubt that it could be done much faster if any faster today. Distance by rail, 617 miles

Per mapquqest: road distance 546 miles, drive time 8 hours 17 minutes.

With signals throughout and a number of other upgrades to deal with slow spots, the run time MIGHT be brought down to around 10 to 12 hours, but not likely much less.

10 hours wouldn't be too bad. Right?

 

[Acela150]

If I had a nickel everytime this story came up... But I'll believe it when I see it.. But a commuter train?? Not so reliable..

I agree with you. If it does happen though it will probably be the most surprising things Amtrak has done since.... well I'm not sure what was the last surprising thing Amtrak has done.

Get rid of David Gunn if you ask me... :unsure: Smart guy!

 

[haolerider]

"The Sunset Limited was a commuter train that linked New Orleans and Jacksonville, with stops in Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee"

Would a trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville have to be an overnight, or could it be done in a day? IMHO, "commuter train" is what many like to call a train trip that is short enough to be done in a day.

Don't you mean Trails & Rails program - in conjunction with the National Park Service? This often gets confused with Rails to Trails.

 

[George Harris]

With signals throughout and a number of other upgrades to deal with slow spots, the run time MIGHT be brought down to around 10 to 12 hours, but not likely much less.

10 hours wouldn't be too bad. Right?

However, it would quite a few million dollars to do the thing listed to get there. As is, 15 hours is about as good as you can do.

 

[FunNut]

Commuter train = rail service that takes workers from a stop/station near their home to a location near where their offices are

 

[Caesar La Rock]

With signals throughout and a number of other upgrades to deal with slow spots, the run time MIGHT be brought down to around 10 to 12 hours, but not likely much less.

10 hours wouldn't be too bad. Right?

However, it would quite a few million dollars to do the thing listed to get there. As is, 15 hours is about as good as you can do.

Yeah that I can't disagree with. Not only that they will also have to build a new station for Mobile, Alabama since the one that was there when the Sunset ran was torn down a few years ago. And every other station along the route east of New Orleans needs a degree of work to be done. Many here including myself have doubts the train will run east of New Orleans any time soon, but I wish those trying to get train running to Florida again good luck, cause they are going to need it.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Seems like such a long shot at this point. If they brought back the Sunset East I would expect it to perform even worse than when it was discontinued suspended. I mean, won't most folks have long since forgotten about it? Some stations would probably be left torn down with others modified for other purposes and some moved to other locations. Although the Sunset East retains its legal mandate, in some ways it really doesn't seem all that different from starting a brand new route from scratch. Only problem is that Amtrak doesn't have much money to get the word out through paid advertising. Many of the media outlets along the Sunset East route would probably echo the views of their constituencies with neutral reporting at best and staunchly anti-rail reporting at worst. Just doesn't seem worth the effort at this point, especially with so little upside potential.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Seems like such a long shot at this point. If they brought back the Sunset East I would expect it to perform even worse than when it was discontinued suspended. I mean, won't most folks have long since forgotten about it? Some stations would probably be left torn down with others modified for other purposes and some moved to other locations. Although the Sunset East retains its legal mandate, in some ways it really doesn't seem all that different from starting a brand new route from scratch. Only problem is that Amtrak doesn't have much money to get the word out through paid advertising. Many of the media outlets along the Sunset East route would probably echo the views of their constituencies with neutral reporting at best and staunchly anti-rail reporting at worst. Just doesn't seem worth the effort at this point, especially with so little upside potential.

I can assume one thing. If the train returns the one time performance would much better then what it was before the route was suspended. Ridership on the train has significantly increased, which is a good thing. Though once again we don't know if this train will return east of New Orleans, so I guess we continue to play the waiting game for now.

 

[Donctor]

...discontinued in late 2005 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many of the tracks...

It only destroyed six or seven. That's not that many.

Kaya Jones, a freshman from Tallahassee, likes the idea of Amtrak services returning to the city.

"If Amtrak trains to returned, it would provide many jobs for people who are unemployed," said the environmental science student.

I see we're bringing out Tallahassee's best and brightest for this "announcement" — good news.