Amtrak train set to hit 110 mph in test run
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jmx53
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Chicago Tribune has a nice runby video with it's article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-test-run-amtrak-passenger-train-to-hit-110-mph-20121019,0,1781261.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-test-run-amtrak-passenger-train-to-hit-110-mph-20121019,0,1781261.story
Finishing up a LONG. Trip in San Diego (trip report to follow), saw this on the local news, clearly they were sitting in the Beech Grove special car. Am I wrong to think many trains hit 110mph on the NEC?
johnny.menhennet
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They can and do go much faster than 110.
jis
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Most Amtrak trains on the NEC hit 125mph. Acelas go faster than that. LD trains are restricted to 110mph.
The Alton was double tracked from Chicago to St Louis as late as the 1960s.What surprised me in the video, (I know, I shoudn't have been), was the road is single track....I had thought that the old Alton was double track all the way from Chicago to St. Louis. Oh well, now that's progress.....
Shortline
Conductor
Got to ride at 110 this week between Chicago and Kalamazoo, it was quick! Great ride, leaves swirling up and zipping past the window, passing traffic on the road like it's standing still. That was pretty cool.
Texan Eagle
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The NE Regionals between WAS and BOS on NEC do 125 mph. Acela Express does 135 mph, and there is a small stretch between NYP-BOS where Acela really gets to flex its muscles and hit 150 mph.
I've clocked my MARC commuter train doing 120 between New Carrolton and Odenton (this is the 5:20 express from DC). At least I think if you go from a milpeost to the next in 30 seconds, you're doing 120 mph.
Texan Eagle
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Possible. It is said that MARC is the fastest commuter service in North America with some equipment allowed to go up to 125 mph on the Penn line (Amtrak's NE corridor).
the_traveler
Engineer
If I saw an Acela pass thru KIN, it would be going R E A L S L O W!
It usually goes thru the station at 150 MPH!
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MikefromCrete
Engineer
That route has been single tracked for a long, long time.The Alton was double tracked from Chicago to St Louis as late as the 1960s.What surprised me in the video, (I know, I shoudn't have been), was the road is single track....I had thought that the old Alton was double track all the way from Chicago to St. Louis. Oh well, now that's progress.....
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Nathanael
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Not really any clear indication. This is for several reasons.
First, each time one section of upgrade finishes and they announce improved times, the next section starts work and the train slows down there for the work.
Or sometimes they go back across a section they've already done in order to double track it.Second, they still haven't started work on the slowest and most delay-prone sections, which will give the greatest improvements (Chicago-Joliet and Alton-St Louis). As long as those sections require large amounts of padding time, you're just not going to see that much improvement in the rest of the schedule. Theoretically, upgrading from 79 mph to 110 mph on a long straight route would cut 30% of the time from the schedule. But in fact much of the time is spent in these "slow sections" -- it's 57 minutes from Chicago to Joliet (37 miles) and 45 minutes from St. Louis to Alton (26 miles). Oh -- and there's also a slow section through the city of Springfield which is still untouched.
Improvements from Alton to Joliet (221 miles, roughly 3 hrs. 40 minutes) -- while skipping the slow section in Springfield -- just aren't going to get you very impressive results. But that's what they've been doing. Some of the schedule improvements have already been made, because some of the work has already been done -- a few minutes quicker in the last few years.
I think Illinois DOT is embarassed to advertise how small the additional schedule improvement will be. It's been a poor choice of priorities, and exactly the opposite of the prioritization made in the Cascades corridor (where the slowest bits were fixed first).
That said, when the important parts get done (Alton-St. Louis, Chicago-Joliet, Springfield) there should be some really impressive speedups. And all of the other sections, the ones they've already rebuilt, really did need reconstruction -- the grade crossing situation was very poor, more double tracking was sorely needed, etc. But the 110mph -- that just won't do that much until the slow sections are dealt with.
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And of course, this shows the problem of new "top speeds". If the speed from A to B is increased, it helps people on that section and those from A going beyond less so but does not help those from B to C at all. People (except train nuts) don't care what the top speed is. They care how long it takes to get where they are going. Moreover, they will complain about not moving or crawling along more than they will appreciate the higher top speed because too many factors limit that speed (other train traffic, temporary rail conditions, slow orders, etc). Better to do a steady 80 than to have a section of 110 unless you happen to be only traveling that section.Not really any clear indication. This is for several reasons.
First, each time one section of upgrade finishes and they announce improved times, the next section starts work and the train slows down there for the work.
Second, they still haven't started work on the slowest and most delay-prone sections, which will give the greatest improvements (Chicago-Joliet and Alton-St Louis). As long as those sections require large amounts of padding time, you're just not going to see that much improvement in the rest of the schedule. Theoretically, upgrading from 79 mph to 110 mph on a long straight route would cut 30% of the time from the schedule. But in fact much of the time is spent in these "slow sections" -- it's 57 minutes from Chicago to Joliet (37 miles) and 45 minutes from St. Louis to Alton (26 miles). Oh -- and there's also a slow section through the city of Springfield which is still untouched.
Improvements from Alton to Joliet (221 miles, roughly 3 hrs. 40 minutes) -- while skipping the slow section in Springfield -- just aren't going to get you very impressive results. But that's what they've been doing. Some of the schedule improvements have already been made, because some of the work has already been done -- a few minutes quicker in the last few years.
I think Illinois DOT is embarassed to advertise how small the additional schedule improvement will be. It's been a poor choice of priorities, and exactly the opposite of the prioritization made in the Cascades corridor (where the slowest bits were fixed first).
That said, when the important parts get done (Alton-St. Louis, Chicago-Joliet, Springfield) there should be some really impressive speedups. And all of the other sections, the ones they've already rebuilt, really did need reconstruction -- the grade crossing situation was very poor, more double tracking was sorely needed, etc. But the 110mph -- that just won't do that much until the slow sections are dealt with.
Well, I asked because I know that the speedup project on the CHI-STL line is a rather complex, multi-stage process...and also because I didn't know how much track was really upgraded with this round (i.e. a 15-mile Acela-style speedup vs. a 60+ mile section is going to make a major difference in the impact).
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