The Chief
Lead Service Attendant
Amtrak officials announced an upcoming change in the Texas Eagle schedule to facilitate down-state service in Illinois and possible new track usage between Fort Worth and Dallas.
The southbound Eagle (No. 21) will depart Chicago at 2 p.m. (1 hour, 20 minutes earlier than present) and northbound Eagle (No. 22) will depart San Antonio at 7 a.m. (1 hour earlier). Schedule changes should appear in the Oct., 2006 timetable.
The Amtrak officials spoke in Fort Worth at the Texas Association of Railroad Passengers (TXARP) annual meeting Sept. 9 before about 30 attendees.
With an earlier Chicago Union Station departure, the Eagle will allow passengers traveling to stops between Joliet and St. Louis an earlier travel window, officials said. This would complement the State House (No. 303).
Of greater interest is the ongoing study and communication between Amtrak and DFW commuter transit to reroute the Eagle from Union Pacific’s main freight line between Fort Worth and Dallas through Arlington to the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) trackage further north.
Current timetable for the 31 miles between Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) and Dallas Union Station is 1 hour 35 minutes westbound No. 21, and 1 hour eastbound No. 22. Part of this padded timetable is to allow for long-term, long-time delays. many precipitated by the interlocking known as Tower 55, called by many the busiest rail junction in the nation, often with more than 100 movements a day. It lies just south of the Amtrak Station underneath a new I-35W and I-30 freeway interchange. Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe are the main carriers crossing.
An Eagle schedule change (times approximate) will reflect thusly for Fort Worth and Dallas, still on the UP main, through the interlocking arriving and departing (all times PM):
WB21 Current
Ar Dal 1:20
Dp Dal 1:40
Ar FtW 3:15
Dp FtW 4:00
WB21 New (est.)
Ar Dal 12:20
Dp Dal 12:40
Ar FtW 2:15
Dp FtW 3:00
EB22 Current
Ar FtW 2:58
Dp FtW 3:20
Ar Dal 4:20
Dp Dal 4:30
EB22 New (est.)
Ar FtW 1:58
Dp FtW 2:20
Ar Dal 3:20
Dp Dal 3:30
Commuter operations staff and Amtrak will track the new arrival and transit times on the current UP mainline trackage with an eye toward moving the Eagles to the TRE trackage, possibly Spring of 2007. Providing the Eagles are on schedule, this new timing would place them on the TRE heavy commuter trackage outside of the TRE peak ride-home times. UP dispatches on the TRE trackage and freight carriers do use the line, but freight use is light during peak commuting hours.
Interestingly, the Eagles are scheduled to traverse the TRE line Sept. 12 due to planned maintenance of way by UP and BNSF in the Tower 55 area, officials said. TRE operates in conjunction with Fort Worth’s The T public transit agency, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) agency.
---
When I rode the eastbound Eagle in June 2006, we had a 16-minute delay immediately upon leaving Fort Worth ITC. After we were cleared at the Tower 55 crossroads, we did arrive in Dallas exactly in 1 hour.
©2006 JPTPublns
The southbound Eagle (No. 21) will depart Chicago at 2 p.m. (1 hour, 20 minutes earlier than present) and northbound Eagle (No. 22) will depart San Antonio at 7 a.m. (1 hour earlier). Schedule changes should appear in the Oct., 2006 timetable.
The Amtrak officials spoke in Fort Worth at the Texas Association of Railroad Passengers (TXARP) annual meeting Sept. 9 before about 30 attendees.
With an earlier Chicago Union Station departure, the Eagle will allow passengers traveling to stops between Joliet and St. Louis an earlier travel window, officials said. This would complement the State House (No. 303).
Of greater interest is the ongoing study and communication between Amtrak and DFW commuter transit to reroute the Eagle from Union Pacific’s main freight line between Fort Worth and Dallas through Arlington to the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) trackage further north.
Current timetable for the 31 miles between Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) and Dallas Union Station is 1 hour 35 minutes westbound No. 21, and 1 hour eastbound No. 22. Part of this padded timetable is to allow for long-term, long-time delays. many precipitated by the interlocking known as Tower 55, called by many the busiest rail junction in the nation, often with more than 100 movements a day. It lies just south of the Amtrak Station underneath a new I-35W and I-30 freeway interchange. Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe are the main carriers crossing.
An Eagle schedule change (times approximate) will reflect thusly for Fort Worth and Dallas, still on the UP main, through the interlocking arriving and departing (all times PM):
WB21 Current
Ar Dal 1:20
Dp Dal 1:40
Ar FtW 3:15
Dp FtW 4:00
WB21 New (est.)
Ar Dal 12:20
Dp Dal 12:40
Ar FtW 2:15
Dp FtW 3:00
EB22 Current
Ar FtW 2:58
Dp FtW 3:20
Ar Dal 4:20
Dp Dal 4:30
EB22 New (est.)
Ar FtW 1:58
Dp FtW 2:20
Ar Dal 3:20
Dp Dal 3:30
Commuter operations staff and Amtrak will track the new arrival and transit times on the current UP mainline trackage with an eye toward moving the Eagles to the TRE trackage, possibly Spring of 2007. Providing the Eagles are on schedule, this new timing would place them on the TRE heavy commuter trackage outside of the TRE peak ride-home times. UP dispatches on the TRE trackage and freight carriers do use the line, but freight use is light during peak commuting hours.
Interestingly, the Eagles are scheduled to traverse the TRE line Sept. 12 due to planned maintenance of way by UP and BNSF in the Tower 55 area, officials said. TRE operates in conjunction with Fort Worth’s The T public transit agency, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) agency.
---
When I rode the eastbound Eagle in June 2006, we had a 16-minute delay immediately upon leaving Fort Worth ITC. After we were cleared at the Tower 55 crossroads, we did arrive in Dallas exactly in 1 hour.
©2006 JPTPublns
