Laisser les bons trains rouler :) NOLA to Baton Rouge

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It seems to me if you don't want to go slow then you're going to need the freight trains out of the way, which is going to require no small amounts of double tracking and other capacity increases. If that's going to be the case why not just go ahead and set the ground work for 110 service? Nothing advertises a train better than blasting down alongside the freeway 40mph faster than traffic.
 
Two daily trips isn't going to draw commuters aside from a handful for whom the schedule happens to work out. It's fine if you're positioning

the service as a leisure route, but I got the sense that there's the potential for a more robust service level.
 
If you can connect a station to MSY and get enough trains a day it effectively becomes a force multiplier for that airport. I could see the airlines possibly bringing in more direct flights with the larger customer foot print. Plus that would provide an easy link to downtown with the new streetcar line which can't hurt with tourism.

A lot of possibilities if the state look a little towards the future.
 
CHamilton said:
Commuter rail linking New Orleans to Baton Rouge has broad support, big obstacles
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If freight trains are limited to 10 mph over a wooden trestle, the route will need more investment. LOL. But it would probably be good for the freights if passenger rail helped to pay for concrete and steel bridges.

The line makes the most sense if it carries both commuter riders and medium-distance corridor trains. It's perfect for Baton Rouge-NOLA-Biloxi-Mobile, if the three states can ever get real about sharing the operating subsidy NOLA-Mobile. It would benefit, and contribute to, the coming daily Sunset Shuttle to San Antonio. And as I've said before, it's the basic link for a train NOLA-Baton Rouge-Alexandria-Shreveport-Marshall-Dallas-Ft Worth.

Amtrak will start getting spare Horizon cars in about two years, when the new bi-levels displace them in the Midwest. They'll need some fixing up, but it should be much cheaper than buying new cars. This could be the best opportunity in a long time to get trains moving around NOLA.

The plan should be to start with a certain level of service, spend more money to add more frequencies and faster times, rinse, repeat, spend more money to add more frequencies and faster times, rinse, repeat, spend more money to add more frequencies and faster times, rinse, repeat …

Lay out the 10-year program, put in, say, $50 million a year, less than what Virginia is investing in passenger rail each year, and see what half a billion can get over 10 years: quite a lot.
 
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It is only 71 rail miles on the KCS route. I would think only a modest upgrade to 50 mph would do. Time wise, upgrading to 79mph, would save you about 20 min if you ran at that speed the whole trip. Obviously with many stops and slow speeds in areas that it is not possible to get to 79mph, the time savings would be less.

As to the equipment - the CONO lays over in New Orleans for 22 hours after arriving at 3:32pm. If the sleepers and diner were on the rear when it backs into New Orleans, the trip to Baton Rouge could leave at, say, 5:30pm and return the next morning. The rear of the train would stay in New Orleans for servicing. The baggage, coaches, and maybe the SSL would be the train to Baton Rouge. Obviously this is only one train a day, but better than what they have now.

To those who say it's not feasible, look at what Nashville did with the decrepit ex Tennessee Central line operated by the Nashville and Eastern upgraded at minimal expense for the Music City commuter operation. But, if Amtrak throws up too many obstacles, I suspect Veolia or Iowa Pacific would be glad to help.
 
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The new proposal looks alright-ish. I'm not sure how much would have been gained by getting up to 110 MPH; if the plan was going to have more than one or two intermediate stops, such upgrades would be nigh-on academic (it takes a while to get up to 79 MPH, let alone 110 MPH). That said, twice-daily feels a little light for a service like this (it reminds me of what I've heard MARC was like in the early days on the Camden Line); I'd hope the state would at least secure the rights for additional slots in the deal so that service could be ramped up relatively easily.
 
With that many stops on a short route equipment is going to be as important as max speed. Ideally commuter style DMU's with a higher acceleration.

But again the first goal is to get it off the ground, and Horizons and whatever locos are available is going to have to be good enough for a start. Even with an overhaul they're not going to last forever, and by that time more suited equipment should be an obvious upgrade.
 
Honestly, as someone who lives in Lafayette, you really cant get there from here, our track routing isnt suitable for that trip. Honestly, between BR and NOL, I hate to say this, and I hope I dont get boiled alive for it, but greyhound is quicker, AND they just added more express schedules for convenience. Its such a short ride between BR and NOL. Im all for new train service, but Im left wondering if its really feasible between such close cities, with the track conditions and such.

On the flipside, Id love to see new train service start up. Hell, Id ride the sunset to NOL just to try out the ride to BR.

Just my 5 cents....2 cents plus tax. :p
 
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