NS willing to talk Atlanta-Macon passenger line

[Anderson]

I wish they had the smack down but, it has not happened yet.

To the defense of some of the Repubs trying to kill it the vast majority of the money is being spent on the Charlotte area cross connection to move the station to a multi modal station. In the process NS and CSX are getting a massive overhaul of trackage in the CLT area that amounts to corporate welfare. There are some articles on Google that you can find.

Personally, I cannot wait to see more NC/Amtrak enhancements but, really need a link to Asheville (on the plans since 2000 and delayed by NS due to freight traffic increases as it will benefit the Western Carolinas dramatically.

...so NC is planning to revive the Asheville Special? Is this "in front of" or "behind" the train to the beach in terms of priorities?

 

[George Harris]

I wish they had the smack down but, it has not happened yet.

To the defense of some of the Repubs trying to kill it the vast majority of the money is being spent on the Charlotte area cross connection to move the station to a multi modal station. In the process NS and CSX are getting a massive overhaul of trackage in the CLT area that amounts to corporate welfare. There are some articles on Google that you can find.

Personally, I cannot wait to see more NC/Amtrak enhancements but, really need a link to Asheville (on the plans since 2000 and delayed by NS due to freight traffic increases as it will benefit the Western Carolinas dramatically.

...so NC is planning to revive the Asheville Special? Is this "in front of" or "behind" the train to the beach in terms of priorities?

Reality check here: Salisbury to Asheville is slow due to curves and mountains. Will a train with a 5 to 6 plus hour schecule have any ridership? When it was running by Southern in the early post Amtrak years, the ridership was very low.

Yes, service to Asheville would be nice, but without major money spent on alignment work, it will not be any faster than the pre-Amtrak 1950's Asheville Special.

 

[Anderson]

I wish they had the smack down but, it has not happened yet.

To the defense of some of the Repubs trying to kill it the vast majority of the money is being spent on the Charlotte area cross connection to move the station to a multi modal station. In the process NS and CSX are getting a massive overhaul of trackage in the CLT area that amounts to corporate welfare. There are some articles on Google that you can find.

Personally, I cannot wait to see more NC/Amtrak enhancements but, really need a link to Asheville (on the plans since 2000 and delayed by NS due to freight traffic increases as it will benefit the Western Carolinas dramatically.

...so NC is planning to revive the Asheville Special? Is this "in front of" or "behind" the train to the beach in terms of priorities?

Reality check here: Salisbury to Asheville is slow due to curves and mountains. Will a train with a 5 to 6 plus hour schecule have any ridership? When it was running by Southern in the early post Amtrak years, the ridership was very low.

Yes, service to Asheville would be nice, but without major money spent on alignment work, it will not be any faster than the pre-Amtrak 1950's Asheville Special.

You've just given why I asked the question: At the last I'd seen, Raleigh-Wilmington (IIRC) had the higher priority. As beach vacations go, I might even be tempted to look into that option if one of the trains interchanged well with one of the mainline ACL trains (Meteor, Star, Palm(etto), or Carolinian) and with the expanded Hampton Roads service.

 

[jb9152]

In Texas UP got Lone Star Rail to commit to laying over 100 miles of new track that would only be used by UP so they could share the main line through downtown Austin and San Antonio.

Well, not exactly. The idea for an urban freight rail bypass actually comes from a TxDOT report on the feasibility of operating passenger rail in the corridor begun in the early 2000s and updated in 2008. The bypass line's primary purpose, then and now, is to free up capacity on the existing main line (which would be owned by Lone Star Rail). Without it, it's simply not possible to operate the level of service envisioned by Lone Star Rail.

BTW Lone Star Rail is now trying to convince the FRA it's not a commuter train but a corridor train so it would qualify for enough funding to build the new line for UP.

Again, not quite. The LSTAR line has never fit the traditional or regulatory definition of "commuter rail". It's always been planned as an intercity corridor service; the "commuter" in the original name for the district came from the enabling legislation for rail districts in Texas. The name of the district was changed in 2009 to reflect the fact that it's not a commuter rail service as envisioned.

 

[ACVitale]

According to the NC DOT site the Western Asheville train is still the priority over the Eastern train.

Not sure if a 6 hr ride would be competitive with a less then 3 hr car ride.

I have seen a lot of NS moving on the line (Black mountain the obvious exception)

I know I saw construction and renovations on the Old Fort station as well a couple months ago...

 

[Eric S]

According to the NC DOT site the Western Asheville train is still the priority over the Eastern train.

Not sure if a 6 hr ride would be competitive with a less then 3 hr car ride.

I have seen a lot of NS moving on the line (Black mountain the obvious exception)

I know I saw construction and renovations on the Old Fort station as well a couple months ago...

Eastern train being possible service to Wilmington, NC?

 

[me_little_me]

According to the NC DOT site the Western Asheville train is still the priority over the Eastern train.

Not sure if a 6 hr ride would be competitive with a less then 3 hr car ride.

I have seen a lot of NS moving on the line (Black mountain the obvious exception)

I know I saw construction and renovations on the Old Fort station as well a couple months ago...

Eastern train being possible service to Wilmington, NC?

Yes. See NCDOT rail web site.

They promised us service to Asheville in 2005, then in 2008 . Now it will be never as they took the engine they bought for us and used it for the Piedmont. I doubt I will live to see Asheville service.

 

[battalion51]

While the 1792 is dead, I don't know that the intent behind naming the engine was ever to have it be specifically used for service to Asheville. It's a fairly common practice for engines to be named, but that doesn't mean they're specifically for that town. There's a SD70M for CSXT that's the "Spirit of Miami" but that doesn't mean it's only meant for trains going to Miami...

 

[afigg]

Yes. See NCDOT rail web site.

They promised us service to Asheville in 2005, then in 2008 . Now it will be never as they took the engine they bought for us and used it for the Piedmont. I doubt I will live to see Asheville service.

Just plan on living long enough to see it. :lol:

Seriously though, looking at a spreadsheet breaking the NC application for the FL HSR funds, they will need around another $425 million total to complete the planned upgrade of the Raleigh to Charlotte corridor. Of that money, the biggest project component is Phase III is $284 million for the Charlotte Gateway station and new track & bridges to access the station. The plan is presumably to focus on those additional upgrades to the current corridor. Once most of those upgrades are funded and start construction, then look at extending service to Asheville or eastward to Wilmington NC. May take a few years to land the additional federal funding however.