Looking at the map on page 39 of the April issue of Trains, it appears there planning to resurrect passenger service up to 110 mph on the DelMarVa line from Wilmington DE to Cape Charles VA. Can this be real?
Sorry for the typos. High speed rail was covered extensively in the April issue of trains. As I viewed the map on page 39, I was intrigued to find the line from Wilmington, DE running down the DelMarVa peninsula was being studied for rail service up to 110 mph. What's there today is your basic streak of rust, although since NS took over the segment from Wilminton to Pocomoke I suspect track quality has improved. Also, the segment from Pocomoke to Cape Charles is being operated by a short line and since it has partnered with NS its track quality has improved with rebuilt roadbed, weed control and new ties. I've never seen a train move faster than 25 mph on this portion of the road, and I no longer travel Route 13 in MD and DE where it runs parallel to the RR to see how fast the trains run there.
But 110 mph? There's nothing on this line but a string of small towns, some of them seasonal shore resorts. The crops that used to leave by rail now go by truck. The through route used the ferry down to Norfolk underused. I just wondered if this map line was a mistake, or was I missing something?
oops
How different would the Delmarva be from the New Jersey Shore? Maybe 110 mph wouldn't be feasible; but I assume trains would continue on the NEC as far as Boston and Richmond (at least from Dover).
HarveyK400 How different would the Delmarva be from the New Jersey Shore? Maybe 110 mph wouldn't be feasible;
How different would the Delmarva be from the New Jersey Shore? Maybe 110 mph wouldn't be feasible;
No difference. The Delmarva route should be banked for eventually a second HSR route from Wilmington, De and north --- to Norfolk and on down the east coast. Of course there would be the need of a tunnel/bridge from Delmarva - Norfolk.
blue streak 1 HarveyK400: How different would the Delmarva be from the New Jersey Shore? Maybe 110 mph wouldn't be feasible; No difference. The Delmarva route should be banked for eventually a second HSR route from Wilmington, De and north --- to Norfolk and on down the east coast. Of course there would be the need of a tunnel/bridge from Delmarva - Norfolk.
HarveyK400: How different would the Delmarva be from the New Jersey Shore? Maybe 110 mph wouldn't be feasible;
Now crossing the Chesapeake would be expensive. I can't see that much traffic from the north to Norfolk even if it is a shorter route.
The nice thing about corridors, especially in france & Germany, is that they figured out that you can hang a bunch of feeder routes on a trunk line to build more volume and revenue with little additional infrastructure.
HarveyK400 Now crossing the Chesapeake would be expensive. I can't see that much traffic from the north to Norfolk even if it is a shorter route. The nice thing about corridors, especially in france & Germany, is that they figured out that you can hang a bunch of feeder routes on a trunk line to build more volume and revenue with little additional infrastructure.
Absolutely: Feeder routes have not been really considered in all the AMTRAK and commuter rail proposals.
Captain Allen Looking at the map on page 39 of the April issue of Trains, it appears there planning to resurrect passenger service up to 110 mph on the DelMarVa line from Wilmington DE to Cape Charles VA. Can this be real?
Looking at the map on page 39 of the April issue of Trains, it appears there planning to resurrect passenger service up to 110 mph on the DelMarVa line from Wilmington DE to Cape Charles VA.
billio Captain Allen: Looking at the map on page 39 of the April issue of Trains, it appears there planning to resurrect passenger service up to 110 mph on the DelMarVa line from Wilmington DE to Cape Charles VA. Can this be real? A resounding Yes! But -- only if the riders are revenue-generating chickens bound to Holly Farms or Perdue processing plants for plucking, or migratory waterfowl steering clear of the US Airways planes with texting pilots that populate the skies overhead. Of these winged riders, there might be plenty. Otherwise, the line is a waste of money, because passengers of the non-feathered, two-legged variety are likely to be too few in number to justify this project (not that a paucity of riders hasn't stopped several locales from trying to cash in on the high-speed rail gravy train). Hey! Look at a map of the Delmarva Peninsula. There are, practically speaking, no population centers south of maybe Dover, Delaware, and calling Dover a population center is stretching the term to the limit. Just tank towns, the residents of which H.L. Mencken caustically referred to as "Trans-Choptankians." Moreover, Cape Charles lies north of, and across Chesepeake Bay, from Hampton Roads, making it a dumb idea and ill-thought out transportation choice for sailors returning to Norfolk from shore leave to take a train to Cape Charles then swim (or otherwise cross) the Bay. Someone pointed out in an earlier reply that the Bay would have to be crossed, but if that were so, then the scope of the project would be Wilmington-Norfolk, and not Wilmington-Cape Charles. Besides, we've been fed all this stuff about Virginia's high-speed train service ticketed for the Richmond-Petersburg-Norfolk corridor, so why build two lines into the Tidewater? In sum, a transportation corridor best left to the 'Hound.
Captain Allen: Looking at the map on page 39 of the April issue of Trains, it appears there planning to resurrect passenger service up to 110 mph on the DelMarVa line from Wilmington DE to Cape Charles VA. Can this be real?
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