Greyhound runs 26 buses a day out of INDY Union Station....

[JT22CW]

CSX isn't interested and neither is Amtrak

It's plain that CSX is not interested in improving a main line of their own volition when it presents little benefit to them, or to their bean-counters.  However, to outright claim that Amtrak is "not interested" is a presumption; remember that the "no new routes" edict from David Gunn days has not been rescinded, nor has capital funding been made available to Amtrak towards improving the former Monon north of Lafayette IN (Wabash through Lafayette, since the street-running Monon has been closed for a few years running) to improve the tracks thereof.  Amtrak would certainly take advantage of an opportunity to raise its profile; but no such advantage is being given it.

If Beech Grove get closed down, there will be little if any service to or through Indy

Beech Grove would be closed only after the execution of an Amtrak shutdown scenario.

[RKFarms]

The old Monon line north of Lafayette is srill jointed rail between somewhere north of Brookston to almost Monon and has a 60 mph speed limit. Travel between Dyer and CHI is very slow because of going through yards and busy junctions. The trip from Lafayette to CHI is frustratingly slow and it is worse southbound. Yes, this could be a good route in the future, but it will take money and time to make it so. CSX isn;t interested and neither is Amtrak. If Beech Grove get closed down, there will be little if any service to or through Indy.

 PR

Romney, IN 

[JT22CW]

Aw…come on, everybody knows buses breed faster than trains…

They also die faster.

It's remarkable and shameful, the current state of Indy Union Station—remarkable that it's still in existence and serving at least some varnish, shameful about the absurd alterations and reductions in capacity that it suffered, plus the fact that it's not serving the volume of varnish that Indy needs and that for the most part it's a glorified bus station compared to the rail hub it once was.

[Anonymous]

One of the problems with train travel from Indy to Chicago is it now takes Amtrak five hours to cover the trip.  Unless they can get the travel time down to at least compete with the time it takes to drive, they have no hope into turning the route into anything more than it is right now.  One would think with the size of the two cities and a major university in between, this route would have a case for increased service, but only with improvements to the travel time.

 

Bert 

Have there been any improvements made to this line, particularly the roadbed?  Last time I rode it was on the Cardinal about 15 years ago, and vast portions of the line still had expansion joints, and judging from the ride the MOW forces hadn't tightened the bolts anytime in the recent past.

You can pretty well bet that in 15 years things have changed a lot on the line.  I used to cross this particular line when I worked for the railroad in Illinois.  The roadbed looks great.  All Welded Rail, or continous ribbon rail.  You are probably right the MOW's had not tightened the bolts and that is about normal, who wants to get out and tighten a blot when they can stay home and drink there coffee and sleep in.

[natelord]

       Greyhound busses have one man opeation--engineer, conductor, and helmsman--all done by one person (helmsman because bus driver also steers bus).  Imagine an Amtrak engineer also handling passengers!! 

       Greyhound busses operate on highways that pay no property tax.

       State and local police keep trespassers off interstates.

       Injured Amtrak employees sue under the Federal Employers Liabiity Act--jury trial, damages not limited by statute.  Greyhound bus employees get workers compensation from Greyhound.

       Greyhound busses pay an infinitesimal part of highway costs.

       Money adds up.  Laws affect economic matters.  Law changes usually provoke great emotional outpourings that scare legislators--the people who actually change laws. 

  

 

 

 

[Lost World]

One of the problems with train travel from Indy to Chicago is it now takes Amtrak five hours to cover the trip.  Unless they can get the travel time down to at least compete with the time it takes to drive, they have no hope into turning the route into anything more than it is right now.  One would think with the size of the two cities and a major university in between, this route would have a case for increased service, but only with improvements to the travel time.

 

Bert 

Have there been any improvements made to this line, particularly the roadbed?  Last time I rode it was on the Cardinal about 15 years ago, and vast portions of the line still had expansion joints, and judging from the ride the MOW forces hadn't tightened the bolts anytime in the recent past.

[Brooklyn Trolley Dodger]

   We are talking about "Common Carriers" Here.... Not Private cars...

   There are a lot of people both older and young who do not have the edurance to drive straight for more then 3 1/2 hours,,,So they leave  the driving to Amtrak or Greyhound or Southwest airlines...

[tomikawaTT]

One other line to this rather meaningless statistic - how many (thousands) of private cars arrive and depart Indianapolis daily?

I have visited Indianapolis twice (to attend gymnastics events being held there.)  I parked my pickup in the Union Station parking structure both times.

Chuck

 

[Brooklyn Trolley Dodger]

http://www.trailways.com/TrailwaysCompanies/ServiceCompanies/CompanyProfile/tabid/605/sid/354/Default.aspx

Did Some Homework here in INDY... Indiana Railways the Interurban Company became Southeastern Trailways sometime in the 1950s... What killed the Interurbans and The Streetcars was a strike at the power plant in Anderson and the Public Uitlitys Holding Compnay Act of 1939 which forced Utilitys to Divest of there Streetcar Lines... NCL or National City Lines(The GM Conspericy) had no part in the destruction of the Indiana Railway or Indnapolis Streetcar Lines.... Mater of Fact the while system was rebuilt in 1941 in Indianapolis with new tracks and roadbed

[n012944]

One of the problems with train travel from Indy to Chicago is it now takes Amtrak five hours to cover the trip.  Unless they can get the travel time down to at least compete with the time it takes to drive, they have no hope into turning the route into anything more than it is right now.  One would think with the size of the two cities and a major university in between, this route would have a case for increased service, but only with improvements to the travel time.

 

Bert 

[David in Opelika]

And the airlines run 42 direct flights to O'Hare from Indy Int'l.  But at least you can take a train from O'Hare to downtown Chicago.

[samfp1943]

Amtrak runs just one train every other day?

Whats Wrong with this picture?

       If they[AMTRAK] did not run at least one train in and out of Indy, they could not cycle their equipment in and out of Beech Grove for maintenance and repairs....

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Greyhound and Amtrak also share New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal.  Greyhound may have moved into NOUPT prior to Amtrak.

[cordon]

The Northeast Corridor has many features favorable to passenger trains: high population density, difficult access to airports, relatively short distances, and enough people who like the comfort of a train as compared to the cramped seating in airplanes.  So, it's probably an apple, while Indianapolis is an orange.

Question is, where are those buses going?  How many are going to cities where a train could go?  Are there any routes where five or six buses go to the same places each day, so that they could be combined into a single train?

BTW, my last bus ride was in a seat very much like an airliner seat.  My seat partner and I were bumping elbows and knees all day.  No fun at all, and I had the window seat.

One advantage to the bus was stopping at truck stops for meals.  Much more variety and better prices than AMTRAK, but, of course, the stop slowed us down.

 

[cprted]

Greyhound uses Vancouver's (Canada) Via Rail station as well. Three Via's/week and a daily Amtrak vs God only knows how many buses.

[Modelcar]

....It's difficult to predict just what might happen to runs with Amtrak or whatever it may be called in the future and or communter lines.  With congestion at many metropolitan areas what it is, one would imagine something will have to suppliment the freeways in those areas, etc.

Right here we have commuters that travel by interstate mostly from Muncie {and some no doubt farther}, to Indy a distance from here to downtown and back at least 60 miles 5 days a week.

It is an interstate full of traffic every morning and late afternoon, etc....

We have a great rail route from here to there that passes several moderately populated areas that could be served  by a commuter run or runs each day....Great route and double track.  Just boggles my mind why a system can't and shouldn't be put in place to allow workers to travel with ease over that distance each work day and back....It is the east west main of CSX.  Depot right down in the center of Indy.

[Erie Lackawanna]

I agree with you on this one BTD.  It sucks.  But the reason behind it is fairly simple.  Busses are cheaper and by mid-century the majority of ground travellers were driving themselves, making the need for both busses and trains disappear.

Now that the need for trains has come back due to an increase in population, the infrastructure either doesn't exist or is designed for slow freight movements that make the train take much longer than the bus and be impractical.  Busses ride on the interestate.  Trains run on privately held and maintained rail.

Hopefully the next generation will wonder why there are only 50 trains a day out of stations like Indianapolis, but for now, that's a long way off.

[DMUinCT]

Praise be to Amtrak. 

 Boston's South Station has 19 depatures for New York and Washington each week day.  9 of them are "Acela" Bullet Trains.   (and 19 inbound from Washington, that's 38 interstate trains in 24 hours)

Add to that Boston Commuter Rail (MBTA) reaching out up to 50 miles in 6 directions you have a very busy station.

Boston to New York in 3 1/2 hours, New York to Washington in 2 1/2 hours.  You can spend that much time stuck in traffic.

[Suburban Station]

If Amtrak ran more trains, that woudl be less money for highly paid DC consultants.

[Modelcar]

.....I'm wondering if the Hoosier State uses the same or at least some of the equipment from the Cardinal....Can't remember just how it is all structured together now....

[n012944]

 

...That's what I thought....Amtrak use to run...{hopefully still does}, run the Hoosier State daily out of Indy to Chicago and back.

And then doesn't the Cardinal visit Indy every other day.....and points east.

The Hoosier State runs on days that the Cardinal does not.

 

Bert

[Modelcar]

 

...That's what I thought....Amtrak use to run...{hopefully still does}, run the Hoosier State daily out of Indy to Chicago and back.

And then doesn't the Cardinal visit Indy every other day.....and points east.

[gabe]

It's cheaper, 50 bucks gets you anywhere than 500 dollars sleeper fare.

If you are smart you take an express bus and stay away from those local stops every hour or so for 15 hours. The only other problem is the pan handlers and bums that surround certain greyhounds around the USA.

I just bite 'em.

Yeah, but do you know how bad Indianapolis pan handlers taste?

[greyhounds]

It's cheaper, 50 bucks gets you anywhere than 500 dollars sleeper fare.

If you are smart you take an express bus and stay away from those local stops every hour or so for 15 hours. The only other problem is the pan handlers and bums that surround certain greyhounds around the USA.

I just bite 'em.

[n012944]

Amtrak runs just one train every other day?

Whats Wrong with this picture?

Amtrak has service from Indy to Chicago every day.

[CShaveRR]

Now there might be your comparison to the 1930s interurban map.

[Brooklyn Trolley Dodger]

The Buses or the People that ride the Buses?

[Anonymous]

It's cheaper, 50 bucks gets you anywhere than 500 dollars sleeper fare.

If you are smart you take an express bus and stay away from those local stops every hour or so for 15 hours. The only other problem is the pan handlers and bums that surround certain greyhounds around the USA.

[edblysard]

Aw...come on, everybody knows buses breed faster than trains....