If my math is right, the eastbound Cardinal is scheduled to take 70 minutes between Chicago and Dyer. However, the westbound is scheduled for 96 minutes. The difference is the padding typically found at the end of an Amtrak run -- a PR gimmick to give them better "on time" performance.
Dakguy201If my math is right, the eastbound Cardinal is scheduled to take 70 minutes between Chicago and Dyer. However, the westbound is scheduled for 96 minutes. The difference is the padding typically found at the end of an Amtrak run -- a PR gimmick to give them better "on time" performance.
Everybody pads schedules - there are NO schedules that are set at minimum running time. Every form of transportation does it, railroads, airlines, busses, you name it.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I had heard of some incremental improvements made to CSX.
What is the Indiana forum that has more details?
Dakguy201 If my math is right, the eastbound Cardinal is scheduled to take 70 minutes between Chicago and Dyer. However, the westbound is scheduled for 96 minutes.
If my math is right, the eastbound Cardinal is scheduled to take 70 minutes between Chicago and Dyer. However, the westbound is scheduled for 96 minutes.
That 96-70 = 26 minutes. Have seen as much as 41 minutes and many time 35 minutes early of Hoosier arriving CHI. As well many unconfirmed reports of westbound Hoosier and sometimes Cardinal of having to wait at stations for "time"
Regarding the use of "Heritage" equipment on the Hoosier State, I have had the good fortune to ride both on the Budd Equipment of VIA Rail at 90 MPH and on other well maintained equipment of similar age in Australia. I have also ridden on refurbished 30 plus year old HST trains in the United Kingdom. In no way am I advocating wholesale use of "Heritage" equipment systemwide. I think it's a "Horses for Courses" situation. For example the replacement of Amtrak baggage cars and heritage diners and heritage sleepers makes perfectly good sense. Whilst they maybe Budd cars, the reallity is they came from a host of different railroads and there would have been and probably still are/were ongoing legacy and maintenance issues beacuse each of the car types would have been slightly different given each of the original owners specific requirements.
The VIA Rail Budd cars used on the corridor are effectively all the same. Lots of commonality, well maintained etc, etc. I only just recently travelled at 125 MPH on a 32 year old refurbished 125 MPH train travelling in superb comfort with great service with the train performing exactly as it did when it was brand new.
For something like the hoosier State, sadly it was doomed from trhe start given the contract payment and sharing arrangements that have been made public. The route and its condition hardly give it any reasonable chance of of being even mildy competive.
If we take similar distance corridors in Victoria, Australia utilizing 35 year old locos, hauling a mix of 36 to 60 year old cars, we have trains providing competitive service in terms of journey time and travel cost compared to road. The services provide 2 to 3 round trips 7 days per weeek. These services are contracted to operate within 9 minutes and 59 seconds of schedule and achieve a level of punctuallity between 80% to 90%.
Yes we are anxiously waiting new replacement trains but we may have to do so so for a few years longer. Perhaps on a different route where there were not so many roadblocks working against delivering rail service the Iowa Pacific/Amtrak model might have worked much better. Very sadly for all the wrong reasons this "experiment" will be used as a benchmark for NOT TRYING TO INTRODUCE INNOVATION to grow ridership!!!
The most recent improvement was made at Crawfordsville, IN, by totally redoing the "Ames" interlocking and doing away with the diamond and the so-called connecting track from the ex-Conrail line to the ex-Monon line and raising the speed there from 10 mph to 25 mph, with elevation in the curve. By the way the name Ames has gone away.
V.Payne I had heard of some incremental improvements made to CSX. What is the Indiana forum that has more details?
The Train and Engine portion of the Hoosier State costs and really most of the shorter corridors is an issue. Unless you can turn the crew quickly and use most of the 8 hour minimum moving a train in revenue service, the costs are high, around $20/trainmile in this instance.
There is quite a gathering of Iowa Pacific equipment gathered in Beech Grove and the location just outside of Beech Grove where IP worked on the cars and got the Hoosier State ready for its runs. Quite a bit of what I saw was in Illinois Central colors including three full length domes (inside Beech Grove shop property). I saw perhaps 12 cars in IC paint.
Side Note: The two Talgo sets are still at Beech Grove and they still look good on the exterior. One of the original Viewliner sleepers is at the shops as well and has been "tagged". It is in the Amtrak 3-stripe scheme.
I've got a 3 day meeting coming up in Indy in October at the downtown conference center adjacent to Union Station there. Hotel there, also. Will be 8,000 people there. Would be just right for rail trip from Milwaukee airport station to Chi. to Indy and back. No other intermediate transportation mode required. Alas, no suitable rail schedule is available. Milw-Chi-Indy...280 miles. Milw-2mil. pop., Chi-9mil., Indy-2mil. Why not put scarce passenger rail resources where real opportunity exists? Such foolishness.
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