Summer holiday security measures

Fox 2 in St. Louis reports on the increased security for Amtrak passengers that has been made possible by the injection of stimulus dollars.

This comes on the heels of Amtrak President, Joseph Boardman, stating that, "Amtrak has no plans to follow most U.S. airlines and charge passengers for baggage. Security screening in major rail stations will be handled without installing the types of screening machines used at airports. Amtrak is increasing the use of dogs trained to detect explosives and vapors, especially on Northeast Corridor trains."

Glowing news for rail in Chicago

As Amtrak gears up for $115 million in upgrades to Chicago's Union Station, a report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors is projecting that Chicago will gain upwards of 42,000 new jobs and $6.1 billion in additional economic activity from a fully realized Midwest High-Speed Rail Network.

The report is summarized in the below video clip:

Local student wins Amtrak Video Contest

Congrats to DePaul student, Paul Hennessey, who's music video won Amtrak's "best original train travel-related video" contest. Paul's video and the 2nd place entry can be seen below. On a separate note, kudos to Amtrak on the good looking user interface of this video player.

National Train Day in Chicago and Amtrak's CEO

Today was National Train Day across the country and here in Chicago. A commitment from IL Gov Pat Quinn to HSR in the Midwest, flowing through Chicago, and strong attendance marked the day's event at Union Station -- see below


Meanwhile, this past Thursday, May 6th, Amtrak CEO, Joseph Boardman appeared on Fox Business to reaffirm Amtrak's role in the national transportation landscape.

Congressional Subcommittee meets in Chicago to discuss HSR

The Congressional Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials met yesterday at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago to discuss the high-speed intercity passenger rail grants that were recently awarded under the stimulus act and the impact the grants will have on the region. Among the notable attendees were:

• Wisconsin Gov Jim Doyle reiterated the positive effect that HSR projects will have on Wisconsin's construction, engineering, and design & supply industries. Gov Doyle's testimony can be found here.
  
• Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky stated that rail funding would create more than 57,000 jobs, while making a long neglected national investment in rail transportation.
• Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski said Amtrak and Metra users should notice a difference in commuter times within two years.
• Our own Rick Harnish testified on the importance of 220 mph service.
  
• FRA Administrator Joe Szabo's testimony can be found here.

*After the hearing, Administrator Szabo stated that Positive Train Control, which under federal mandate must be implemented by 2015, could have prevented the tragic accident in University Park.
"Positive train control is probably the most significant safety initiative in the history of railroading and certainly something that would have the ability to prevent a tragedy like this,''

Chicago's Auto Train and Madison's downtown station

The Tribune discusses the benefits enjoyed by the increasing number of riders on Amtrak's Auto Train between Lorton, VA and Sanford, FL (near Orlando). The Midwest is being factored into expansion plans for the unique service. According to Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero, "We would love to go east to west and also head from Florida to Chicago."

Future routes are examined on the basis of vacation and retiree markets, according to the Auto Train's operations supervisor, Larry Vollten. Besides Florida to Chicago, Chicago to Arizona and Chicago to Texas are being considered. Routes like these will only move closer to realization as more and more passengers, and in this case motorists, shift to Amtrak.

Vollten went on to say, "The fascinating thing about this crowd is that we did a feasibility study in Chicago and it found there is the same clientele in Chicago as there is in the Northeast United States."


Meanwhile, The Wisconsin State Journal mentions the progress that is being made to bring the city's HSR station closer to downtown. Alderman Mike Verveer, District 4, says it best,“From my perspective, the closer we can get Amtrak to downtown and the campus, the better."

Amtrak has also committed to servicing La Crosse, WI regardless of La Crosse's inclusion or exclusion on the HSR route between Milwaukee and Madison.

Amtrak ridership thrives in the Middle West

An Amtrak press release this past Thursday (4/8/10) states:
In the Chicago hub, ridership on Lincoln Service (Chicago – St. Louis) showed significant growth with an 18 percent jump in March and 11.6 percent for the six month period. Hiawatha Service (Chicago – Milwaukee) continues to grow with a 14.3 percent increase in March and up 4.8 percent fiscal year to date. Elsewhere in the Midwest, the Missouri River Runner (Kansas City - St. Louis) is up 24.2 percent for March and 15.8 percent for the first half of the Amtrak fiscal year, while the Blue Water (Chicago - Port Huron) increased by 21.7 percent in March and 5.2 percent for fiscal year to date.

This increase is due in part to:

• Airlines passing more petty costs onto passengers. Spirit Airlines recently announced that they will start charging $45 per carry-on bag. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will be proposing legislation to prevent Spirit and other airlines from doing this.
  
• More travelers seeing the benefit of rail over air travel for trips of 500 miles or less, as evidenced by the quote from Amtrak spokesman, Marc Magliari, "While Amtrak considers the car its primary competition, the rail service has captured about 16 percent of the combined air-rail market between Chicago and St. Louis."
• 90% on-time performance for the Missouri River Runner, thanks to a 9,000 foot siding built by Amtrak and Union Pacific for $8.1 million (picture below)
  

A station fit for Cincinnati

Amtrak is asking all Cincinnatians for their thoughts on the future home for passenger rail in The Queen City. Major cities with historical and grand passenger rail portals still in existence need to leverage the priceless atmosphere that only these great spaces can bring to the reinvention of American passenger rail in their city.

Fortunately it looks like decision makers are leaning towards re-establishing Cincinnati's Union Terminal as it's passenger rail station. Built in 1933, the stunning building sits 5 minutes from downtown, 8 minutes from the University of Cincinnati, 12 minutes from Xavier University and attracted 1.4 million visitors last year to the Museum Center at Union Terminal.

HSR and Airlines co-existing

The Wall Street Journal reports that during an address earlier this week to the Federal Aviation Administration’s annual forecasting conference, Sec. Ray LaHood made the future very clear when saying,

“Let me give you a little bit of political advice: Don’t be against high-speed rail,’’ Sec. LaHood said. “It’s coming to America. This is the president’s vision, this is the vice president’s vision, this is America’s vision…. We’re going to get into the high-speed rail business.’’

In two or three decades, Mr. LaHood said, U.S. cities will be connected by high-speed rail – whether airlines like it or not.

“People want alternatives,’’ he said pointedly. “People are still going to fly, but we need alternatives. So get with the program.’’

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For anyone out there on Twitter, Amtrak now has an account -- http://twitter.com/amtrakusa

The future of Amtrak technology

The future of Amtrak is looking bright after Amtrak released a RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for developing an onboard a wireless platform that will provide:

• Wi-Fi for passengers on ALL trains
• Support automated on-board signage to make announcements and provide information en route
• A secure Wi-Fi channel for Amtrak to conduct on-board transactions (such as ticketing or on-board sales)
• Support for content catching (data gathering) and delivery, such as audio and video entertainment

Could one of these resemble the future seatbacks of Amtrak trains??











*Left: JetBlue -- Right: Virgin America

CREATE: Englewood flyover construction

As many as 1,500 new jobs could be created from construction of the flyover at 63rd and State in the Englewood section Chicago. The flyover will separate Metra from Norfolk Southern tracks that carries southbound Amtrak train. The project is part of the CREATE program and was funded with $133 million in stimulus dollars. The completed flyover will eliminate the daily conflict between 78 Metra Rock Island trains and approximately 60 freight and Amtrak trains.


Below, the project is announced by Mayor Daley and Gov. Quinn reinforces the importance of rail infrastructure to Illinois' role as an inland port.

Improving American tourism

I have always loved the idea of increased domestic tourism. Few countries, if any, offer the cultural and geographic diversity that the contiguous United States does. Every year, thousands of American college students travel around Europe easily and safely on passenger trains. The train allows them to catch up on sleep, meet fellow travelers from around the globe and arrive at their destination without having to worry about the language barriers or rules of the road that could make navigating European highways quite treacherous.

Attracting foreign students and all international tourists to hop from city to city on soon-to-be-improving Amtrak service will not only spur additional economic activity, but increase America's profile as a global tourist destination that is easy and affordable to navigate. Granted this also depends on making our major cities more walkable and transit friendly, but I digress. Similar to the popular Eurail Pass, Amtrak currently has USA Rail Pass which could be an attractive option for those looking to see as much of the US as possible during their time abroad.

Below is a quick video (less than 2 mins) from the Oval Office of President Obama signing the Travel Promotion Act.

Milwaukee: site of Talgo-America

Today Wisconsin Gov Jim Doyle announced that Spanish train manufacturer, Talgo, will be manufacturing trains for Wisconsin and Oregon's Amtrak Hiawatha and Cascades routes, respectively. The plant will create 125 manufacturing jobs.

The Milwaukee facility will be located in the vacant Tower Automotive plant. Talgo CEO and President Antonio Perez said, “Our analysis included the following criteria: economic conditions, technical/operational conditions, logistics, cost of living, training facilities in the vicinity and availability of a skilled workforce. We believe that the Tower site will allow us not only to deliver the train sets on time and with our high standards of quality, but it will also allow for future growth." The Tower site has a railroad spur that connects to the new Madison line.

Progressive Railroading reports that Oregon has recently purchased two train sets for a cost of $36.6 million to enhance service between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC.

Talgo-America already has Wisconsin openings listed on its job site.

Here is the announcement:

Freak accident between Amtrak and Detroit Fire Truck

In SW Detroit, Wolverine Train 353 was bound for Chicago when it collided with a fire truck. Thankfully no one was reported injured.

This incident reinforces the importance of Amtrak's latest rail safety campaign.

Acela+Wifi and HSR in Brazil

The AP reports that Amtrak will be rolling out AmtrakConnect, it's free wireless internet service, on all 20 Acela train and in the gate areas of the following Northeast Corridor Stations:

• Washington Union Station
• Baltimore Penn Station
• Philadelphia 30th Street Station
• New York Penn Station
• Providence Station
• Boston - Route 128 Station
• Wilmington Station (2011 - once station renovations are completed)

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Air Rail News has word that Brazil is looking to have a High Speed Rail Corridor (Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo - Campinas) up and running in time for the 2016 Olympics.

A new Union Station is on the way!

Today, the Tribune's Blair Kamin reported on the Amtrak sponsored contest to redevelop Chicago's Union Station, one of Amtrak's most valuable assets, for the first time since it's 1992 renovation by Lucien Lagrange Architects of Chicago.
The firms chosen to compete are:

1. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Chicago)
2. U.S. Equities Realty (Chicago)
3. Jones Lang LaSalle (Chicago)
4. Goody Clancy (Boston)
5. Wallace Roberts & Todd (Philadelphia)
6. Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn (New York)
7. KlingStubbins (Cambridge, MA and New York)
   

Late last month, the Tribune called for a redevelopment of Union Station to accommodate the increased ridership that will result from Chicago's position as the hub for high speed trains in the Midwest. Hopefully a strong proposal by one of the above 7 firms, will help secure additional TIGER funding, the same way New York was awarded $85 million for Phase 1 of Moynihan Station.

Today's announcement arrives on the heels of last week's TIGER grants, which will support high impact CREATE programs, such as the 75th Street Corridor project, that will shift Metra SouthWest Service trains to LaSalle Street station in order to free up Union Station for increased Amtrak and Metra service.

You can help the cause for a modernized Union Station by sending an email to Mayor Daley, via the Midwest HSR Association's proposal for Union Station as Chicago's downtown airport.

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On a separate, but Midwest related note, the EPA will invest $2.2 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan which was signed by President Bush in 2002, to clean up their polluted beaches and water.

Boston to Chicago on Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited

Thanks to Boston.com for this piece:


Also, the Infrastructurist featured a new Fox show that could be trying to scare viewers away from High Speed Rail, which isn't far off from Fox Business appearing to do the same.

The battle for western Wisconsin rail is on! (Part 2)

Eau Claire makes it's case for being along the planned high speed rail corridor:

The battle for western Wisconsin rail is on! (Part 1)

La Crosse, currently a stop on the Empire Builder (Chicago to Seattle) states it's case:

Minnesota fans invading Milwaukee and wifi news

Fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves will be invading Milwaukee the weekend of January 23rd, via Amtrak's Empire Builder, to support upgrading the line between Milwaukee and the Twin Cities.

Also, the Northeast Corridor's Acela train will be upgrading it's first class seats, while also rolling out wifi this March. It's tough to argue with these upgrades to the nation's fastest passenger line since it accounted for 27% of Amtrak's revenue in 2008.