Allandale25
Senior Member
^ Interesting. I wasn't aware companies could choose which ports their products go through. I assume you can't make further decisions on specific subdivisions/trains the product uses?
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General railway discussions
- Thread starter Urban Sky
- Start date
Allandale25
Senior Member
How pending rail merger could aid North American auto industry
A rail merger makes the overall transportation system for automakers more efficient, says the head of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association. The "pieces are coming together," he said.
www.autonews.com
smallspy
Senior Member
Not all shippers do, but the ones that we most frequently use call at both Prince Rupert and at Vancouver.
We can't make that change once our shipment has been container'd, however. Once its loaded, we're fixed to the port of call.
Dan
Allandale25
Senior Member
As Canadian Pacific Railway bulks up, rival Canadian National takes a few attention-grabbing measures of its own
Kevin Carmichael: CN is getting serious about ESG and it's looking beyond just climate change
financialpost.com
Allandale25
Senior Member
New rail-road grade separation in London, Ontario.
drum118
Superstar
drum118
Superstar
That been in the works for years with construction starting this year.
New rail-road grade separation in London, Ontario.
This is where CP trains leave the yard as well get move around.
Traffic will be shift to the east side though I think it should be on the west side as the east side will cause CP problems for switches to the main line.. All the property is closed and pre construction was underway at Christmas time when I last saw it. Will have a look next week of the area.
The west end of the yard has an overpass and can some good shots from it.
Northern Light
Superstar
In general, I think we treat this thread as 'Canadian Railway Discussions'..........but I think the Amtrak news hidden inside Biden's Covid bill is of sufficient interest to most here that it belongs in this thread.
The bill, of course, is as yet, a proposal, not passed.
But assuming it comes out the other end looking vaguely like it does now.........this is very good news for Amtrak.
from: https://www.businessinsider.com/map...rail-network-biden-infrastructure-plan-2021-4
as per this post on SSP: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9235551&postcount=1
Note that this plan includes new service to our fair City.
Along with new service to Montreal, and enhanced service to Vancouver.
The bill, of course, is as yet, a proposal, not passed.
But assuming it comes out the other end looking vaguely like it does now.........this is very good news for Amtrak.
from: https://www.businessinsider.com/map...rail-network-biden-infrastructure-plan-2021-4
as per this post on SSP: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9235551&postcount=1
Note that this plan includes new service to our fair City.
Along with new service to Montreal, and enhanced service to Vancouver.
Northern Light
Superstar
In parallel to the above, a press release announcing the acquisition of CSX corridor for the purpose of enhanced rail service by Amtrak, both long-haul and commuter.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Joins Governor Ralph Northam to Announce Major Milestone for Transforming Rail in Virginia - Amtrak Media
Governor Ralph Northam announced the Commonwealth has finalized agreements with Amtrak, CSX, and Virginia Railway Express, launching a $3.7 billion investment to expand and improve passenger, commuter, and freight rail in Virginia.
media.amtrak.com
Johnny Au
Senior Member
Looks like South Dakota isn't getting any Amtrak service.
Apparently, no one wants to visit Mount Rushmore via Amtrak.
drum118
Superstar
The mid west is a real blank area for passenger service and some has to due with UP who controls most east-west rail out there and anti passenger service. BN own the rest and more passenger train friendly that service smaller towns/cities.
This opposite to the last 12 years of trying to kill Amtrak off with Trump leading the parade to do so.
Northern Light
Superstar
I'm encouraged.
Going to see a (de)faced mountain is like going to see a G+C building; its simply a non-creative form of masochism.
crs1026
Senior Member
^It would be more accurate to say that the bill saves, but dies not extend, the long distance network. Some of the changes (like routing via Phoenix) are no brainers - but it’s good to see the plan taking a more friendly approach to what’s there.
What is most encouraging is the number of intercity trains being contemplated, some putting daylight service on long distance routes, and some adding new city pairs to the network.
- Paul
What is most encouraging is the number of intercity trains being contemplated, some putting daylight service on long distance routes, and some adding new city pairs to the network.
- Paul
reaperexpress
Senior Member
Being a 'vision' document there is no particular weight or meaning to the map's details, but I still see some interesting tidbits.
- Amtrak service service from New York to Ronkonkoma. I'm not sure what that would accomplish given that the LIRR already runs express service on that route.
- Amtrak service from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, even though Brightline is also trying to develop that route.
- Meanwhile the San Joaquin (Sacramento/Oakland to Bakersfield, California) is not shown as "enhanced service", even though it is set to start running on the Caliornia high-speed line within the next few years.
- Fortunately the long-planned extension of the Vermonter to Montréal (becoming the 'Montrealer') is still in people's minds, despite the glacial pace of progress on the customs facility in Montréal.
The biggest surprise is certainly that blue line from Detroit to Toronto. I wonder what they had in mind when they drew that. Are they thinking of running Amtrak service directly in competition with Via? And where would the customs facility be? Detroit/Windsor or Toronto?
Maybe this could serve as the trigger to finally link the Ontario and Michigan passenger rail networks. What we need is a single train station with customs facilties to allow services from both countries. Fortunately there happens to be an enormous train station sitting abandoned right off the end of the Detroit-Windsor rail tunnel: Michigan Central Station.
With some relatively minor rejigging of existing/proposed services, the station could be quite a substantial hub:
with:
- Regional rail service to Ann Arbor: already planned by SEMCOG,
- Regional rail service to Pontiac: currently operated by Amtrak as part of the Wolverine, but I think it would work better as part of SEMCOG MI-Train network, interlined with the Ann Arbor service to provide a better connection from that line to Detroit's current Amtrak station (Baltimore Street Station),
- Amtrak service to Toledo: proposed on Biden's map,
- Amtrak service to Chicago: would be rerouted to terminate here rather than thru-running to Pontiac.
- VIA service to Toronto: This would be the most challenging service adjustment, since the current station in Windsor is past the junction from the VIA line over to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. On top of the new Detroit station, a new Windsor station would be required.
The building's current owner, the Ford Motor Company, is apparently retaining 4 tracks during the building's redevelopment to provide for future commuter service. But if one of the platforms is a dedicated Canadian customs area, that would only leave 3 platforms shared by the American services. Probably doable given the low frequencies, but not ideal.
Here's a more ambitious layout:
I showed one of the American tracks connecting to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, so that Amtrak could run direct services from Toronto to Chicago at a later stage once Toronto has its own customs facility.
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nfitz
Superstar
Far from perfect, but couldn't they just use the ETR track to get to the VIA track, and reverse it into the platform? It's only a few blocks. I'm not sure that it would require any new infrastructure - and no worse than how GO serves West Harbour GO on their rush-hour commuter trains from Niagara Falls to Toronto.
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