The final verdict on NYC's Penn Station

Madison Square Garden staying on top of Penn Station is the perfect reflection of where this nation's headed. The U.S. used to be bold. Now, it's risk averse. As I alluded to back in 2013, it was the arena that needed to go, not Amtrak spending a lot of money on an old post office building that nearly bankrupted it earlier this century.

The fact that James Dolan (aka the real villain in this saga) has a friend in the White House makes this entire deal rotten. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the monstrosity hovering over the current Penn Station is actually the fourth iteration of MSG--in no way, historic--so, Dolan could have found another area in Manhattan but he chooses not to.

Going back to Amtrak's relocation, the fact that it felt the need to move a block or two west is telling. The phrase "a temple to modern mediocrity" shouldn't just apply to both the Moynihan Train Hall nor the remodeled Penn Station but to America as a whole. The State of New York isn't getting off scot-free either. Just because it refuses to participate in the overhaul doesn't mean its hands are clean. Truthfully, its previous proposals were no better as they too would have kept the arena on top of the station. Grassroots efforts to separate MSG from Penn were ignored. Whatever goodwill "Train Daddy" has after being unceremoniously kicked to the curb by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo will be tarnished by this project. 

Why Brightline's Demise Would Be Bad For Passenger Rail

Brightline going away would put a dent into the idea that we’re on the verge of a New Passenger Paradigm, and it would give the Class I railroads the excuse they need to remain risk averse to passenger rail.

The rent seekers would gloat about how the status quo needs to be upheld.

State DOTs may be less willing to consider AIPRO entities over Amtrak, making the Hartford Line the sole exception.

The “Amtrak or bust” mentality in this current environment is a fool’s errand as more people travel by train.

**Cross-posted to Friendica**

Random thoughts #19

1. This says a lot about the nation's transit policy that a successful rail agency is in this position
2. When it comes to possible replacements at the Miami Airport Station in the wake of Amtrak's snub, the city and state couldn't go wrong by urging upstart Lunatrain to occupy the space
3. Ms. Christensen is spot on when it comes to the costly feasibility studies--sometimes, it seems as though they're done as a way of discouraging new passenger train service. In the recent past, it was Amtrak that conducted this practice in order to wave away states that wanted new or restored train service
4. The Northstar was set up to fail in Minnesota
5. After thinking it over the last couple of months, I now understand why the historic location in Palmer, MA was rejected, but it would have provided the perfect connectivity. Imagine traveling from Springfield on Compass Rail and transferring to the Central Corridor to continue onto Storrs, CT to watch a UConn basketball game. A direct Amtrak-New England Central transfer would have done wonders
6. Potential good news for a troubled commuter rail system
7. Some places get it and some don't
8. The current POTUS spent two out of the last three elections complaining about China having faster trains than America but has done next to nothing to catch up, and the Texas fiasco tells me all I need to know about what he really thinks about trains

Diaspora's Greatest Hits 4

How anyone could oppose this is way beyond me but the people on the Railroad.net board have exposed themselves yet again

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/a-two-amtrak-concept/?RAchannel=passenger
http://www.railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=170434
https://discuss.amtraktrains.com/threads/railway-age-column-on-splitting-amtrak-to-two-operations.76294/
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4882035

Diaspora's Greatest Hits 3

Ambitious hopes for commuter rail in Milwaukee

Art at Sydney Central Station

BNSF's policy is a bummer

Add this to “Missed Opportunities for the Motor City”

San Jose's train to nowhere

Crosstown extension on 125th Street 

Diaspora's Greatest Hits 2

Siemens Cars: Brightline vs Amtrak & Via equipment vs State-Supported Venture Cars

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,5396069,nodelay=1

When discussing Siemens equipment, please keep in mind, it is all not created equal! Sure, it may look the same on the surfaces that most people can see, but open up the equipment boxes or even look at some of the material used, and you can spot differences.

Brightline basically told Siemens “we want RailJet equipment” with customized interiors. Siemens built and maintains the Brightline equipment. If a train does not make pull out or fails in service, Siemens pay penalties.

Amtrak and VIA have Technical Support, Spare Supply Agreements with Siemens, which basically ensure there is a Siemens technician available to help Amtrak or VIA diagnose and repair the equipment. The agreement also gaurantees parts avalability and delivery to the failed equipment within a specified time. If for some reason, parts or technicians are not available, or can not resolve the issues in a predetermined amount of time, Siemens pays a penalty. For ACS64, Siemens has paid more penalties than cost of TSSSA contract in the first 5 years!

The State owned equipment was not able to leverage a TSSSA agreement from the start. This is because of the some of services the States already pay Amtrak for would be duplicated in the TSSSA costs. The States each have their own unique and kwirky accounting requirements, which has been a major nightmare to try and execute any sort of TSSSA.

 Explains a lot with the Venture Cars vs Brightline as in why the former in the Midwest keep having issues

Diaspora's Greatest Hits 1

Diaspora is shutting down the diasp.org server at the end of the month, so I'm republishing my best posts from that server here.

Thinking Beyond Commuter Rail

The S-Bahn model

The RER model