Amtrak proposal could restore service between New Orleans and Orlando

[JeffreyS]

Amtrak proposal could restore service between New Orleans and Orlando
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090726/NEWS01/907260315/Amtrak-proposal-could-restore-service-between-New-Orleans-and-Orlando&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

By Dave Hodges • DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR • July 26, 2009

The train made perfect sense for Tallahassee retiree Shadow Hibbard's regular trips to Arizona.
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"I go to Arizona and work on a Nature Conservancy nature preserve," she said. "I don't drive at night, and I don't use the interstates. I use the back roads. It takes me five days to get there."

When Amtrak's Sunset Limited made that run from Tallahassee, she'd board the train Tuesday night and be in Benson, Ariz., in 48 hours.

No Amtrak trains have served Tallahassee since August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage to the railroad corridor between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.

Rail travel for Tallahassee residents could return under any of three options that Amtrak has proposed in a report it was required to produce under the 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act.

Though the tracks were repaired and CSX resumed freight service, Amtrak passenger service has remained suspended "because of the costs and challenges associated with restoring service," Amtrak's report says.

Officials with the national passenger rail service initially evaluated 12 alternatives for restoring service between New Orleans and Orlando. Those were narrowed to three preferred options, based on projected ridership, revenue, operating expense and operating loss.

The first option would restore the Sunset Limited as it was before, with trains traveling three times weekly between Orlando and Los Angeles.

The second option would extend the daily City of New Orleans service, a train that travels between Chicago and New Orleans. That service would continue into Florida and terminate in Orlando.

The third option would implement daily stand-alone overnight service between New Orleans and Orlando.

Each option assumes that the 19 stations between New Orleans and Orlando, including one on Railroad Avenue in Tallahassee, would be served by the trains.

Option 1, the return of the Sunset Limited, would require the least expense in capital costs and mobilization, at $32.7 million.
Amtrak projects $6 million a year in passenger revenues, but also the least in annual ridership at 53,300 passengers. The Sunset Limited service would have an anticipated $10.8 million in direct costs, resulting in an annual operating loss of $4.8 million, the lowest deficit of the three options.
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Fred Wise, manager of the Florida Department of Transportation's Rail Office, said the Sunset Limited struggled for another reason.

"They were constantly plagued by poor on-time performance."

Another shortcoming was the limits on service â€" only three trains a week. That limited passengers' travel options.

Nonetheless, Wise said FDOT is encouraged by the report.

"We view this as a very favorable development, and we are pleased our Congressional delegation led the effort to have this studied," he said.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari acknowledged that the train schedule will contribute to consumer acceptance.

"I think it goes to the frequency of service," he said. "It has been our experience that daily service is easier for the passengers to use than less-than-daily service."

Establishing daily service under Amtrak's Option 2 would necessitate capital and mobilization costs of $57.6 to $96.6 million to bring the City of New Orleans train into Florida. The annual passenger revenue of $9.2 million is the highest of the three alternatives, as is the annual ridership projection of 96,100.

Operating expenses of $20.9 million a year would result in a loss on the route of $11.7 million.

Option 3, the daily stand-alone train running between New Orleans and Orlando, would have capital and mobilization costs of $57.6 to $96.6 million and the lowest passenger revenue of the three at $5.6 million. The operating loss would be $18.4 million a year.

The capital and mobilization costs include $10.7 million to restore the 13 stations where service was suspended. Some require remodeling to bring them into compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because of the hurricane damage, the Sanford station would require $3.2 million for demolition and reconstruction, according to Amtrak.Based on the anticipated lead time, re-establishing the Sunset Limited would take a minimum of 20 months from the date funding is made available. The other two options would be about four years away from implementation because they require the purchase of new equipment, Amtrak said.
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Whatever the option, Mark Llewellyn, chair of the Economic Development Council's Transportation & Logistics Roundtable, is optimistic about a return of passenger rail service.

"I am sure it will be a good thing for the community," he said.

Railroad and transportation company CSX, which operates freight service along the corridor, is reviewing the options. Spokesman Gary Sease said the company advised Amtrak officials that when the rail agency is ready to resume service, CSX is ready to take those trains and work them into the schedule.

CSX, however, will examine the other two options for more frequent service to determine how that activity can be accommodated, Sease said.

"We have a good relationship with Amtrak and a very good relationship with FDOT," said Sease, noting CSX's home base in Jacksonville and extensive operations in Florida. "The state of Florida and its transportation needs are very important to us."

It is now the job of federal and state policymakers to decide whether the passenger service should be restored and if so, which option is preferred. Also needed is the additional funding for capital and operating expenses.

"Once these actions are taken, Amtrak will move quickly to initiate the steps required for service restoration," the report concludes.

[JeffreyS]

The map makes it look like it would go to Jax first.

[Ocklawaha]

Jeffery, It WILL roll through Jax.

There is not a single rail route into Florida without passing through Jacksonville first. Put another way, one could say all rail traffic goes through Jax.

The sad part of this is our City has been so asleep at the wheel that we won't have the downtown station or the type and quantity of facilities for this train to terminate and break down here. In former times, the train would go into Jacksonville Terminal from New Orleans, and switchers would pull off coaches and sleepers to be attached to other trains. Grouping schedules, a New York - Tampa train also served as a thru New Orleans - Tampa train, as the New Orleans cars were switched in. Ditto for Daytona, Miami, Orlando, etc.. We already know AMTRAK WANTS TO SPLIT THE NY - MIA - TPA TRAINS IN JAX when the Florida East Coast Ry. reopens for passenger traffic.

Knowing industry attitudes about passenger traffic on freight railroads, doesn't it seem to any of you just a little strange that the City with the most to gain from passenger rail in Florida is completely ignoring this new industry? That City of course is Jacksonville, home of both CSX AND FEC. Talk about forcing an agenda, someone with deep pockets must have got to City Hall before MJ arrived with it's citizens army... Gee, I wonder who?
Can anyone else think of a single reason for us to so spurn Amtraks advances.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

Ock, I think most of our council and leaders are quite ignorant when it comes to understanding rail issues.  This is the reason more concern is placed on insignificant issues in comparison.  We just have to keep hitting these guys over the head with information.  If we're lucky, perhaps something will get lodged in there after a continuous array of haymakers.

[JeffreyS]

I think if we could give a number of jobs created to the projects we may see some interest. That is how it is done. The battery plant says 800 jobs but that means 200 and we will see how successful we are. I am sure the plan is 800 but you know how it goes.

[thelakelander]

I agree.  I've asked Ock and JTA about this in the past.  To sell the JTC plan, if an estimate showing how many jobs can be created from a transportation hub, along with an average wage, the argument for it becomes stronger and harder to ignore.

[charlestondxman]

It's ridiculous that Amtrak has waited so long to give back east-west train service to New Orleans. Katrina was nearly four years ago, and most of the New Orleans area has recovered from the storm. They need east-west train service, as it would be great for the Gulf Coast.

Even cities like Mobile, Pensacola, and others, which weren't affected as bad, deserve it.

[Jdog]

"New discussions are underway..."


Amtrak to Make Come Back in Tallahassee
By Natalie Johnson
Published: Sunday, December 4, 2011

New discussions are underway to revive the defunct Amtrak commuter rail line in Tallahassee, and redeveloping the station near Florida A&M's campus.  The Amtrak route once connected Tallahassee to other stations. The Gulf Coast Connector's Sunset Limited was discontinued in late 2005 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many of the tracks, according to the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

The NARP also claims that although the tracks have been repaired since 2005, the Amtrak trains remain "an indefinite suspension of the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans."The Sunset Limited was a commuter train that linked New Orleans and Jacksonville, with stops in Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee.

Jay Townsend, assistant city manager, said he and other city officials have been working to get the route reinstated. "The talk of Amtrak trains returning is just starting to begin. The City Commission had a meeting in order to start bringing the trains back to Tallahassee," said Townsend.

"A passed resolution was sent to congressional delegation that states the commission supports to bring it back."
The Amtrak Service Resolution included a 2009 Gulf Coast Service Plan Report, outlining a means of restoring and revising the train route. Since there is no commuter train service that travels through Tallahassee, the Amtrak Service Resolution said, "The purpose of the resolution is to urge the Federal Government to restore service to the Gulf Coast region as soon as possible for both economic and quality of life regions."

Kaya Jones, a freshman from Tallahassee, likes the idea of Amtrak services returning to the city.
"If Amtrak trains to returned, it would provide many jobs for people who are unemployed," said the environmental science student. "It would also give students an alternative means of transportation than the bus or airplanes."

In 1858, the Tallahassee station was built and is the oldest Amtrak station named on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the only station on the historic list not in use.  The Sunset Limited also ran east of New Orleans for 12 years, between 1993 and 2005. After the tracks were repaired in 2006, the Amtrak service was not renewed but cargo trains were.

"It would be nice if the Amtrak train returned to Tallahassee," said sophomore student and Miami native Samyra Wilson. "It gives people a chance to relax and experience an exciting option to transportation."

http://www.thefamuanonline.com/news/amtrak-to-make-come-back-in-tallahassee-1.2679781#.TuuXA7JFuso       

[Ocklawaha]

 

according to the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

Since there is no commuter train service that travels through Tallahassee

The association of rail passengers is largely a group of rabid rail fans....

The reporter aparently doesn't even know what a long-distance passenger train is....

Sorry folks, this reporter needed a story so she dug up an old one, talked to some train buffs and bingo! Trains are returning!  "Feel that warm yellow liquid running down your leg? Don't worry, it's just rain."

OCKLAWAHA   

[tufsu1]

not quite Ock...I know many of the high-level folks working at the City of Tallahassee...and they recently have been given the green light to pursue Amtrak with vigor.

[mbwright]

I know this is an old post, but Tallahasse is finally starting to make some noise on this.
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Tallahassee_and_Leon_County_officials_140573383.html

[fsujax]

good news. The Sunset Limited needs to be resotred. Period.

[thelakelander]

You can't argue with this quote.

Robert Stewart, Chairman of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, says, "Tallahassee, a state capital in a state that's going to be number third in the nation in size, should have rail service."

[Ocklawaha]

Gulf Wind, in it's twilight...

For the sake of any transportation hub we ever want to reclaim, I'd argue that the Sunset Limited should NOT be restored. Passing across the panhandle and the Gulf Coast cities in the dead of night does not attract the casual traveler. A revived train such as the old "Gulf Wind," operating on an all daylight schedule would serve this market much better. Also there is absolutely ZERO need for this train to run south of Jacksonville. If they stay with the overnight nature of the schedule, any number of through cars could be interchanged at the Jacksonville station for the trip not just to Sanford, but all the way to Miami/Tampa. Switching cars, changing routes, building trains is what a real railroad terminal does, Jacksonville has all of the qualifications with very little will.

OCKLAWAHA

[mbwright]

yes, I agree, it must be a daylight run.  Lets hope they just got the route name wrong.