Month: April 2013

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Amtrak

Amtrak Auto Train Launches Priority Vehicle Offloading

April 23, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Amtrak Auto Train now offers a new upgrade option for passengers who want to speed up their journey. Passengers can purchase an upgrade to Priority Vehicle Offloading and their vehicle will be one of the first 20 offloaded from the train. Vehicle counts can total 200-300 per train. This new service will help passengers get to their destination sooner. Priority Vehicle Offloading can be purchased now and is available for travel beginning April 29. For a $50 fee, Priority Vehicle Offloading is available by calling 877-SKIP-I-95 or for purchase at any staffed station. This upgrade can be added

Amtrak

Amtrak: Northeast Corridor Faces Investment Crisis

April 22, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The success of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) has used up much of the legacy capacity of the existing railroad and depleted its infrastructure assets leading to a “major coming investment crisis that, without a solution, will mean strangled growth and deteriorating service” for 260 million intercity and commuter rail passengers who rely on it each year, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman told a Congressional committee today. “We have pushed the current NEC infrastructure about as far as it can go, but the end of demand and growth is nowhere in sight. A new model for investment is

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Commuter Rail

CTA Upgrades Green Line with $20 Million of Station, Track Improvements

April 11, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority said it is investing nearly $20 million in railroad track and station improvements to the southern Green Line. The projects will prepare the Green Line to handle an increase in passengers related to the five-month reconstruction of the Red Line South beginning in May, and will benefit Green Line customers for the long term with increased service reliability and fewer delays. Improvements that have been made or will be completed by May include improvements and temporary expansion of two Green Line stations, Garfield and Ashland/63rd, and significant track and signal work beginning south of

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Commuter Rail

Washington Metro to Advance ‘Model Station’ of the Future

April 11, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Metro announced a plan to test potential future station concepts at Bethesda Station. As part of its strategic plan, Momentum, the model station will enable Metro to test several design concepts in a single station, with improved lighting, better information and improved customer convenience. As an underground station with a center platform design, Bethesda represents the hardest type of station to illuminate, making it an ideal location for the “model station” pilot. Some of the concepts being considered include high-output light fixtures to direct light to the vault ceiling; a new, anti-slip zone located at the bottom of

Amtrak

Amtrak: Ridership Growth Continues In FY 2013

April 11, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Amtrak ridership increased in the first half of FY 2013 (Oct. 2012 – March 2013) and March set a record as the single best month ever in the history of America’s Railroad®. In addition, October, December, and January each set individual monthly records. Rebounding strongly from service disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather, Amtrak ridership grew 0.9 percent in the first six months of FY 2013 as compared to the same period the prior year. In all, 26 of 45 routes posted ridership increases and Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above

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Commuter Rail

MARTA Ridership Jumps 90 Percent for Final Four

April 10, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

ATLANTA — During one of Atlanta’s biggest and most exciting weekends in recent memory, MARTA’s rail ridership spiked dramatically as large numbers of hometown customers and out-of-town visitors skipped the traffic jams and instead chose transit to attend the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and a host of other events. Beginning Friday April 5th when the Final Four events began until after the championship game on Monday, April 8th, MARTA saw an estimated 78 percent increase in rail ridership. During that period, there were about 1,140,000 total rail passenger boardings; about 500,000 more than on average days when no such events

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Miscellaneous

An Iron Horse Survives On A Diet Of French Fry Oil

April 10, 2013 Railfanning.org News Wire

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — This Earth Day on April 22, the Iron Horse is back and healthier than ever thanks to strictly oil used for french fries and chicken wings. While such a diet might be hazardous to the health of most, The Grand Canyon Railway (GCR) is using recycled waste vegetable oil as fuel on Locomotive No. 4960, a steam engine built in 1923. Beginning this May on the first Saturday of every month through September, all are welcome aboard for a memorable ride on the new-fangled steam engine for a 65-mile journey from Williams, Arizona to the south rim