KCRag Forum

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:25 pm

Cratedigger wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:03 pm Jesus, not again. FedEx driver dies in wreck with Amtrak train in Missouri, southeast of Kansas City

https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-new ... ansas-city

Seems they know which corridor is the issue, yet no one is doing much of anything to solve it

I did a very minor level of research on this. It's actually more complex than you'll think.

I'll see if I'm allowed to post what I did.

WoodDraw wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 6:47 am

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:25 pm

Cratedigger wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:03 pm Jesus, not again. FedEx driver dies in wreck with Amtrak train in Missouri, southeast of Kansas City

https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-new ... ansas-city

Seems they know which corridor is the issue, yet no one is doing much of anything to solve it

I did a very minor level of research on this. It's actually more complex than you'll think.

I'll see if I'm allowed to post what I did.

Please do! I know RR are wild in their red tape and bureaucracy

My understanding...

Grade crossing separation can be expensive. Closing them in rural areas can meet with backlash -- long detours for residents, emergency services. Governor Parson requested $35 million in his budget, not sure if the legislature will follow through.

Apparently Amtrak service will be suspend during the Draft here. I don’t understand the purpose of constantly regarding rail as an unrealistic mode of transit in this country

I would imagine Streetcar will be also?

Why tolerate the suspension of critical infrastructure? Would NYC allow train service to Penn Station to be suspended because of something at MSG? No? Well then we shouldn't either.

The KC equal in importance would be the Highway system and we did pretty much close that down for the Royals parade.

The streetcar getting closed wouldn’t have been a thing if it was built differently. Amtrak closure is surprising but I guess makes sense. Wish they could use the old Amshack on main

I’ve yet to see anything about street car closure, and I happened to run into the Draft organizing team when they were in town, and they were inspecting the streetcar stop at union station, so I believe it’ll be in operation.

^Does this mean that the SW Chief is suspended from Chicago to LA because of an event at KC Union Station ? Or is Amtrak going to route around KC ? And if so, how do you get from Independence to Lawrence by rail without going through the KC terminal railway RoW ?

herrfrank wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:54 pm ^Does this mean that the SW Chief is suspended from Chicago to LA because of an event at KC Union Station ? Or is Amtrak going to route around KC ? And if so, how do you get from Independence to Lawrence by rail without going through the KC terminal railway RoW ?

From what I’ve heard it’ll still go through, just won’t stop at US, security concerns were cited by NFL due to access required into the grand hall. So it isn’t a trackage issue, it’s the station use that’s the issue

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:03 pm My understanding...

Grade crossing separation can be expensive. Closing them in rural areas can meet with backlash -- long detours for residents, emergency services. Governor Parson requested $35 million in his budget, not sure if the legislature will follow through.

Every state is required to submit data on railroad crossings and dangerous ones to the feds. The feds allocate money to fix them, which the states are required to match in some way (I think recent bills might have changed this). The state then has to work with the railroad to make decisions.

I don't have access to my stuff now, but I'll post more if people really care.

But yes, it's complex.

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:48 pm

herrfrank wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:54 pm ^Does this mean that the SW Chief is suspended from Chicago to LA because of an event at KC Union Station ? Or is Amtrak going to route around KC ? And if so, how do you get from Independence to Lawrence by rail without going through the KC terminal railway RoW ?

From what I’ve heard it’ll still go through, just won’t stop at US, security concerns were cited by NFL due to access required into the grand hall. So it isn’t a trackage issue, it’s the station use that’s the issue

If it is explosives that the Mayor is worried about, cannot the city ask Burns & McDonnell or another engineering firm what would be the kilo-tonnage required to do life-threatening damage to Union Station (a steel and concrete monolith) from a passing train sixty yards away? Because I think it would need to be an enormous device, not easily concealed in a suitcase, or even in a steamer trunk. Or a low-yield fission device, which is a different type of threat profile altogether. (And if someone did have a suitcase nuke, would the NFL draft really be the target?)

Anthony_Hugo98 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 7:48 pm

herrfrank wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 6:54 pm ^Does this mean that the SW Chief is suspended from Chicago to LA because of an event at KC Union Station ? Or is Amtrak going to route around KC ? And if so, how do you get from Independence to Lawrence by rail without going through the KC terminal railway RoW ?

From what I’ve heard it’ll still go through, just won’t stop at US, security concerns were cited by NFL due to access required into the grand hall. So it isn’t a trackage issue, it’s the station use that’s the issue

I have a difficult time believing this is an issue with the NFL. It makes no sense. They play 272 games per year in crowded stadiums all of which would be vulnerable to a truck bomb parked outside the stadium or any number of similar threats. I could see the problem that the sheer number of people would make it difficult to access an Amtrak train at the station but citing security as an issue is really out of left field silliness on the NFL's part.

Is it not that the Amtrak station is at US station and the entirety of US is closed

A 200 MPH Train Is En Route To Connect Boston And Manhattan

https://bostonuncovered.com/bullet-trai ... linkin.bio

Cool

I look forward to reading the environmental impact statement when I'm in hospice care.

The NUMTOTs are all a-twitter because Amtrak hired "Train Daddy" Andy Byford to oversee their HSR efforts.

I keep hunting for more info on What This Means for Rail, but I feel like even folks at FRA don't seem to really know. Time will tell I guess, but it does feel like a cause for optimism.

PS I'm hearing that the new Acela vehicles have some significant issues.

I took the family on a spring break trip to Chicago last week on the Southwest Chief. I have to say it soured me on Amtrak for a very very long time. On the way there it took 8.5 hours instead of what should have been 7 due to the usual BS of waiting for freight traffic and the like. On the way home though it took over 10 hours to make the trip because the train was unable to operate at full speed for nearly the entire way. Boy there's nothing like the helpless feeling of sitting on a train moving a 40mph and doing the math in your head just how many miles are left to your destination and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Amtrak is just terrible, and I take it often. If you could blow it up and start over, you'd focus on highspeed corridors, and then branch out from there once they're successful.

There are a good four or five that would be really good in the US. Instead we just spread the money around aimlessly, spend far too much, and enjoy a very pathetic system.