ALTOONA, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s legislature will hold a hearing on the possibility of increasing train service between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The Aug. 28 hearing by the state house of representatives transportation committee’s subcommittee on railroads will be held at the Altona Railroaders Memorial Museum. It is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the state’s department of transportation is funding a study by Norfolk Southern to explore the possible expansion of service. The study will estimate the costs for Norfolk Southern of expanded service on the Harrisburg-Pittsburgh portion of the route.
Representatives from Norfolk Southern and the advocacy group Western Pennsylvanians for Passenger Rail are expected to testify.
Currently, the full route is served by just one daily round trip, the Pennsylvanian.
Amtrak Pres Richard Anderson is in favor of this. Passengers will ride in open gondolas and food service will be provided by Boy Scout volunteers cooking over open fires.
I have made that trip several times and the train is fairly empty by the time it reaches the Burgh. Once you go over that mountain its a different world. The two cities barely know each other.
Brian & Penelope I like your idea for the Bway.
Braden: The NS line is basically only 2 tracked from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, with 3 tracks in a small area of the trip.
As far as 3 round trips, given the current trip time from Pittsburgh to NYC I have trouble seeing where the 3rd one could be made to fit time-wise in a 24 hour day. I highly doubt an overnight trip would succeed if that was to be the 3rd one.
If PA wants to fund a 2nd trip for several years to see if it catches on that’s seems reasonable to me. However, the one daily trip right now isn’t that full in the Harrisburg to Pittsburgh part. It would also take a lot of improvements to enable passenger trains to achieve a significantly higher speed.
Bring Back Amtrak 40 &41 the Broadway Limited or Three Rivers Trains.
You’re forgetting that the Talgo equipment is all but dead in the USA. And forget about no nonsense dispatching. NS is to much into their auto router no matter how big a mess it creates.
Extend the current trip to Cleveland and combine with the Lake Shore to Chicago. The 2nd trip could use the Talgo equipment and continue to Cleveland to finally provide daytime service there.
Might be a good place for the orphaned Talgo train.
Braden – Thanks for clarification. I meant three round trips as you corrected.
If the state is footing the bill, then the state may have to provide the equipment as Illinois, California, North Carolina and other states have.
Where does the equipment come from?
I’d go even further and Say 3 daily roundtrips.. Since the state of Pennsy is footing the bill. Add some of the 4th track back in where feasible..
Per Paul Reistrup: Three trains daily or you’re wasting your time.
This could be the precursor to restoration of The Broadway Limited between New York and Chicago via Pittsburgh.
Given proper scheduling (and no-nonsense dispatching by NS), ridership will more than justify the additional train.
More moving the chairs around on the deck.