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Amtrak returns to New Orleans 10/9


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 05 October 2005 - 08:54 PM

Press release from Amtrak:

NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGR CORPORATION

60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington DC 20002


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 5, 2005


ATK-05-083

Contact: Marc Magliari


AMTRAK trains to roll out of NEW ORLEANS on October 9

City of New Orleans to Memphis and Chicago and Crescent to Atlanta and New York resume service

WASHINGTON – The first passenger rail service from New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina suspended all operations will begin Sunday, Oct. 9, with the departures of the City of New Orleans to Memphis and Chicago and the Crescent to Atlanta and New York, Amtrak announced today.

Passengers may make reservations now at Amtrak.com, by calling 800-USA-RAIL or starting Saturday at the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal at 1001 Loyola Ave.

The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, Amtrak facilities and the rail lines owned by the CN Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway leading into the city sustained extensive damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

“We are proud to restore our operations to and from New Orleans to both serve passengers and to help New Orleans rebuild,” said William L. Crosbie, Amtrak Senior Vice President for Operations. “We are looking forward to a steady growth in passengers to and from New Orleans as the city and the surrounding parishes make repairs and more businesses join us in reopening.”

The first train to depart New Orleans on Oct. 9 will be the Crescent at 7:20 a.m., en route to Meridian, Miss., Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Washington, New York City and other destinations. At 1:45 p.m., the City of New Orleans will depart en route to Jackson, Miss., Memphis, Tenn., Carbondale, Ill., Chicago and other destinations.

The southbound City of New Orleans and Crescent will arrive from Chicago and New York later that afternoon and evening.

In FY 2004 (Oct. 2003-Sept. 2004), 161,449 passengers were ticketed to or from New Orleans, one of only two locations in the central U.S. where Amtrak trains connect between the east and west. Since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 28, all of the eastern and western train connections have been made in Chicago while service along the gulf coast was disrupted.

At this time, taxis and other public transportation are not yet available within New Orleans and many other services are very limited.

Service that had been provided to New Orleans on a three-days-weekly schedule by the Sunset Limited (trains 1 & 2) to Orlando and Los Angeles is not yet restored. Plans for service to the west, via Beaumont and Houston, will be announced at a later date. Service to the east, via Biloxi and Mobile, will not be possible until 2006 at the earliest because of the extreme nature of the damage done to tracks, bridges and other infrastructure owned by CSX Transportation.

About Amtrak

Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail services to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 22,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit http://www.Amtrak.com.

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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 05 October 2005 - 08:57 PM

NARP's take on the same announcement: To NARP Members, October 5, 2005-- Amtrak announced today that the City of New Orleans and Crescent will resume service at New Orleans Sunday, October 9. Thus, the first inbound trains will be those originating in Chicago and New York on Saturday, October 8. Currently, New Orleans has no taxis or other public transportation. Also, NPR reported Sunday that, "technically, there is a curfew in New Orleans from 6 in the evening through 8 in the morning. But with a few bars and clubs beginning to reopen, no one -- including the police -- seems to be paying much attention." We understand that the New Orleans Police Department is aware of Amtrak's plans. It is logical to assume that, if anyone is stopped for a curfew violation while traveling to or from the station, a simple explanation and perhaps display of ticket or ticket stub should suffice. Amtrak says it will announce restoration of the Sunset Limited from the west at a later date; that train has not been restored east of San Antonio. Service east from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mobile and Florida will not be possible for perhaps nine months because of extensive damage to CSX tracks. --Ross B. Capon NARP Executive Director


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 05 October 2005 - 09:00 PM

The first train to depart New Orleans on Oct. 9 will be the Crescent at 7:20 a.m., en route to Meridian, Miss., Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Washington, New York City and other destinations. At 1:45 p.m., the City of New Orleans will depart en route to Jackson, Miss., Memphis, Tenn., Carbondale, Ill., Chicago and other destinations.

The southbound City of New Orleans and Crescent will arrive from Chicago and New York later that afternoon and evening.

It seems to me that if Amtrak got all their equipment out of the city (save for whatever was immobile in the yard), then they would be have to operate a train inbound first (towards NOL) before being able to provide service at 7:20 AM Sunday morning and 1:45 Sunday afternoon. So if you're going to deadhead trainsets down to New Orleans, then why not make the first inbound trains into New Orleans revenue runs (probably arriving Saturday afternoon/evening 10/8)?


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#4 Sam Damon

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Posted 06 October 2005 - 08:03 AM

It seems to me that if Amtrak got all their equipment out of the city (save for whatever was immobile in the yard), then they would be have to operate a train inbound first (towards NOL) before being able to provide service at 7:20 AM Sunday morning and 1:45 Sunday afternoon. So if you're going to deadhead trainsets down to New Orleans, then why not make the first inbound trains into New Orleans revenue runs (probably arriving Saturday afternoon/evening 10/8)?

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Possibly because someone forgot to think? :blink:


This ain't rocket science we're talking 'bout here.

#5 BillMagee

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Posted 06 October 2005 - 12:14 PM

Maybe the inbound trainsets are ferrying personnel and equipment to get the station and servicing facility up and running? Just a thought.

#6 ICGsteve

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Posted 06 October 2005 - 03:04 PM

Bill, your theory has a flaw; what could Amtrak possibly need to get to NO in the way of personel or equipment that would allow them to off load passengers? The station does not even need to be open in order to make the first rev run inbound rather than outbound. I can't think of a single reasonable explaination for Amtrak restarting NO backwards. I would be suprised if this practice has been done historically anywhere in the world. My hunch is that Richardson has some goofy PR planned around the first train out and did not want a rev train in the day before to compete with. If so this is dumb. You celibrate the first train in not the first train out. The first train in carries the meaning that the railroad has arrived, that people want to come to your city, it is a message of hope. To make the first train out the important one is to convey the meaning that getting out of the city is what is important. Amtrak building PR around the first train out of town would be to reenforce the notion that NO is a dieing city from which people want to flee. We shall see. If however Amtrak is so tone deaf that they screw-up the symbolism of restarting NO service .......This is not rocket science. All that is required to figure out how to do this right is a functioning human brain connected to a functioning human heart.

#7 NickG

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Posted 06 October 2005 - 04:05 PM

I just checked Amtrak's online reservation system. Seats are in fact available on train #19(7), the southbound Crescent which will leave New York on October 7. This equipment will probably turn as one of the "inaugural" departures from New Orleans on October 9. Apparently #19(7) is already well-booked, because a one-way coach ticket on that train is currently going for $222! I agree with you, Steve. I don't know why Amtrak doesn't want to put the PR focus on the first trains pulling into the New Orleans terminal instead of the first ones leaving it. I want to see pictures of people coming into New Orleans--we've already seen too many pictures of people trying to escape from it! :blink:
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#8 BillMagee

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Posted 08 October 2005 - 06:44 PM

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune (AP), 10/8/05:

Tears, hugs and a proposal as Amtrak returns to New Orleans
Amtrak resumed passenger rail service to this storm-ravaged city Saturday, bringing with it a handful of passengers struck by the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina but ready to get on with their lives.

The full story is HERE.




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