27 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

At press time we are 19 days away from the new routing, which simply must bring about a schedule change, since the route is supposed to  be 40 minutes to an hour shorter, and "new" stations are being served while Amherst is being eliminated.

 

So far, nothing in the way of a new timetable, and the times loaded in the inventory are the same for sample stations along the Vermonter route north and south of the reroute.   My guess is that Amtrak will leave the schedules for 54, 55, 56, & 57 alone on the southern end to preserve the Vermonter's timeslot on the Northeast Corridor and along the New Haven-Springfield route, while serving Vermont stations earlier northbound and later southbound.

 

If anyone wants to ride the new trackage, it will be impossible to do in one day, unless you live along the Vermonter route in Vermont or New Hampshire.  The two Vermonters, if on time,  pass just south of Springfield, MA. So it would require an overnight in White River Junction, Bellows Falls, St. Albans, or the Essex Junction/Burlington area.

[BillMagee]

The new stops are now available for booking, and a new PDF timetable is now downloadable.

 

By the way, the new timetable continues to show the wrong mileage between NHV and NYP.  It shows 71 miles.  That is the distance from New Haven to Grand Central. The distance from NHV to NYP is 75 miles - as shown correctly on the NEC timetables.

[Springfield Pete]

Bill, I am glad to see the new stops are now available for booking, you can buy a ticket now to ride from Northampton to New York on January 1.  But I am concerned that if I tried to board the Vermonter in Northampton or Holyoke on January 1, I might have a hard time getting to the train -- neither city has a platform even close to completion.  I understand that construction is moving along well in Greenfield, with foundations in place.  But in Northampton the only progress so far are timbers that will support the shelter roof.  There is no platform, no platform foundation, no roof or walls on the shelter, no signage, no lighting.    

 

And in Holyoke the situation is worse.  I stopped at the site 2 days ago and not a bit of construction has started, there is only a field of mud where the platform and parking area will be.  So not only is there no platform but without the parking area paved, you would need to traverse 100 feet of mud from Dwight St to the tracks. 

 

Ironically both of these cities will have stops very close to the old B&M stations.  Both buildings are still standing and both have perfectly good platforms.  But in Northampton the station building is now in private hands, parts are in use as a sports bar and parts are a banquet hall.  In Holyoke the city owns the building (which was designed by the famous architect H H Richardson) but it needs repair & rehab and the city has no funds available. 

 

I certainly hope the platforms can somehow be completed in the next 2 weeks, but I have my doubts right now.

[KevinKorell]

Bill, did you really think anything would magically change?   Since intercity service (non-commuter/Metro North) between New Haven and Grand Central pre-dates Amtrak, and Amtrak is around for 43+ years, they weren't going to magically find their mistake by putting out a new timetable with the rerouting north of Springfield. Since the left hand and right hand have not been in contact with one another this long, they aren't going to meet now!

 

Thanks to Pete for the update. Would it be possible for a short while to position one door of the train at a nearby grade crossing to board & detrain passengers there?   At least with Holyoke, Amtrak admits they won't have the station ready and have penciled the station stop in for service to begin at a later date in 2015.

[CNJRoss]

Amtrak news release, 12/12:

 

AMTRAK VERMONTER SERVICE TO THE KNOWLEDGE CORRIDOR STARTS DECEMBER 29
Tickets now available for service to Greenfield and Northampton, Mass.

 

 

WASHINGTON – Amtrak announced today that Amtrak Vermonter service to the Knowledge Corridor will start on December 29, 2014, with stops in Greenfield and Northampton, Mass. Tickets are now available for purchase.

 

The Vermonter will also add a stop in Holyoke, Mass., later in 2015 when station work is complete. The added stops due to the reroute will replace service provided to the Amherst station, which will end on December 28.

 

The restoration of train service to the Knowledge Corridor has been a goal of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Governor Patrick’s Administration, who have been leading the effort to improve the Pan Am Southern tracks and shorten trip times within the Commonwealth. Funding for the project was provided through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

 

In preparation for the new service, Amtrak has been working with local authorities to raise rail safety awareness by meeting with community groups and schools. A variety of rail safety education tools are available from Operation Lifesaver, a rail safety education organization.

 

The Vermonter operates daily between Washington and St. Albans, Vt., with service to Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Conn., Springfield, Mass. and Essex Junction, Vt., and other intermediate stops. In Fiscal Year 2014, ridership on this route increased 6.6 percent, providing service to more than 89,000 passengers.

 

Passengers may book travel via Amtrak.com, mobile apps, or by calling 800-USA-RAIL for any station along the route between Washington and St. Albans, Vt., using the attached schedule.

 

Note:  Scheduled (.pdf) included with online news release.

[Springfield Pete]

Bill, did you really think anything would magically change?   Since intercity service (non-commuter/Metro North) between New Haven and Grand Central pre-dates Amtrak, and Amtrak is around for 43+ years, they weren't going to magically find their mistake by putting out a new timetable with the rerouting north of Springfield. Since the left hand and right hand have not been in contact with one another this long, they aren't going to meet now!

 

Thanks to Pete for the update. Would it be possible for a short while to position one door of the train at a nearby grade crossing to board & detrain passengers there?   At least with Holyoke, Amtrak admits they won't have the station ready and have penciled the station stop in for service to begin at a later date in 2015.

I checked the new schedule after entering my update Friday and saw that Amtrak has given up on having a platform ready in Holyoke this month.  But Northampton will need to be ready before service can begin there -- the track is elevated in the downtown area so no grade crossings are nearby.  It would be possible to use the platform at the old B&M station, of course this would require approval from the building's current owner & removal of some fencing.  

 

The new schedule is quite a disappointment.  After millions of dollars spent on track upgrades, elimination of the manual switching maneuver at Palmer, and a 10 mile reduction in mileage, Amtrak cannot offer its travellers a single minute of schedule improvement.  Travel time between Springfield and Vermont points is exactly the same as the current 2014 schedule.  Talk about padding -- Southbound there is over an hour allowed for the 17 miles between Springfield and Northampton, which is nonstop running since no stop will be made in Holyoke.  It doesnt look quite so bad on the schedule, which indicates 21 miles between Springfield and Northampton.  But this mileage is incorrect, as Amtrak could have found out by checking their own timetables for the Montrealer from the early 1980's. That error in mileage Bill Magee found is not the only one!

 

There is also no improvement in the schedule along the Northeast Corridor.  It still will take just under 4 hours from Springfield departure to New York Penn departure, as the train is given a low priority for access to Penn Station platform space.  And northbound, it will still take 4 hours from Washington departure to New York Penn departure, due to a long layover in New York.

 

There is no way Amtrak is going to improve ridership on this train so long as the bus is faster.  The new schedule states that it is "an initial schedule."  So hopefully some real improvements will be made in the Spring.    

[KevinKorell]

Pete, I have a feeling that the only "improvement" will be the addition of the Holyoke times when that station stop becomes active.

 

Agreed that there should have been more obvious time savings on the shorter route. But on the converse, just as the reverse move at Palmer is being eliminated, there will be an added backup move into or out of Springfield. Perhaps this is just a dry run, and once a pattern of having to dwell at stations  waiting for the departure time (plus the addition of Holyoke) is established, they might tighten the schedule.

 

I didn't expect any schedule improvements along the Northeast Corridor.  There has been very little change in the past several years as far as the slots trains run in along Amtrak-owned track (and where it runs on Metro North). The Vermonter does function as a regular hourly Regional between New York and Washington (although it is closer to the operating times of other Regionals between New Haven and New York), and it also functions in a midday timeslot as one of the Shuttles in the NHHS (New Haven-Hartford-Springfield) Corridor.  However, once commuter rail gets up and running on NHHS (aka The Hartford Line) I would hope to see the Vermonter and even Amtrak's Shuttles make fewer stops since places like Walingford and Windsor Locks will have frequent service on the commuter trains.

 

Finally, with Winter officially coming next week and a week before the scheduled reroute takes effect, what if weather prevents the stations from being completed?  The only solution I can see would be to handle those station stops by bus from Springfield and have the Vermonter bypass them until they are ready to come online.

[CNJRoss]

The best "table top" and computer scheduling simulations are always subject to reality checks. Amtrak has given themselves room to "improve" the new schedule.  From the Vermonter schedule card:

 

 

Vermonter Schedule Improvements

 

The schedule shown here is the Vermonter’s initial schedule via Greenfield, Northampton and Holyoke. Schedule adjustments will be implemented in the coming months upon completion of additional infrastructure improvements.

 

 

 

Ross

 

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 12/15/14:

Amtrak's Vermonter to serve 'Knowledge Corridor'

 

Amtrak on Dec. 29 plans to begin Vermonter service to the "Knowledge Corridor," operating along a rail line that runs parallel to Interstate 91 between New Haven, Conn., and the Massachusetts border with Vermont, the railroad announced Saturday.

 

 

 

The story is a bit misleading, as the so-called Knowledge Corridor is the part north of Springfield that is getting rerouted service. Amtrak already serves the part between New Haven and Springfield parallel to I-91 with not only the Vermonter but 6 other daily frequencies in each direction.

[Sloan]

 

 

Knowledge Corridor Special: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, others christen Amtrak rails

ABOARD THE KNOWLEDGE CORRIDOR SPECIAL — The conductor's voice rang out strong and clear:

"Now arriving in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Holyoke Massachusetts, folks. Holy-OKE."

He repeated himself as the train moved up the Connecticut River Valley, each time raising his voice to a sing-song on the last syllable of the city.

http://www.masslive....mtrak_rail.html

 

Also:

 

http://www.masslive....2/post_554.html