13 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Purdue Exponent, West Lafayette, IN, 12/16:

Amtrak, INDOT still negotiating the future of Indiana's passenger rail

For months, Amtrak, along with other possible competitors, has been in negotiations with Indiana's Department of Transportation concerning the continued operation of the Hoosier State Line past the current deadline of Jan. 31, 2015. One of the main competitors that was posed to replace Amtrak, Corridor Capital, is now out of negotiations with INDOT and will not be replacing Amtrak.

 

Hopes for the future of Indiana's train line now seem to lie with the proposed partnership between Amtrak and Iowa Pacific. However, INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield said that INDOT is still in negotiations with Amtrak.

 

Continue here.

[Sloan]

 

 

Truitt files bill to fund Indiana Amtrak line

Proposals to continue funding Indiana’s Hoosier State passenger rail service have come from the governor’s office and the General Assembly.

State Rep. Randy Truitt filed House Bill 1217, which would allow the state to appropriate $3 million annually so the Indiana Department of Transportation can contract with Amtrak to provide rail service between Indianapolis and Chicago.

http://www.jconline....rvice/21774061/

[CNJRoss]

Indianapolis Star, 1/17:

 

John Tuohy: Will Amtrak keep rolling in Indy?

 

The announcement aboard Amtrak's Hoosier State line startled me — at first.

 

"Keep your shoes on" when walking through the train, a disembodied voice instructed.

 

Is this an Indiana thing, I thought? Was it directed at me personally? I quickly checked my feet. I had remembered my shoes. That day.

 

But as the train pulled out of Union Station and the clickety-click cadence of the railroad ties grew faster and the whistle blew at the crossings and the diesel engines hummed and the massive coach warmed up, I knew what the message meant.

 

We want you to be comfortable. You will be comfortable. Just don't get that comfortable.

 

Train travel, it turns out, still has its virtues — the biggest being comfort.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

 

Adding routes would increase convenience and ridership tremendously, he said.

I wonder if Magliari really said this, or if the reporter misinterpreted him.   I think the intent was adding trains, not routes.  All trains will continue to follow the most direct route, although Chicago's CREATE project will hopefully someday change that route and provide a more direct run between Dyer and Chicago.