Tokyo’s Haneda Monorail Improvements Planned

Tokyo, Japan, August 21, 2014 – While most travelers enter Japan from Narita International Airport, Haneda Airport which is closer to Tokyo’s downtown and sees 60 million passengers annually, is being upgraded with improved rail links. The airport has resurfaced as an international destination since a fourth runway was added as part of the Japanese government’s program to increase tourism in the country.

The monorail that’s operated by Japan Railways East (JR East) and its subsidiary Tokyo Monorail are looking to expand the 'train to the plane' system to Shinjuku (a major tourist destination), central Tokyo and Shin-Kiba with a 3 km (about 2 miles). The project is budgeted at $1.1 billion dollars.

Currently, passengers can connect from the monorail to JR East and the Tokyo subway at the at Hamamatsucho monorail terminal. The line extension would reduce the average trip time from 24 to 18 minutes and a train transfer eliminated.

Metro-North M-2 Cars Saying Goodbye With New Reporting Marks

New Haven, CT, July, 2015 -

It appears the last of the M-2 cars on the property have completed their service on Metro-North. Some have gone so far as to say the 'Cosmo' cars just might’ve been the best commuter car ever built in this country.  
 
In what could be described as a last goodbye to the region they served so well for almost 40 years, the last eight M-2 cars departed Cedar Hill Yard recently as a CSX diesel loco towed them to their final resting place. The car numbers were obliterated and replaced with FICX reporting marks, a symbol of the new owner Frontier Industrial Recycling.

The final destination is a scrap yard in the famous railroad town of Ashtabula, Ohio.

Adieu to the M-2, you served us well.

Photo caption: Cosmo cars on the layup track in New Haven, Ct. during an ERA tour in March, 2015.

Ex-NYCT ‘Redbird’ Used As A Tourist Center To Close

Queens, NY, July 15, 2015 -

The R-33S subway car that was salvaged from the drink before it could be lowered off the shores of Cape May, NJ has apparently worn out its welcome on Queens Blvd. In 2005, it was saved to be a welcome/tourist center in Queens Blvd outside borough headquarters and the nearby courthouse. At the time, former Borough President Helen Marshall’s office paid for a $500,000 rehab and laying of the track panels that are beneath the car.

Ironically, the car that was built in 1963 never operated on the IRT #7 Flushing line. Out of 1400 of this car type built, this ‘Redbird’ was one of 770 that received a general overhaul and this color (nicknamed Gunn Red) red paint in the 1980s.

 

The closing is seen as a failure to market the salvaged subway car as a tourist center in Queens. Maybe it can be moved to Times Square where it would sit over the IRT 1, 2 and 3 7^th Avenue subway lines where it really operated in its heyday. 

 

The Redbirds went out of service in November of 2004 on the Flushing line.

The staffer that worked in the car was quoted in the local media that she was disappointed it was closing but a new concept could replace it.

SEPTA Media-Sharon Hill Trolley Service Changes Begin on July 20

Philadelphia, Pa., July 15, 2015 -

Buses are being used in place of trolleys along SEPTA Routes 101 and 102 (Media-Sharon Hill Line) through Sunday, September 6, 2015 due to a 12-week trolley modernization project. New timetables for Routes 101 and 102 will begin on Monday, July 20. The new schedules reflect some Route 101 trip time adjustments and Route 102 bus re-routing to accommodate track construction on Springfield Road and Woodlawn Avenue.

The Media-Sharon Hill Line is comprised of three parts: the trunk from 69th Street Transportation; Center to Drexel Hill Junction (Shadeland Avenue) used by both Route 101 and 102; stops from Huey Avenue to Media used by Route 101, and; stops from Garrettford to Sharon Hill used by Route 102.

 

During the 12-week summer trolley shutdown, 16 SEPTA in-house and third party contractor groups will work on a variety of projects on all three portions of the line. The work schedule will typically be Monday-Saturday, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

 

Scheduled work in 10 phases over the 12-week period on Route 102 are:

·         Rail replacement;

·         Concrete roadway and repaving the parking lanes, and;

·         Installation of rubber rail boots around the new rails to lessen vibration and noise.

 

The last time the trolley track and roadway were replaced in this area was 1983.

 

During this first of 10 phases of the construction, substitute Route 102 buses between Clifton Heights and Aldan will travel via Baltimore Avenue, Oak Avenue and Providence Road due to the Springfield Road and Woodlawn Avenue construction as trips will be15-20 minutes longer.

Boarding locations will be moved to Baltimore Avenue at Trolley Station and Providence Road at Woodlawn Avenue. For details, visit: http://septa.org/rebuilding/101-102-modernization-phase-2.html.

 

For more information on the Route 101/102 Trolley Modernization work, visit http://www.septa.org/rebuilding/101-102-modernization.html.

Santa Fe Railway’s Harvey House Girls Honored

Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 23, 2015 –

 

After Fred Harvey met with Charles Morse (President of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) in 1870s with the idea of setting up Harvey Houses with hotel and dining along the Santa Fe right of way became a reality, a profound change came to the American west. The innovative chain of 84 elegant hotels, lunchrooms and restaurants that predated Route 66, were staffed by single women. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, those women were honored by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez as well as the mayors of Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

The anniversary of the Harvey House franchise was celebrated because of what it did for women and the higher standard the Harvey Houses created for the hotel business out west.

Those approximately 100,000 women that staffed the Harvey Houses were frequently immigrants or from small towns that were looking for economic opportunities. Women from farms and small towns earned money and sent it home to help support the family homestead.

The rules the women had to abide by began with not being not married was strictly enforced as well as being clean and well-groomed. The women provided the cooking, cleaning and other upgraded hotel services as these clean and modern establishments offered a superior option to the lower grade nearby hotels. These trackside institutions that were 100 miles apart, flourished until the Route 66 highway was created which gradually eroded the Harvey House luster and ultimately led to their closure when automobile use which no longer limited travelers to hotels near the Santa Fe Railway.

Now, museums along the Santa Fe route dedicated to the Harvey Houses that were actual former facilities. Belen, NM is where the one of the famous 'The Harvey House' establishments once flourished. This museum is dedicated to its history in Belen and is adjacent to the Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF) right-of-way.

Amtrak Studies Additional St. Paul-Chicago Rail Service

July 2, 2015 -

Some time ago, Amtrak began to study the feasibility of additional St. Paul-Chicago rail service on behalf of the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation (MnDOT and WisDOT) and La Crosse County, Wisc. The verdict was a clear 'yes'.

The theory is that the second daily train would provide improved eastbound reliability and increased train frequency. An assessment of schedules, ridership, revenue, infrastructure investments, operating costs, and equipment needs associated with adding a second daily train between Minnesota and Chicago closer to midday hours also needed to be examined.

The study assumed the second round trip train would use the same route as the current Empire Builder service between Chicago and St. Paul with the addition of a Milwaukee Airport Rail Station stop.


The study said the St. Paul and Chicago route is the most feasible for initial service with potential extensions to Minneapolis and St. Cloud. It recommends an environmental review of the project, which would have a robust public involvement component and provide eligibility for federal funding. At this time, MnDOT, WisDOT and LaCrosse County are determining how to fund this step.

Annual ridership on the additional daily train, with a morning departure from Chicago and a mid-day departure from St. Paul, is estimated at about 155,000 passengers. This is an increase over the current Empire Builder ridership of approximately 104,000 between St. Paul and Chicago, with departures from St. Paul in the morning and Chicago in the afternoon. The top speed for passenger trains in this corridor is 79 mph.

There are anticipated capital investment costs for infrastructure capacity improvements, with a planning level cost estimate of approximately $95 million for the Chicago to St. Paul scenario. The St. Cloud and Minneapolis scenarios had higher infrastructure costs. If new equipment is required, it would cost an additional $46.4 million.

The study estimates annual state operating support (the difference between ticket revenue and operating and capital equipment costs) for the Chicago to St. Paul initial service would be approximately $6.6 million in 2014 dollars. The cost share among the funding parities for the service would be determined at a later date. Current federal regulations limit Amtrak participation to covering the first 15 percent of the operating cost.

The study is viewable at: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/passengerrail/.