I would love to ride trains more often, but I literally can’t because I can’t get there by train. For example I can take Metrolink from Oceanside to San Bernardino once a day leaving Oceanside at 4:20 PM. I would have to leave San Bernardino at 4:48 AM the next day to get back by 7:15 AM. I can catch a train to Riverside from Oceanside at 7:30 AM and to Orange at 2:47 PM and connect from both in under an hour to trains to San Bernardino. I don’t expect to see more direct trains service between Oceanside and San Bernardino anytime soon. But with improved bus connections we can open new markets to existing trains and future trains on existing routes at little capital costs. There are bottlenecks to adding more trains between Oceanside and Orange County as well as more trains to San Bernardino from Orange County. But you can add connecting buses to existing rail lines and increase ridership. Convenience or lack there of is a major factor for rail ridership. Few things make taking the train more convenient than more frequent service to more places.

In California connecting buses have been used successfully for years to add riders to the San Joaquin, Capitol Corridor and Pacific Surfliner Trains. These services sponsored by Caltrans and operated under Amtrak management must break even or better. Under LOSSAN we will see joint schedules of Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink and Coaster Trains  showing how they connect with each other. As part of this scheduling the connections between services are being improved. This will include connections between Amtrak Thruway Buses and Metrolink and Coaster. There are other services I can think of that would benefit with new bus connections

One place I think many people besides myself would love to take the train to is the airport. In San Diego there is a bus connection downtown at the train station to the airport. It is basically a local city bus which makes several stops on its way to to the airport and its schedule isn’t in sync with Coaster or Amtrak trains. There are plans in the future to build a Coaster/HSR train station at the airport. In the meantime I would love a shuttle bus at the Old Town Trolley-Coaster-Amtrak Station to the airport with more Coaster service. On the train you go past the airport going downtown and then backtrack to get to the airport. Old Town is close to the airport and more direct for Coaster, Amtrak and Green Line Trolley passengers. Shuttle bus service at Old Town 7 days a week to the airport would get many more riders than the existing bus connection which only works if you are coming from downtown. What is needed to really serve airports by rail are trains that run when airports are most busy. This is usually in the early morning roughly from 6 to 8 AM, mid day roughly from Noon until 2 PM and evening from roughly 6 to 8 PM. For trains to best serve passengers they need to get people to the airport at least an hour before morning planes leave and leave up to an hour after the last evening planes land.

On Metrolink I think the same thing happens. There are bus connections to John Wayne Airport at Metrolink Stations in Orange County. But I know I would be more likely to think about using Metrolink or Amtrak to John Wayne if I saw buses waiting by the platform painted as shuttle bus to John Wayne. Go to any major airport and you see colorfully painted shuttle buses clearly saying which rental car, hotel or parking lot they are going. Having shuttle buses to Ontario Airport would be a good idea to get more people to fly out of Ontario by taking Metrolink. This doesn’t have to be fancy. Bob Hope Airport has used a commercial van service to carry passengers from the Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station to the airport.

This brings up the BIG airport LAX. The Flyaway Bus from LAUS to LAX is doing very well. The jury is still out on the Flyaway Bus from Irvine to LAX. It may still need some adjustments to really catch on. One market that is ignored are the many people who are going near the LAX but are not flying to or from LAX. LAX is a second downtown in Los Angeles. Many people work near LAX and people often have business near or at the airport. Flyaway service isn’t designed for these travelers. What I would like to see would be a LAX bus that would shuttle between Van Nuys and Norwalk. But it wouldn’t go into LAX but to a transit center with direct service to LAX. It would also connect with transit at the Green Line, Blue Line and Expo Line. People riding on Metrolink and Amtrak would have much greater access to the West Los Angeles region with such a bus serving the San Fernando Valley from the North and rail service from the east at Norwalk to get to the Westside of Los Angeles. Much of this can be done running buses on HOV lanes on the Century and San Diego Freeways to avoid crowded freeway traffic.

Ventura County has Metrolink and Amtrak service but it has large gaps in service. Some Metrolink Trains stop in Chatsworth or Moorpark and don’t go all the way to Oxnard. Plus Ventura County doesn’t have the money other counties in Southern California have for expanding rail service. What could be done is run connecting buses in Ventura County to extend service as far as Ventura by bus from existing trains. This would be handy if with double tracking extended from Van Nuys to Chatsworth we see more Chatsworth trains we can have more service as far as Ventrura. I am writing about Southern California because that is what I am most familiar with. But I’m sure many of the same problems exist elsewhere in the State. There are many towns in the San Joaquin Valley without direct connections to the San Joaquins. I’m sure there are places like airports or rail transit that would be better connected by buses to Caltrain or ACE..

May 7, 2012 Part 1  May 7, 2012 Part 2  May 7, 2012 Part 3

The above copy of this enewletter is on a PDF file and  you will not be able to click on to the links in blue. If you would like an emailed copy of this enewsletter or to subscribe to it email nbraymer@railpac.org

We support a new daily passenger train linking the Central Coast during the day.  For more than twenty years, work on a new Coast Daylight train service has led to studies without results.

The Coast Rail Coordinating Council, a voluntary coalition of regional transportation agencies is leading the service planning, and has prepared a realistic, immediately doable operating plan.  However the freight train volume and freight need on the corridor has been vastly overstated by Union Pacific Railroad.  This unfairly blocks the public’s right to access the corridor.  Amtrak is willing to operate the service, and it is consistent with the State Rail Plan. 

Click here to sign the petition now!

We hope you’ll visit one of our booths today at Sacramento, San Jose, Salinas, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Van Nuys and Los Angeles!

MAY 11, 2012 – The Rail Passenger Association of California (RailPAC), the Coast Starlight Communities Network and the Steel Wheels Coalition^® are working together to step up the campaign for an additional passenger train along the California Coast.  To be known as the Coast Daylight, this train will provide daily service between the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Twenty years of effort by public agencies have been met by stonewalling by the Union Pacific Railroad.  While the railroad has its own interests and those of its customers, it should add depth to the slogan that it builds America.  It can demonstrate its commitment to a more constructive relationship with Californians by opening the Union Pacific coast line to another intercity passenger train.

The coast line is not a busy freight route and only one daily passenger train, the Coast Starlight, plies the route.  Technical questions about changes in the railroad track and signaling are raised, discussed … but rarely answered by the railroad unless that answer involves huge investment in capacity.  The Union Pacific Railroad demands for capacity expansion currently go beyond what is necessary to provide good freight and passenger service.

Passenger rail enhances freight service with better quality track and dispatching.  Extra costs imposed on the privately owned railroad, we believe, should be paid for by the beneficiaries. Passenger rail groups believe that common carriers of freight and passengers benefit from higher discipline in running the entire railroad.  Scheduled passenger service creates daily goals for operations to run more efficiently without causing significant increases in cost.

Time for action – the Union Pacific Railroad should celebrate its 150^th anniversary by joining with the state of California, and the counties and communities of California at the negotiating table.

You can view and sign the petition by visiting http://chn.ge/coastdaylight.

About RailPAC

The Rail Passenger Association of California, a 501 c3 non-profit corporation, is a membership based organization serving California, Nevada and the western United States.  www.railpac.org.

About the Coast Starlight Communities Network

The Coast Starlight Communities Network, created in 2007, is a coalition of various interests with the goal of protecting and improving rail service between Washington, Oregon, and California.  They have assumed an educational and advocacy role dedicated to improving rail services along the Coast Starlight corridor.  With the assistance of partner organizations thousands of campaign fliers have been distributed to educate travelers, advocates, and community leaders of the importance of the Coast Starlight.   www.coaststarlight.net.

About the Steel Wheels Coalition^®

The Steel Wheels Coalition provides a non-membership alliance among organizations and brings together groups that support better passenger service and preservation of long-distance trains in America.

Train #1, as well as #3 the Southwest Chief cannot be scheduled to arrive between 6 and 8 AM because of Metrolink schedules, but can arrive in that time subject to Metrolink delays as has been done in the recent past. The first day’s arrival of #1 in Los Angeles on the new schedule was Wednesday, May 9: Scheduled at 5:35 am; Actual: 6:24 am Delay: 49 minutes. The train was on time departing New Orleans but two hours late out of San Antonio, which was cut to 1 1/2 hours late at Pomona. The padding time was accommodated by Metrolink for the LAUS arrival at 49 minutes late. –Russ Jackson, RailPAC.

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Union Station Food Establishments

La Famina Convenience Store — open 24 hours

Starbucks — open 4:30 AM

Subway — open 5 AM

Los Angeles MTA Building (south end of loading tunnel and up the stairs) Cafeteria — open 6:30 AM

Metropolitan Water District Cafeteria (west of Amtrak ticket counter) – open 6:30 AM

Area Food Establishments

Philippe, “the Original” Restaurant – open 6 AM
1001 N. Alameda

Connecting Transportation

LAX Flyway Bus (south end loading tunnel) departures at 4 am, 5 am and then starting at 5:50 AM every twenty minutes

LAMTA Gold Line — service begins at 3:40 AM

LAMTA Red Line – service begins at 4:30 AM

The notion of a JPA is similar to that of the Auburn – Sacramento – Oakland – San Jose Capitol Corridor Service. The bill in Sacramento on this subject matter to watch is AB 1779 by Kathleen Galgiani. The members of the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee have felt one key point that motivates their need for such legislation. Members have been monitoring what has been going on at the Capitol Corridor for years and have also recognized that the LOS-SAN (Los Angeles – San Luis Obispo – San Diego) Rail Advisory Committee have legislation in Sacramento known as SB 1225 by Alex Padilla. If SB 1225 is ultimately signed by Governor Edmund G. Jerry Brown, then the San Joaquins will be the only service in California not governed by a Joint Powers Authority. Many speakers came up mostly with a neutral position on the bill, but needed some key matters addressed no matter what direction the legislation goes, including, but not limited to: Every Joint Powers Authority has participation for a Statewide Timetable; Through Ticketing must remain and exist; A State Agency must remain and exist that has pull and power, and… Steps need to be taken to ultimately reject and repeal the Perata Bill while respecting the territory & obligations of private transportation operators.
The matter on AB 1779 (Galgiani) & SB 1225 (Padilla) have been requested to be on the agenda from now until there is a final decision on these critical pieces of legislation. The San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee will next have these on their Sacramento Meeting Agenda – August 30th inside the Stanford Gallery of the California State Railroad Museum.

Service Changes
Monday, 7 May 2012, will mark the start of Amtrak’s Spring/Summer 2012 Travel Portion of the year. The travel will return to Fall/Winter sometime in October 2012. The San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee will be notified of the October Date at its Sacramento Meeting on August 30th. The Spring/Summer Timetable is now available at stations across the United States including the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station. In the new National Timetable, the San Joaquin bus service linking from the Bakersfield Station to San Bernardino, Indio, and Hemet will have a Downtown Palm Springs Stop added with connections from Train #702 and #714. Return trips from the new Downtown Palm Springs Station to locations throughout the San Joaquin Valley will be connections in Bakersfield to Train #715 and #703. In late July/early August additional connection time will be added to all motorcoach runs at the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station to accommodate the new track location. According to the Amtrak California Operating Timetable shown at the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee by Statewide Bus & Schedule Coordinator, Will Schilling, the date listed for the changes at Sacramento Valley Station is August 6th. The Amtrak California Operating Timetable is also accessible via the Internet. Using the Google Search Engine, type in “CalTrans Division of Rail” and search the documents listed on their page. Once you find the Operating Timetable #45, this is the one that shows the Spring/Summer 2012 Service and the August 6th date of the changes at the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station. If the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station date changes, and is mentioned by Staff of the City of Sacramento, we will send interested parties an Email alert on this matter.

The most significant change to Amtrak in California will be in Los Angeles where Train #2 (Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle) will depart Los Angeles three days a week (Wednesdays Fridays and Sundays) at 10:00 P.M. rather than the current 3:00 P.M. This change will virtually open up many available schedule opportunities for Californian’s in Central and Northern California and eliminate the existing “tight” connection from Train #702 and Bus Run #5802 that gets to Los Angeles at 2:30 P.M. for a 3:00 P.M. departure.

On a personal note, based on a careful schedule analysis, this writer recommends that for anyone connecting in Los Angeles to either the Southwest Chief or the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle, that they purchase tickets that will guarantee them a seat on Train #712 in the Southbound direction and Train #715 in the Northbound direction. Riders doing this at the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station will need to be at the station by 7:35 A.M. when traveling in the Southbound direction, and will arrive back at the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station from Southern California by 6:35 P.M. In Oakland, the #712 Train Departure is at 7:30 A.M., while the #715 Train Arrival is at 7:25 P.M.

State Update
There have been no changes to the Governor’s January Budget Proposal as was reported at the last San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Meeting. This still means that many CalTrans Division of Rail Positions could be eliminated and the status of staffing in the marketing, food service and San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Positions could be gone and not back filled. We will keep close eye on this matter and send any alerts necessary when writing the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Report after the conclusion of their June 2012 Meeting on the 20th in Oakland, California.

Work is progressing along on the ability to acquire 130 additional rail cars of which 90 will be delivered to the Midwest and 40 in California. A Request For Proposal (RFP) has been completed with the potential Notice To Proceed (NTP) expected this October. In or around Thanksgiving 2012 California is set to receive a set of seven “Comet Cars” from New Jersey. These cars are not sponsored by the green cleaner Comet, in retail stores. – LOL

Amtrak Government Affairs Update
Alex Khalfin of Amtrak Government Affairs gave an update at the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee. The written report covered San Joaquin Corridor Performance, the FFY13 Amtrak Legislative Request, and Amtrak Governance.

For the months of January, February, and March 2012 – San Joaquin ridership and revenue was higher then over the same time period in 2011. Endpoint on time performance ranged from a low of 85.8% to a high of 91.1%. So far to date Amtrak has made a budget request to the White House and to Congress that is for less operating money than allowed by the Passenger Rail Investment Improvement Act (PRIIA). We should know by the August 30th San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Meeting what the House, Senate, and the Obama Administration will submit on their own for Amtrak for the FFY 2013 Year, which takes effect on Monday 1 October 2012.

What’s Up for the Next San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee

Besides the pending legislation, which will be a topic of lengthy discussion, the City of Sacramento needs to be on alert. Not only will the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee be meeting in Sacramento, but the Committee will be hearing from representatives throughout the Sacramento Region on the prize infill project known as the Sacramento Railyards. The tracks, proposed Entertainment Sports Complex, and Infrastructure layout will all be topics of discussion and deliberation with much, much more to come on the Sacramento Railyards as time gets closer to August 30th.

Conclusion

Mark your calendars, take the day off from work, or whatever else you might have to do to be in Sacramento on both Wednesday 30 August 2012 as well as Saturday 15 September 2012. Both dates will be busy inside the Stanford Gallery Room behind the main California State Railroad Museum as they will be the meeting and conference locations for the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee (August 30th) and the Rail Passenger Association of California & Nevada (September 15th).

The legislation discussed at the April San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee and associated infrastructure changes forthcoming at the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station set the slate for a busy calendar ahead for California and the West Coast. Here is the latest of what we do know through September 30th.

Monday 7 May 2012: Amtrak National Timetable (Spring/Summer) Changes take effect through sometime in October 2012.

Saturday 12 May 2012: 5th Annual National Train Day Celebration with the largest West Coast Event in Los Angeles from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Tuesday 22 May 2012: Oral Report on the S.J.V.R.C. & South Sacramento County Transit Link to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

Friday 15 June 2012: California State Legislative Constitutional Deadline to pass the 2012-1013 California State Budget.

Sunday 1 July 2012: Fiscal New Year’s Day for the State of California. The 2012-2013 California State Budget Year (if on time) is now in effect.

Wednesday 20 June 2012: Amtrak Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board of Directors Meeting at BART Board Room in Oakland, California.

Monday 6 August 2012: Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station Track Location Changes according to the CalTrans Division of Rail Timetable.

Thursday 30 August 2012: San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Meeting – California State Railroad Museum’s Stanford Gallery in Sacramento.

Sunday 2 September 2012: Year 1 of 5 of Sacramento Regional Transit District’s Transit Renewal Service Changes take effect beginning at 4am.

Saturday 15 September 2012: Rail Passenger Association of California &Nevada Annual Steel Wheels Conference in the Stanford Gallery Room – Sacramento.

Wednesday 19 September 2012: Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Board of Directors Meeting: City Council Chambers of Suisun City, CA.

Sunday 30 September 2012: Federal Fiscal Year 2012 for the United States of America comes to a close after 11:59 P.M. in their local time zones.

The heyday for Turbine powered passenger trains was back in the 1960′s and 70′s. The conventional wisdom is rising oil prices and high fuel consumption with Turbine Trains caused their days to be numbered. One reason for the decline was the leader in building Turbine Trains was France. The prototype TGV train built in the 70′s was a turbine train which still holds the speed record for turbine trains of 198 miles per hour. The decision to electrify the TGV trains was largely political. During the oil uncertainties of the 70′s the French Government began building more Nuclear Power Plants. The government soon found they had a glut of electrical power from these new power plants so it ordered the railroad to electrify more lines and the TGV trains.

Turbine trains have high power yet are light weight and the engines take up little space. Turbine passenger trains don’t have locomotives, they have power cars which hold the power plant as well as carry passengers and control cab. Turbines are actually very efficient at full power. The problem is they are not efficient at low power or at idle which is why they were considered inefficient. There is a solution for this: instead of using a big turbine engine on a train it is better to use several smaller ones. With 4 smaller turbines you could use 1 for Head End Power and for going at slow speeds in and out of stations or sidings. With 2 turbines you could cruise at medium speeds while a third engine would let you cruise at high speed with an extra turbine for steep grades or quick acceleration. This is like a car’s engine that can shut down engine cylinders than are not needed to save fuel . Unlike diesels, turbines can be started and shut down quickly.

During the 1990′s the Federal Rail Administration paid Bombardier to build a new turbine train as part of the contract for the Acela. Called the Jet Train, it was a tilt train meant to provide high speed rail service to places without electrification on existing rights of way. The Jet Train had a top speed of 150 miles per hour. At this speed with tilting trains it is possible to provide rail service with running times close to those of faster non-tilting HSR services. This has been successfully done in other countries such as Sweden. The Jet Train was actually a hybrid with both diesel and turbine power. The diesel was a small engine for Head End Power and travel at slow speeds. The turbine was used once the train was under way. The basic concept was sound but High Speed Rail projects in this country went into hibernation by the the Jet Train was finished.

Where could we use turbine tilt trains in California? Metrolink is planning faster express service in the near future. A major part of this to to provide faster service to Palmdale. Improved tracks and reduced curves in the mountainous area between Sylmar and Palmdale are planned. This is a perfect place to use a tilt train combined with the high power and low weight of a turbine train in a mountainous region. Such turbine services in Southern California could reach down to San Diego up to Palmdale and west possibly as far as Santa Barbara. Turbine tilt trains would be useful along the entire California Coast though the chance the UP will allow it north of Santa Barbara is unlikely. In the North ACE is looking at creating a higher speed (125-150 mile per hour) service between Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose and possibly as far as Merced.This will require new separate tracks to get off the UP to allow the speeds and frequency of service to justify higher speeds. In the Altamont Pass tilt service and higher turbine power would make such a service faster.

On the Initial Operating Segment (IOS) of the High Speed Rail Project between Merced and the San Fernando Valley running turbine trains from San Diego to San Jose via the Altamont Pass via the IOS are a possibility. So would trains from San Bernardino to Sacramento or Chatwsorth to Oakland. This could give direct service blending old and new tracks for high speed from day one. This could be run in addition to electrified trains running just on the IOS. Turbine trains would also be an option to use on the entire IOS to provide High Speed Rail Service while postponing electrification of the line which is a major expense. Reducing capital costs and starting a viable service sooner is a possibility in wake of unsure financing. The California High Speed Rail Projects needs to get fast trains running to as many markets with good ridership numbers as soon as possible to attract investors to improve and expand High Speed service in the future. Turbine Tilt trains can give major flexibility to quickly provide State Wide High Speed Rail service in a short time and low cost.

April 30, 2012   April 30, 2012 Part 2

The above copy of this enewletter is on a PDF file and  you will not be able to click on to the links in blue. If you would like an emailed copy of this enewsletter or to subscribe to it email nbraymer@railpac.org