AMTRAK from Orlando to NOLA

[goombay]

I read in the paper the other day that AMTRAK is considering starting the run from Orlando, thru Jacksonville, to NOLA back up again. The tracks have been repaired so it is just a matter of saying yes or no. Would love to have that trip back for Jazzfest. I envy you folks that take the train from LA or Chicago to NOLA. Sounds like a wonderful party.

[Chicago Fest Fan]

I did the trip from Chicago, almost 20 years ago for my first fest. Great party on the way down, really rough 19 hours on the way back.

[where yat brah]

will it pick me up in p'cola?

[ohio]

From Cincy we have to go to Chicago en route. Something like a 28 hr train ride. Maybe after I retire...

[swag]

Dallas too. Driving is only 8 hours or so, but by train, it's 10 hours down to San Antonio, then 15 more to Nola: 28 total with the layover.

[festivalgirl]

I read in the paper the other day that AMTRAK is considering starting the run from Orlando, thru Jacksonville, to NOLA back up again. The tracks have been repaired so it is just a matter of saying yes or no. Would love to have that trip back for Jazzfest. I envy you folks that take the train from LA or Chicago to NOLA. Sounds like a wonderful party.

It's not only the tracks that were an issue. Cities had to repair the stations as well (at their own cost). The tracks have been running for freight only.

Remember, our new Veep has been riding AMTRAK for 30 years. Good things should be in the future!!

The trip home for us is the best - a couple of days sitting in air conditioning to recover. ;)

[goombay]

Here is the Story...

Should Amtrak restart route through Jacksonville to New Orleans?

Federal funds go for a study to re-establish the line to New Orleans.

An Amtrak route that goes through Jacksonville on the way to New Orleans may return next year

Or Amtrak could spend $1 million that Congress gave it for a study of the route - and then do nothing.

The Sunset Limited Route from Orlando to New Orleans was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina damaged CSX train tracks in 2005. The route still runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles.

Those damaged tracks have been repaired, and CSX says it has no objections to starting the route again.

Amtrak has been reluctant to restart the route, though, because of low ridership before Katrina hit. About 81,000 people rode the Sunset Limited in 2005, down 16 percent from 96,426 in 2004.

But U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., who chairs a rail subcommittee, has insisted that Amtrak look into re-establishing the route. Brown was able to back up her insistence by putting a requirement in recent Amtrak legislation that mandated the rail agency come up with a plan for re-establishing service by next summer.

Brown said her constituents have asked to have the service return and she is confident that Amtrak can find a way to make the route work.

The legislation gives Amtrak about $1 million to come up with a plan. It does not require Amtrak to re-establish the route.

Before Brown took action, Jay McArthur, officer for state contracts with Amtrak, had said the top goal in Florida was to offer service from Jacksonville to Miami on the Florida East Coast rail lines.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said it wasn't feasible financially to bring back the Sunset Limited Route until now. But with Amtrak given money to look into the issue, the hope is to find a way to bring the service back, he said.

McArthur said the key will be finding a way to offer a service that attracts more riders. Amtrak also wants to offer train service that can keep to a schedule because the old Sunset route was habitually late.

One option: offering multiple trains from Orlando to New Orleans. In theory, that might make it easier to keep the routes on time and attract more ridership, McArthur said.

Magliari said the study will work through the departments of transportation in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to try to come up with a rail plan. Public meetings designed to get feedback from potential riders would be coordinated thought the state agencies, he said.

He was not sure if Amtrak has begun work on a plan. Nazih Haddad, manager for passenger rail development at the Florida Department of Transportation, said the state has not yet heard from Amtrak.

FDOT would like to see the Sunset Limited re-established, Haddad said, pointing out that the state has gotten hundreds of letters and phone calls from people asking when the route will return.

I WANT MY AMTRAK BACK!!!

[festivalgirl]

I think splitting the Sunset Limited route would help. They should be coordinated, but running LA-NOLA & NOLA-Orlando independently would make sense. We have yet to meet an AMTRAK employee who doesn't want the Eastern half back.

[Michelino]

I've taken the train to New Orleans maybe a dozen times over the last twenty five years. You must consider the time on the train as part of the vacation...you are gonna sleep somewhere that night...why not in a little closet on the train? (My favorite time on the City of New Orleans was one lively special ride twenty years ago when they had two club cars for the duration and we could bar-hop all night. )

The absence of the Orlando route has hampered us a few times...so I would be glad to see the return.

Also Amtrak needs to put the two level dome car back on The City of New Orleans...they removed it this year as part of some bureaucratic example of efficiency...and thus destroyed one of the great train moments in America, going through the bayous and marshes of Louisiana and the wilds of Mississippi while sitting in the second level with windows from floor to ceiling. The employees didn't like it when the car was removed...I hope they restore it...all with sitting in the diner, it was part of the magic of the rails.

[aardy90210]

I grabbed a ride down last year, but took the train back from NOLA>ATL on the Monday after second weekend. To put it mildly, it was one of the best moves I have ever made in my life...I got a private sleeping compartment, and the train left NOLA at like 7:30am...I partied all night with Dumpstaphunk and the gang at tips, and then headed back to the room to pack and shower before going to the train station. I passed out before the train made it over the lake, and basically slept like a baby for the next 10 hours straight.

If the time is right, and the price is good, I say go for it! Sure it took a tid bit longer than if I had driven, but Alabama and Mississippi traditional frown upon me sleep driving by way back to the A. :D

[Moon]

We used to take the train to Mardi Gras. We'd check our bags at the station, stay out all night, then sleep all the way to Birmingham. If you got the time to spare, it's a hoot.

[festivalgirl]

For anyone interested in trying to improve America's train system, check out NARP (National Association of Railroad Passengers). Membership is not required. They will keep you updated on railroad news & legislation. If you do join, there's a 10% AMTRAK discount.

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php