St. Paul's UNION DEPOT grand re-opening tomorrow!

[pete6032]

Originally Posted by stolafs69

I grew up in Duluth and a train to Duluth will never work. When they were studying this a couple years ago, train tickets were projected to be $100 round trip. I can drive round trip for $60, plus I can take my family with me for free. It would cost $400 to take my family round trip to Duluth on this train. Plus you really need a car in Duluth if you want to get to all the tourist spots outside of canal park (gooseberry, split rock, Jay Cooke State park, etc). Plus the people that live in Duluth are car people. If they want to go visit a relative that lives in say Maple Grove, they would first have to take this train to downtown mpls, then transfer to the northstar line, and still be stuck at some LRT station in Maple Grove with no car. Doesn't make any sense and it never will.

Yes because everyone riding a train to duluth would be a car owner who wants to take their family with! So clearly this would not work as you suggest!

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by pete6032

Yes because everyone riding a train to duluth would be a car owner who wants to take their family with! So clearly this would not work as you suggest!

Just a matter of numbers. Are there enough people who don't have cars and/or are traveling alone who want to go from MSP to Duluth to justify the high cost of putting in a train?

I had this same discussion with my b-i-l this weekend, and his argument was that if a train made the trip in 1.5 hours, then heading up to Duluth for a nice evening out and coming back the same day. He didn't seem to grasp the shear cost of what he was suggesting, nevermind that people would do that maybe once or twice a year.

[golfgal]

I just priced out an Amtrak trip for a trip we need to take in January-routing through Chicago. First, I have the choice of ONE train each way. For the 4 of us it would cost $470 round trip vs $320 to fly, then another $40 for a rental car and about $20/gas. Costs aren't that different, however, because we have a choice to leave at one time during the day we would have to extend our stay by an extra day so that is another $140 for the hotel--no other hotel options without driving 50 extra miles, adding more for gas costs. Then add that the drive total is about 7 hours and the train, if it is on time, is a 12 hour day. Sorry for $250+ dollars and 5 hours each way, I'll drive--actually we may fly to Chicago and drive the hour from there to our destination. Even with the airport times, etc. that saves us at least 2 hours each way.

[Minneapolitan]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Wait you ride from Chicago to Seattle , you don't switch out half way?

The on board service people (the attendants, chefs, dining staff) travel the entire route, layover at the termination and travel all the way back. They are away from their homes for 6 days at a time.

I am a conductor (part of the operating crew). Conductors and engineers cannot, by law, work more than 12 hour shifts ever, and we cannot work for any amount of time without a required amount of rest before. For this reason, we have crew shift changes at several points along the route to comply with fatigue laws. Going west of CHI, the first change happens in Winona, then St Cloud, Minot, Shelby, and Spokane. Any conductor or engineer only works between any 2 successive crew change stations, lays over, and returns after at least 8 hours rest.

Example: Westbound crew goes on duty in Chicago, works to Winona, hands the train to a crew in Winona (who works toward St Cloud). The Chicago crew rests at a layover hotel in Winona and works back home to Chicago the next morning.

[DarkWolf]

Do they use propane to cook the food out their , its banned here due to tunnels...

[Minneapolitan]

I believe everything is electric, although I'm not completely sure. FDA regulations say that I cannot even be downstairs in the kitchen unless I'm needed for some reason. So I haven't exactly seen a whole lot of the equipment up close.

[DarkWolf]

These are the New trains going into service along Amtrak Cascade line and will be similar to Diesel trains ordered for high speed routes between 90-110mph , short distance...


Main car, Oregon's new trains by OregonDOT, on Flickr


Work while you ride by OregonDOT, on Flickr


Seating options abound. by OregonDOT, on Flickr


A four-top! by OregonDOT, on Flickr


Cascades carries food, drinks by OregonDOT, on Flickr


Oregon's new Talgo trains by OregonDOT, on Flickr

These differ from what we will be using in the Northeast....which will be EMU's and Push-Pull Electrics eventually everything will be electrified by 2040.

[laxster]

For a family train travel maynot make sense vs. a car. I don't think Duluth makes sense, but Chicago does. I think local transit options need to beef up before we think about connecting longer distances.

As someone who visits friends in other states, train makes total sense. When i expense it out, sometimes had it's thought equivalent but many people forget opportunity costs- I design websites "on the side" so during the time I'm on the train i am able to do work that wasn't possible in a car or plane. I catch up on my reading. Etc. Plus i arrive at, my destination not feeling sore, cranky, and tired.

I stopped in Union Depot today. Seems liked they haven't totally established Metro Transit service there- I saw a couple limited stop buses to Uptown and the airport.

I also noticed that Treasure Island and Mystic Lake have buses departing every 2 hours.