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April 2016 All Aboard Indiana

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April 2016 All Aboard Indiana ALL INDIANA ABOARD The Official Newsletter of the Volume 3, Number 4 April 2016 IN THIS ISSUE: Page Two-Three IPRA Calls for Grassroots Effort IPRA Calls for Grassroots Effort, continued To Enhance Hoosier State Service By Phillip Streby Page Four Strengthening Hoosier State Editor’s Note: The following article was originally writ- Service Meeting Topic ten for the spring issue of the Rail Users’ Network (RUN) INDOT, Iowa Pacific Taking quarterly newsletter. It is being republished with their Steps to Boost Ridership permission. Two leading Midwest passenger rail advo- Hoosier State Amenities cates—Ken Prendergast, executive director, All Aboard Featured on Two Videos Ohio, and Steve Coxhead, president, Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance—assisted Mr. Streby in providing material Page Five or editing assistance. February On-Time Performance for Hoosier Members of passenger rail advocacy groups seem to Two girls enjoy a ride on the Hoosier State at 93.9 Percent have to approach their local issues at the basic grass State. What Business Class Is Like roots level on each occasion, reinventing the path to on Amtrak’s Cardinal either improving existing service levels or instituting new services. The Indiana Passen- ger Rail Alliance (IPRA) was formed to bring advocates affiliated with several groups to- Page Six gether in order to create a more effective voice with which to engage with both the Indi- Wait Nearly Over for Lafayette ana General Assembly and Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). Page Seven Let us be very clear about why this is necessary. IPRA does not advocate for im- Framework To Improve “On proved passenger rail service either out of a sense of nostalgia for the old days or for Time” Performance Deserves a an antipathy to the automobile. Cutting edge, 21st Century passenger rail systems Fair Look are a vital component driving the economic development of modern societies. Riding the Rails Observation of the present day, real world of the 21st Century demonstrates that socie- Page Eight ties enjoying the benefits of cutting edge passenger rail systems see a level of economic How To Effectively Lodge a development that is both greatly enhanced, as well as environmentally sustainable. And Complaint on Train Service they become the kind of places in which the millennial generation wants to live and work. They are our path into the future. Page Nine Muncie City Hall Site of April In this regard, there are three elements that are key to Indiana’s future. They are the 26 Transit Meeting Hoosier State corridor from Chicago to Indianapolis, and then extending through to Cin- Amtrak Announces Discount cinnati, the northern corridor from Chicago thru Fort Wayne and on into Ohio, and well Cattle Feed Truck Caused developed commuter rail systems serving the state’s major metropolitan areas. Derailment Near Dodge City Contributors Let’s take a closer look at one of them, the Hoosier State corridor. Trains Magazine in For More Information… the March 2016 edition offered its readers a detailed look at what it took to (continued) Member Discounts www.indianahighspeedrail.org Hoosiers for Passenger Rail or Indiana Passenger Rail Association PAGE 2: ALL ABOARD INDIANA APRIL 2016 (“IPRA Calls for Grassroots Effort” continued from page 1) by some that two daily trains, even five days a week, energize a service that was threatened with discontinu- might have the potential to as much as triple the rider- ance in 2013. Bob Johnson’s article entitled, “Hoosier State ship between Chicago and Indianapolis. Reflects a New Approach,” spoke to the “advantages and challenges when a private operator replaces Amtrak.” Engineering Improvements Iowa Pacific concentrates on marketing the Chicago Restore Route Speed to 70 MPH -- The current top speed to Indianapolis service to business people, college of 59 mph could be brought back up to 79 mph (as it once students, and tourists. Meanwhile, passenger rail ad- was). This one improvement is thought by some familiar vocates recognize the need to further raise awareness with the operation of the train to have the potential of of the service and also build ridership through major shaving as much as 20 minutes off the schedule. The fol- changes to the four-day-a-week service. lowing engineering work would have to be done. Each re- quires funding, but the payoff would be greatly enhanced Schedule and Frequency operation of both passenger and freight operations on the current route, and provide for a less congested and con- Separate Schedules for Hoosier State and Cardinal – flicted route on the final approach into Chicago. Think about the two trains as separate operations, running the Hoosier State at a later time. If Indianapolis passengers Implementation of Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) were to board a Hoosier State departing the Circle City at 7 between Ames junction (immediately south of Craw- a.m., instead of 6 a.m., and arrive in Chicago at 10:30 am, it fordsville station) and Munster (immediately north of would be a much more desirable travel option. Dyer station) would save 10-15 minutes by no longer having the crews stop the trains at both locations to In this scenario, a late Cardinal (originating in New York copy track authority. City) would not affect the Hoosier State departure. Rid- Implementation of signaling on the Crawfordsville ership would likely receive a boost, as better planning of branch between CP Clermont and Ames junction would schedules around on-time departures would be possible. allow speed to be brought back up to 79 mph, for an- other 10-minute savings. Additional Trains (Frequencies) – In order for the corridor to be economically viable, there really must be eastbound Re-installing the track that Conrail removed decades departures from Chicago both in the morning as well as ago between Munster and CP 509 (because Amtrak was the evening, as well as westbound departures from Indian- the sole user) would cut another 30 minutes from the apolis in both morning and evening. Business travelers, current schedule. This new routing (former Conrail) college students, and tourists would benefit from a morn- would involve negotiating with Norfolk Southern for ing departures east bound out of Chicago, as they would access onto their property at CP 509 near the Illinois/ arrive at their downstate, Indiana, destinations with the Indiana state line at Hammond, as well as with the com- better part of the day for their activities. munities, governmental agencies, and property owners along the former route. Passengers could return North in the evening or catch the next day’s morning train west bound. Face-to-face But the payoff would be well worth the effort: In short, face business transactions would then be possible. with the necessary engineering, a four-hour schedule between Indianapolis and Chicago is attainable. Students could live away from their campus and still par- ticipate in academic life. Pleasure travelers could more Extension to Cincinnati easily take in events, with an overnight stay when neces- sary. Local revenues would be enhanced with an increase Extend the Hoosier State corridor -- The Hoosier State in the proceeds of local sales, hotel, and restaurant taxes. corridor would run from Chicago through Indiana to Cin- cinnati, including the communities of southeast Indiana. More Beech Grove Equipment Runs – Amtrak could be Indianapolis should be envisioned as the hub of a poten- encouraged to increase Beech Grove equipment runs, tial Indiana network connecting Chicago, Cincinnati, adding coach service to help pay the way. It is thought Louisville (and on to Nashville?), and St. Louis. (continued) PAGE 3: ALL ABOARD INDIANA APRIL 2016 (“IPRA Calls for Grassroots Effort” continued from page 2) The funding for roads would be a good example of pub- Stop at Indy International -- Offering a daily, 79 mph Hoo- lic infrastructure spending. In the Indiana state budget sier State service 100 miles southeast to Cincinnati via for 2014-2015, $200 million per year was appropriated tracks now used only by the nocturnal Amtrak Cardinal, from general funds to support roads. That number was with stops at Indianapolis International Airport, Conners- $100 million per year in the 2016-2017 budget. The total ville, Oxford, Hamilton and downtown Cincinnati (Union road budget for the Indiana Department of Transporta- Terminal), would benefit Indiana communities currently tion in 2016 alone was $2.3 billion. It is argued that the grossly underserved by transportation facilities. 7% sales tax on gasoline purchases (as well as the gas tax) should be dedicated to roads. Midwest Regional Rail Initiative studies show that the Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati corridor would be the Almost $100 million in federal grants were received for second-most cost-effective Midwest route in terms of the expansion of the Indianapolis International Airport. ridership/revenues vs. operating costs (trailing only the Chicago-Milwaukee-Twin Cities corridor). Lack of trains is Catch 22 -- While it can be argued that more Hoosiers fly or drive than take trains, it must be Investment in this corridor to provide multiple daily admitted that they do so, in part, because there are vir- trains at between 79 and 110 mph could produce signifi- tually no trains available in Indiana. It is very difficult to cant economic benefits, including more than 2,000 jobs choose a mode of transportation which does not exist! at Indianapolis, 700 jobs at Lafayette, and nearly 3,000 jobs at Cincinnati, while increasing property values near Indiana has funding capacity -- Adequate public in- stations by an average of more $300 million. vestment to provide the state with cutting edge passen- ger rail is not only necessary, but well within the capac- An Indianapolis International Airport station would ity of the state to do. provide rail access to an airport with domestic airfares at the national average, compared to Cincinnati-Northern Re-establishing Indianapolis as a crossroads of rail trans- Kentucky which has the nation’s second-highest domes- portation in the mid- Diners pose aboard the Hoosier State.
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