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Has anybody heard anything related to when Skyline Connection service may initiate ?
I cannot understand why Amtrak "announces" a new train until all equipment is in place to actually begin service.
Somebody told me that the service would initiate perhaps in November to take advantage of the express shipping business over the holidays----but that has not happened, needless to say.
Also, I am wondering IF/when the Skyline does initiate how much real "competition" it will offer the Three Rivers. It seems to me that the Three Rivers has not had a very good "track-record" (excuse the pun) as of late.
Also, I believe that if ANY train is DESPERATE for a full-service dining-car , it is one of these. Since the Broadway Limited "disappeared" with its, there has been no replacement. I really think this route "deserves" one.
Also, I am curious where the View-liner sleeping car will come from that the "mystical" Skyline is supposed to use.
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John, What route will this run? I am in Surfliner territory and not that familiar with east coast routes. MP
Posts: 874 | From: South Bay (LA County), Calif, USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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The Skyline Connection is to run from Philly to Chicago, through Pittsburgh. Initially, I believe it was to run from NYC to Chicago.
This new train was announced what seems like MANY months ago, but service has yet to initiate---for whatever reason.
Amtrak has even placed a tentative schedule in the last TWO national timetables ---with the notation that service is to initiate at some time in the future. I wish Amtrak would NOT do this. Why make an announcement about a train (and even go so far as putting its schedule in the timetable) if it has NO idea if/when service will initiate ?
I guess Amtrak wants to put at least one sleeper car on this train. Evidently it is to be a VIEW-LINER sleeper , which is very surprising because there is a MAJOR shortage or these. The Three Rivers that runs the route presently uses old Jeritage equipment---so the View-liner sleeper will certainly add a "breath of fresh air." BUT, as the old saying goes, "I will believe it when I see it."
Someone told me that basically the "purpose" of this train was to haul express shipments , with passenger service just as an "after-thought." What surprised me then was that Amtrak planned to put any sleeper on this train at all. The fellow mentioned that the train was most likely to initiate early November to take advantage of the holiday shipping business. Needless to say, that has not happened. The holidays are just about over and still we have no Skyline Connection. So I really do not know what the real status is of this train . Perhaps someone else does.
This particular route (NYC/PHILLY/PITTSBURGH?CHICAGO) really needs a "real" first-class train , in my opinion. Since the elimination of the classic Broadway Limited, there has been none. The Three Rivers "pales" in comparison. I for one would certainly NOT consider it a "first-class" train. There IS sleeper service, yes. But old Heritage equipment is used that leaves MUCH to be desired. Also, there is NO full service dining-car. Some (including myself) hope that the Skyline (IF service ever initiates) will be a "step above" the Three Rivers----but that remains to be seen.
So, to date, the Skyline is nothing but a "phantom". I am as anxious as anyone to learn if/when service will initiate.
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I would love to see a Superliner train set on a Philly-Chicago route. Whenever I plan a cross country trip I will go a out of the way and head to Washington for the Capitol Limited or the Cardinal.
I know tunnel clearences in New York and Baltimore prevent a Superliner from operatig,but there is no such problem in Philly,is there? I wish the Pennsylvanian and the soon(maybe)Skyline Limited would use the Superliner equipment.
As much as I enjoy riding Amtrak,this would totally enhance the trip. I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania,and I love the schedule of the Skyliner. As John says,why print the timetable if there is no service?
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The announcement and delayed implementation of the Skyliner is a reflection of current AMTRAK management and the overall mandate that the service has to turn a profit in order to survive. As a result, hauling express takes precedent over hauling passengers, and such trains as the Pennsylvanian and Three Rivers, and the lengthening of schedules to accomodate the removal and installation of express cars, reflect this philosophy.
The superliner may have problems with the catenary wire east of Harrisburg.
Personally, having ridden both Superliner and non-Superliners, I don't see what the big deal is with the Superliners. The lounge car is no where near as exciting a place to watch the scenery pass by as the old vista domes, where you could view both the front and the back of the train, and watch the signals change as the train passed from one block to the next.
The toilets in the Superliners are cramped. They are also dry apparently because of environmental regulations. And, when someone goes in to relieve himself, he is confronted by the stench of his own discharge because there is no circulation in the toilet room. Indeed anybody close to the room knows what he is doing in there.
The Standard Superliner sleepers differ from the old section Pullmans only in that a plexiglass partition and door separate the room from the hall as opposed to a curtain. The standard rooms are not sound-proof and if the conductor sets up his office in a room adjacent to yours, you've been had. The old 10-6 sleeper was much quieter, and the Viewliners on the eastern trains afford much more privacy. I suspect the Superliner sleeper was designed by someone who never rode overnite on a train.
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I strongly agree with John Toth: Amtrak shouldn't put a train on its timetable until everything is absolutely FINAL, the Skyline being a case in point. This whole fiasco also shows that Amtrak desperately needs more single level sleepers, Viewliners or no. But wait a second, it seems that the only thing that prevents the Boston Lake Shore Limited from using the more plentiful Superliner equipment is that half of it winds up in NYC, where the tunnels prevent Superliner use. But if Amtrak made the simple move of splitting the LSL into two smaller trains, one to NYC and the other to Boston, then Superliners could be used on the latter, freeing up some desperately needed Viewliners?
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JS Chicago, your suggestion is too creative for the current managment to comprehend. Its better to announce an expansion for whihc no equipment exists!
Posts: 62 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Yeah, now you've got it! If we actually do something good for the existing passenger train network, then we'd be horribly out of character and against our basic creed. Exactly why we caused the whole Skyline connection "problem!" ;-)
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