Tehachapi Capacity Project

[theatre_sniper]

source: Railfan & Railroad April 2009 and i believe it is in trains magazine of the same month and a bunch of PDF documents online that are very long reading about this:

BNSF and the state of California have proposed the Tehachapi trade corridor rail improvement project, which will add capacity to union pacific's single track Mojave Subdivision, running over Tehachapi pass between Mojave and Bakersfield, California. The project will connect Walong and marcel sidings, resulting in the elimination of tunnel 10; extend cliff siding 900 feet east tot he portal of tunnel 7; connect Rowen and Woodford sidings; connect Caliente and Bealville sidings, with the elimination of tunnels 1 and 2; and finally Ilmon and bena sidings will be connected. In addition to the track work, the signal system will be converted from automatic block signals to centralized traffic control.

After the projects anticipated completeion in 2013, just three sements of single track will remain; Bealville to Rowen (including cliff siding), Woodford to Walong, and Marcel to Cable. The lines daily capacity will be incresed from 50 6,000 foot trains to 65 8000 ft trains. Currently about 40 trains a day run over tehachapi; 28 BNSF and 12 Union Pacific.

[theatre_sniper]

i wonder if this will open the door for amtrak to run over the pass?

and why isn't U.P. kicking in money for this they are the sole owner?

[ostlandr]

Abo Canyon is another big capacity improvement. Wow, I might actually live to see a double-track railroad from coast to coast!

http://www.hdrinc.com/Assets/documents/ ... Canyon.pdf

[theatre_sniper]

and cajon is mostly triple tracked now, so over the last few years BNSF has been really improving their lines.

[ostlandr]

Gosh, imagine if there were multiple track lines, with FRA class 6 rail (110 mph) equipped with PTC and cab signals, connecting every large city?

Or for a real fantasy, double-track passenger only lines, with FRA Class 9 rail (200 mph) and superelevated curves?

Imagine if you could go on a business trip, get on the train in the evening, have a drink or two in the club car, climb into a cozy bunk, wake up the next morning, have breakfast in the diner, then get off the train in a city 1,200 miles away?

and cajon is mostly triple tracked now, so over the last few years BNSF has been really improving their lines.

[Railwaymodeler]

Imagine if you could go on a business trip, get on the train in the evening, have a drink or two in the club car, climb into a cozy bunk, wake up the next morning, have breakfast in the diner, then get off the train in a city 1,200 miles away?

Well, once upon a time it was that way, with the New York Central's 20th Century Limited, and the Pennsy's Broadway Limited. Those trains had all the amenities you could ask for: an onboard barber, a stenographer, and as a real novelty at the time, telephone!

Sadly, government run rail is not so nice. In the '70s, they came up with AmCans, the airliner like coaches, and there hasn't been much improvement since. It is bad enough to be cramped in a plane for three or four hours; Who wants to do it on a train for a couple days?

I yearn for the days of Pullman heavyweight style trains again, but they only run for me on my model railroad.

[Xrufuian]

Imagine if you could go on a business trip, get on the train in the evening, have a drink or two in the club car, climb into a cozy bunk, wake up the next morning, have breakfast in the diner, then get off the train in a city 1,200 miles away?

It is still possible to do that. Amtrak may be modern, but still provides quite some luxury.