The Hoosier State is a great way for Lafayette and Rensselaer residents to see Chicago for a day, then come home.  The train leaves in the early morning and returns in the middle of the evening.  Travelers can choose between coach and business class on the days that the Hoosier State runs:  the coach seats are quite good but the business class seats are even more comfortable and the ticket comes with a free meal cooked on the train.

It is less excellent when visiting Indianapolis.  Travelers pull into Union Station, on the south edge of downtown Indianapolis, around midnight.  The train leaves for Lafayette at six in the morning.

It would be desirable to add service from Lafayette to Indianapolis, but there are obstacles that go beyond the willingness to pay a reasonable subsidy.  Below is a partial list.

The CSX line between Lafayette and Indianapolis is mostly single-track.  The CSX tracks leaving Indianapolis become single tracks before leaving the Indianapolis city limits.  Trains sharing the same length of track cannot go in different directions:  one must wait on a siding while the other goes through.  In contrast, Metra trains that serve the Illinois suburbs of Chicago travel on rights-of-way that boast multiple tracks.  For example, the Union Pacific Northwesy Metra line that runs through Arlington Heights to Harvard enjoys triple tracks to Barrington, then double tracks the rest of the way.  The Illinois Central line is at least double-tracked through its end in University Park.

Indianapolis is a highly dispersed city.  Indianapolis’ most intense retail district might be the malls on the northeast side that sprawl into Fishers.  A large center of employment can be found along the north flank of I-465 in Carmel and the far north side of Indianapolis.  No train tracks connect Carmel and downtown Indianapolis, and building on the old Monon right-of-way will destroy a 20-mile recreational trail that both cities intensely promote.  Commuters would have to board a bus for the trip to work, and such a bus would travel along congested Meridian Street.

The potential ridership is not large.  Lafayette and West Lafayette, combined, have about 110,000 people.  Crawfordsville has about 16,000.  Brownsburg, if added, would bring 25,000 potential riders.  For comparison’s sake. the Lake County, Indiana cities along the South Shore Line have 186,000 people.  Across the county line, Portage brings 37,000 people and Chesterton another 13,000.  To this, add riders who get on in Chicago’s Hegewisch neighborhood who also come from Calumet City and Burnham, the Hammond suburbs (Highland, Munster), the Orange bus line from Valparaiso (weekends) and the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago.

One daily round trip would not be sufficient for work commutes.  In theory, a train can leave Lafayette at 7:05 and arrive in Indianapolis at 8:45, just in time for business hours.  It would leave Indianapolis at the close of business at around 5:30 pm, returning to Lafayette at 7:10 pm.  In practice, not every workday starts at 9 am:  some start at 8 am.  So, another train is required for early commuters.  Also, since people do not like being stranded overnight in Indianapolis if they have to stay late, a train back to Lafayette leaving at 6:30 pm would be helpful.

The tracks are slow compared to I-65 and I-74, most days.  The CSX speed limit is 60 mph and some sections of track get very bumpy at that speed.  CSX speed limits are even lower in populated areas.  Trains must stop to let passengers board and get off the train, and they must also stop to let freight trains through.  The Wikipedia cites an INRIX report about American traffic congestion,  which states that Indianapolis commuters average 24.9 hours stopped in traffic.  (Chicagoans spend 34.2 hours, while Angelenos spend 64.4 hours.)

Buses may be a better option.  They are certainly easier and cheaper to purchase, house and staff.  They can run on existing highways.  The trade-off is that buses cannot run safely during severe weather or after large accumulations of snow or ice, but such days are usually confined to the cold season (November to March).

For example, the City of Valparaiso’s ChicaGoDASH runs four buses every day to and from downtown Chicago, a distance of about.  A round-trip costs only $16.00.  Passengers enjoy free parking in Valparaiso, bicycle racks, WiFi and other amenities.  The buses in Valparaiso make no intermediate stops, so they run fairly quickly.

 

Despite sitting for three days and two nights in coach, I enjoyed most of the trip on the California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago.

The people of Amtrak are amazing.  Its conductors, engineers, servers and other staff are consummate professionals.  They recognize repeat travelers.  They are passionate about their work — conductors go up and down the train, except when they need to go out in fifteen-below cold to warm a signal or knock ice accumulations off sensitive areas.  The coach attendants are particularly friendly, even after a third 15-hour day babysitting their coach.

Retired people volunteer their time day after day to make the trip more smooth and pleasant.  Emeryville Station had an Amtrak volunteer help people get to their train.  Somewhere before Sacramento, a volunteer docent from the California Rail Museum boarded to tell us about the history that took place in building the tracks and around the tracks.  This gentleman was stuck with the rest of us in the Sierra.

The train is a sociable place, particularly if it has an observation car or cafe.  People gather in these common areas to talk with each other.  The dining room offers an enforced sociability: nobody dines alone because the server makes sure that four people are seated at each table.  (At least take one meal in the car — breakfast can be had for $8.00 if you decline a beverage.)

Finally, the train staff tried to make the six-hour delay a little more bearable.  They helped arrange connections on later trains and busses to southern Illinois.  They served a little meal of beef stew on rice with juice for free so we did not arrive in Chicago starving.  They were probably as disappointed in the delay as passengers were.

 

 

The California Zephyr travels through Emigrant Gap and Donner Pass on its route between Sacramento and Reno.  Between Grand Junction and Denver, Colorado, it goes through the Rockies.  When the weather is fine and the schedules are adhered to, the view is spectacular.  If the train runs sufficiently late, though, passengers miss the Rockies and get to see Nebraska instead.

On January 4, the Sierra Nevada endured the third of three days of snow with several feet on the ground.  We lost about half an hour in Sacramento because snow-starved Californians heading to Truckee by bus were placed on the train instead.  The train rose about 5,200 feet from Sacramento to Emigrant Gap (between Colfax and Truckee), then stopped.  The Union Pacific (UP) insisted on running a snow plow in front of the train, but it had to travel from points east through a snowstorm that had by then closed Interstate 80.  It needed over three hours for the trip, and we arrived in Truckee over four hours late.  Meanwhile the sun had set and we went over the storied passes and bridges in the dark.

The Union Pacific and other freight rail companies own the track upon which Amtrak runs.  They control signalling, so Amtrak trains spend plenty of time stopped on the siding.  In several locations east of Sacramento, the Union Pacific tore out a lane of track to save in maintenance, so after the three hour wait, we had a shorter stop to let another train through.

 

After Reno, the snow let up but the quality of the track limited our speeds.  The national speed limit for passenger trains is 79 mph.  The UP track allowed 70 mph at best, and at 70 mph the ride turned bumpier than a train ride really should be.  At times the engineers slowed down so as not to alarm passengers or get derailed, but these minutes ate into the schedule.  Daylight returned near the Great Salt Lake and faded near Grand Junction, just as the most scenic section of the Rockies loomed.  By Denver, we were five and a half hours behind, thanks to slow speeds through the snow and stops to let westbound trains through.

By central Nebraska, we were over six hours behind schedule.  From there to Chicago, we managed to claw 10-20 minutes from the schedule, arriving six hours late.

The delays could have been reduced from six hours to two or three hours without utopian measures like laying 2200 miles of double, dedicated, Acela-class tracks and signing them over to Amtrak.  A plow should precede the train when heavy snow is in progress.  If drivers on parallel highways need to use tire chains, then perhaps the snowplow should precede the train.  More sidings and longer stretches of double track would reduce delays waiting for trains going the other way.  Railroad tracks should be maintained to the point where passenger trains can travel near the 79 mph national speed limit.

 

At around 1:30 this afternoon, I called Todd Rokita (R-4th), Todd Young (R-IN) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) to ask them not to get rid of the Affordable Care Act’s subsidized insurance.  Rokita’s local office did not answer the phone, nor was there a hint of voice mail.  Todd Young’s DC office had voice mail, but the mailbox was full.  Joe Donnelly’s office responded with a phone menu, after which I was directed to a staffer who sounded sympathetic and directed me to Sen. Donnelly’s positions on the issue.

Rokita’s office is open from 9 to 4 on Wednesday, so perhaps I will pay a respectful visit.