FROM THE CAB - May 2022
By Martin Wheeler, President
ALL ABOARD THE PIEDMONT --
Martin Wheeler, president of the Carolinas
Association for Passenger Trains (CAPT), leads a contingent of organization members
on Piedmont train #74 traveling from Charlotte to Raleigh on Saturday, May 21.
Members will participate in CAPT’s three-hour May board meeting
scheduled for the Morgan Street Food Hall
at The Pit
located at 328 W. Davie St., Raleigh, NC,
beginning at 2 p.m.
Rick Harnish, executive director of the High Speed Rail Association, will make a
“zoom” presentation during the meeting. While specifics of Harnish’s presentation are
unknown, it is known his organization of passenger rail advocates has been pushing
“the California State Assembly to approve $4.2 billion in funds for the state’s
high-speed rail project” to connect Los Angeles with San Francisco.
Passenger rail issues in both North and South Carolina are to be discussed at the
bi-monthly meeting, as well. Jim Frierson, South Carolina vice president for CAPT, will
be making remarks following his participation in the Rail Passenger’s Association
annual spring meeting in Alexandria, Virginia.
CHARLOTTE WESTERN RAILROAD --
Rail operations began this month on 13 miles
of track in North Carolina. While Charlotte Western won’t be serving passenger rail
customers, it’s trains will have access to tracks of Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX,
both “passenger rail” host railroads.
Jaguar Transport Holdings, which owns Charlotte Western, is also leasing 13 miles of
track from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and intends to
partner with NCDOT on a new multicommodity and multimodal transload facility at a
rail-served warehouse the company acquired.
NEW PRESIDENT AT NORFOLK SOUTHERN --
A host railroad for passenger rail,
Norfolk Southern, has a new president. His name is Alan Shaw, who intends to hire
the conductors needed to “restore service to meet customers’ expected level of service
quality.” Norfolk Southern wants to “compete and win in the $800 billion truck and
logistics market by being customer-centric and operations-driven,” Shaw reportedly
told Norfolk Southern employees. Let’s hope Norfolk Southern keeps in mind the
needs of rail passengers who travel on its tracks.
MYRTLE BEACH -–
CAPT board members and other passenger rail advocates may
want to consider spending the weekend of July 15-17 in Myrtle Beach. While
vacationing along the Grand Strand Coast, you can also take in the association’s
mid-summer board meeting on Saturday, July 16. More details to follow.
HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO AMTRAK -–
With summer vacation season upon us, it’s
time to ride the rails. Or, if a rail vacation isn’t in your summer plans, view the
“Hitchhiker’s Guide to Amtrak”
for a list and description of useful tools for tracking the
progress of Amtrak trains.
You’ll learn how to connect with Julie, Amtrak’s
automated agent; or how to access Amtrak web information, or ASM text or email
alerts on any train’s progress. Station status boards and Amtrak train status archives
as well as interactive maps
are available, too.
SIGN OF THE TIMES David Robinson, North Carolina vice president to the Carolina
Association for Passenger Trains, extends a personal invitation to CAPT board
members, all dues paying association members, and prospective members to “zoom
into” the May 21 CAPT board meeting. Start time is 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
Click Here To Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82765659162?pwd=dVRUT0Y1TEpKYUdKa3JpQVRYNUROQT09
Meeting ID: 827 6565 9162
Passcode: 821413
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