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| APRIL 25, 1998 |
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EASTERN RAILROAD NEWS
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CAB SIGNAL TEST TRAIN ON THE B&A
OCS TRAIN BUSY WEEK
As many you have already read, the OCS will embark on a hectic duo of schedules. As many of you (and I) were surprised with the 4022 and 4021 on todays train, motive power assignments can obviously be changed. The schedules are correct, and we'll have to wait and see what Conrail throws on next weeks trips. Both OCS trips require reversing the power at some point. One such "reverse" is to occur at Allentown...one problem...no place to turn the train! It will be interesting to see what motive power assignments prevail.
You can also view the other Office Car Specials on tap for all of next week:
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SD70MAC UPDATE
SD70MAC's 4136 and 4137
are now "road ready" and scheduled to depart Altoona today on train ATPI-5.
The units were on hand at Altoona today. 4130 and 4131 are returning
to Indianapolis; 4132 and 4133 are at Indianapolis working back to Elkhart
on INEL-5A; and 4134 and 4135 are heading eastbound on ML-488. -John
Krattinger
| 4130 | Selkirk, NY | 4/24/98 | 21:15 ET | SEIN-4 |
| 4131 | Selkirk, NY | 4/24/98 | 21:15 ET | SEIN-4 |
| 4132 | Indianapolis, IN | 4/25/98 | 00:30 CT | INEL-5A |
| 4133 | Indianapolis, IN | 4/25/98 | 00:30 CT | INEL-5A |
| 4134 | Columbus, OH | 4/24/98 | 21:40 ET | ML-488 |
| 4135 | Columbus, OH | 4/24/98 | 21:40 ET | ML-488 |
| 4136 | Altoona, PA | 4/25/98 | 04:09 ET | ATPI-5 |
| 4137 | Altoona, PA | 4/25/98 | 04:09 ET | ATPI-5 |
NEVER SAY DIE
CP 923 for Saturday April 25 has been ordered with a string of MLW's, all on-line. It had a pickup early this morning at Smiths Falls then on to Toronto and beyond.
Expect it to be at London, Ontario late Saturday afternoon, assuming all of the units which include 1800's and 4200's stay healthy enroute. -Bryce Lee
- EMONS TRANSPORTATION
POWER SHIFT
With the recent acquisition of the East Penn Railroad and the Lancaster and Northern Railroad by Emons Transportation group, some expected changes have occurred. The LANO GP16 57 has developed a radiator leak and has been temporarily fixed. Emons has transferred Yorkrail GP9 1756 to the LANO property while the 57 is shipped to york for radiator work. At the same time the 1756 was shipped east, Maryland & Pennsylvania GP7 1508 was shipped to the former East Penn property. The 99 center cab switcher formerly utilized on the East Penn is scheduled to go to Spring Grove to Glatfelter Paper as a plant switcher. The GP7 and GP9 were sent to the "new" Penn Eastern properties to standardize motive power. The GP16 57 will likely return to the LANO after the repair work.
- Amenities include laptop plug-ins at seats in VIA 1 cars to make travel time more productive for business travelers, who can also use specially designed work stations as well their cellular telephones for the full duration of the trip.
- VIA Rail has also partnered with Second Cup to offer passengers a great Canadian cup of coffee. Intermodal partners include Amtrak in the United States, as well as Canadian Airlines International and Trentway-Wagar bus lines.
- VIA Préférence, the frequent traveler reward program launched in 1996, attracted nearly 100,000 new members in 1997. Travelers can also accumulate points through VIA's partners, Hertz, Novotel, Best Western and Radisson hotels, and Bell Canada.
- VIA Rail Canada was the first railway in the world to offer reservations on the Internet, and was also the first to conform with and be available on international airline-based reservation systems. VIA reservations are now available through a network of 45,000 agents worldwide.
VIA RAIL ON TRACK SAYS PRESIDENT/CEO.........
In its 1997 Annual Report, VIA Rail Canada Inc. outlines its significant success over the past several years in reducing reliance on government funding and increasing revenues while improving services and products to its customers.
In 1997, government funding continued to decline to $196 million for operating expenses from $205 million in 1996. Overall funding of $229 million --including capital expenses and reorganization charges-- was down from $245 million. Meanwhile passenger revenues increased to $179 million, from $168 million, an increase of 7%. Ridership in 1997 was nearly 3.8 million passengers, an increase of 3% over 1996.
In 1998, VIA expects to make further gains. It will receive $178 million in government funding, a reduction of $211 million or 54% from 1992 . Operating revenues for 1998 are projected to increase to $204 million from $190 million in 1997, up 31% from 1992.
"The foundations of our future success have been established," said President Terry W. Ivany. "We have transformed VIA into a customer-driven, growth-oriented company. This is very much due to the efforts of our 3,000 colleagues across Canada."
But as Mr. Ivany has indicated to the Standing Committee on Transport, currently evaluating passenger rail service in Canada, VIA has reached the point in its development when it requires both investments and enhanced access to rail infrastructure if it is to achieve its mission in the next century.
"While our performance has been exceptional," Mr. Ivany said, "we know that our long-term survival depends on generating more opportunities for growth. VIA is now at a pivotal point of its history."
"We have achieved remarkable results, but we have done nearly all we can in the present circumstances," Mr. Ivany said. "We must restructure passenger rail in a way that lets it access the market, and exploit real business opportunities."
"Our year-over-year success indicates that we have the fundamentals right and are moving in the right direction," Mr. Ivany said.
Under its strategic business
plan, "Service for Success", VIA Rail Canada has introduced several improvements
to its services, including new frequencies, new on-board amenities and
new strategic partnerships.
.........AND THEN HE RESIGNS
Transport Minister David Collenette yesterday accepted with regret the resignation of Terry W. Ivany as President and Chief Executive Officer of VIA Rail Canada Inc.
``For the past five years,
Mr. Ivany has provided outstanding leadership for VIA during a very difficult
period of adjustment resulting from reductions in VIA's government operating
subsidies,'' said Mr. Collenette. ``VIA has now
started to turn the corner
with an increase in both ridership and revenues. I understand Mr. Ivany's
desire to return to private industry where his skills will be of considerable
benefit. I wish him well.''
Mr. Collenette stated last fall that VIA needed to be restructured and recapitalized with the possible involvement of the private sector, and that his department was seeking creative ways to provide excellent passenger rail service to Canadians, without increasing the fiscal burden on the taxpayer.
``I anticipate being in a position soon to announce the appointment of a new president and CEO to take VIA through the exciting challenge of re-vitalizing passenger rail service in Canada,'' said Mr. Collenette.
VIA Rail Canada Inc., a Crown corporation, was created in 1977 to operate Canada's national passenger rail service. VIA's Board of Directors is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Transport.-Canada News Wire
PHILADELPHIA DEPARTURE
The Ringling Brother Barnum & Bailey circus will finish the last Philadelphia performance on Sunday April 26. CIR-101 is scheduled to depart Philadelphia heading for Providence, RI. The train is due out of South Philadelphia at 05:00 ET, Pass Croxton at 12:30 ET and due to arrive Selkirk at 18:00 ET. This schedule is not carved in stone, as many variables can alter the departure time or track maintenance on the River Line could farther delay the train. As with all "published" schedules, the "subject to change" clause is attached.-Robert Palmer
SCHEDULE BREAK DOWN
We had previously published the 1998 schedule for the Ringling Brothers Circus. The following breaks down the schedule into the Red Unit Train and the Blue Unit Train:
128th EDITION BLUE UNIT
April 16-26
(CoreStates Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA)
April 29-May
3 (Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI)
May 5-6
(Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA)
May 8-10
(Worcester's Centrum Centre, Worcester, MA)
May 12-13
(New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT)
May 15-17
(Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT)
May 21-25
(Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, PA)
May 28-31
(Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY)
June 2-3
(OnCenter War Memorial, Syracuse, NY)
June 5-7
(Rochester War Memorial, Rochester, NY)
June 11-14
(Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY)
June 18-21
(Lubbock Municipal Coliseum, Lubbock, TX)
June 26-28
(Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV)
July 1-5
(America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ)
July 9-12
(Fresno Convention Center, Fresno, CA)
July 15-19
(Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA)
July
22-26 (Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA)
127th EDITION RED UNIT
April 23-26
(Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, WV)
April 28-29
(Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV)
May 2-3
(Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, VA)
May 13-June
7 (Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico)
June 13-14
(Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, LA)
June 18-21
(The Pyramid, Memphis, TN)
June 25-28
(Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, Arkansas)
July 1-5
(Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, TX)
July 9-12
(Erwin Special Events Center, Austin, TX)
July 14-15
(Reed Arena, College Station, TX)
July 17-26
(Compaq Center, Houston, TX)
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Please check this location daily, as new information will be posted, as it becomes available. If you have news to report or information regarding railroads in the Eastern United States, please send e-mail to Kevin Burkholder at KBurkholder@psghs.edu |
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