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Badger Rails
January-February, 2013

Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers (WisARP)

Volume 31, Issue 7

State Working to Improve Hiawatha Corridor

A study is currently underway aimed at major improvements to service levels on the ChicagoMilwaukee corridor. The study, being performed by the states of Illinois and Wisconsin, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and Amtrak, is part of a Service Development Plan that targets the following improvements:

The objectives of the service development plan itself are to demonstrate the purpose and need for the

increasing daily Amtrak Hiawatha Service frequencies from the current seven roundtrips to 10 round-trips, and reducing travel times, potentially through an increase in maximum speed to 90 MPH between Rondout, Illinois, and the General Mitchell International Airport (GMIA). The three additional round-trips would be express trains serving only downtown Milwaukee, General Mitchell International Airport and downtown Chicago.

proposed improvements; describe the analysis of alternatives; demonstrate the operations and financial feasibility of the proposed improvements; and identify the specific capital improvements necessary to support the additional frequencies. The FRA is except to rule on environmental impacts of the improvements in late Spring of 2013. Turn to Hiawatha, Page 3

Talgo Train Passes Through Madison

An Environmental Assessment (EA) of the plan to improve services is in process. Two public hearings will be held as a part of that process, one in Wisconsin and one in Illinois.
Photo by Mike McCoy

The study is ongoing, with public meetings now anticipated to be held in May, said Ron Adams, WisDOT Chief of Rails and Harbors, Jan. 16. These public information meetings will be for the draft Environmental Assessment, and will also include information from the Service Development Plan. The FRA is the lead federal agency for the project and will be reviewing and giving final approval on the EA. 1

A Talgo Series 8 trainset passed through Madison Nov. 30, 2012 within sight of the Capitol, enroute to the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, CO. This equipment, built for Oregon, will undergo rigorous testing before entering service later this year. Fate of the two sets built for Wisconsin is still being decided in Dane County Circuit Court.

Rider Surveys Lead Way to Service Improvements

Plans to add additional trains on the Hiawatha corridor as detailed on page 1 do not just fall out of the sky. There is a prescribed planning process that must be followed to determine the kinds of changes that will improve service and draw more riders. In Wisconsin, part of that process has included rider surveys to get a better idea of who is riding and what those riders want. Since beginning to ask passengers their opinions back in 2002, the State has: added a 7th daily round trip that same year; began marketing the corridor in 2004; opened the Milwaukee Airport Rail Stations (MARS) in 2005; seen a new station built in Sturtevant in 2006 and caused the transformation of the Milwaukee depot into the Milwaukee Intermodal Station in 2007; and increased seating capacity on Hiawatha trains with the addition of more cars in 2007 and again in 2009. The results of such improvements are obvious if one looks at ridership statistics. Ridership grew over 50% between 2002 and 2012, spectacular results over one decade of service. But if success is best measured by future performance, continued growth can only be assured if the State and Amtrak know who their market is, and what amenities they desire. The most recent surveys, performed in 2011 by contractor Texas Transportation Institute (Texas A&M) and WisDOT, included a four-page, 25question rider survey similar to one previously used in 2005 (earlier surveys on the corridor were performed in 2002 and 2003). The survey team went on-board the Hiawatha trains in Spring of 2011. Also, passengers using the Milwaukee Airport station were given a separate survey to get at the reasons why so many use this very popular air-rail station. The On-Board Survey In total, there were 2,298 on-board surveys completed for a response rate of 58 percent. In terms of trip purpose, the largest block of respondents (30%) used the train to visit family or friends; 17% travelled for leisure or entertainment; 16% were enroute to a business meeting; 12% were
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daily commuters, and another 8% commuted less frequently than daily; and the remaining respondents rode Hiawatha for personal business, shopping, travelling to school, and vacation purposes. If Hiawatha was not available, 61% of respondents would have driven instead; 14% would not have travelled at all. "23 percent of the riders are on there for the first time, and that's been a consistent number over the course of all the surveys," Ron Adams, WisDOT Chief of Rails and Harbors, told WisARP Oct. 27. "The challenge is to get to them, the folks who are not riding today." And that points to the importance of the marketing campaign begun in 2004 using 80% Federal, 20% State funds. The four top reasons survey respondents identified for taking the train were: - It's convenient to my final destination - To avoid highway congestion - It's more comfortable than other options - It's more reliable than other options. "We find we are travel-time competitive with the automobile between Chicago and Milwaukee," Adams said. "One of the biggest reasons for that has been all the construction on the highway system, which makes your travel time uncertain. And due to there being more traffic in the Chicago area, at rush hour even the express lanes don't move that fast." Adams said passengers have found they can rely on the corridor's on-time performance. Hiawatha trains posted a 90.1% on time record for Amtrak's 2012 Fiscal Year. "People consider us more reliable than the other options," Adams said. "Canadian Pacific is a great partner in terms of ontime performance. They care about making sure that they earn the incentives available to them for running on-time," he added. Turn to Survey, Page 4

Hiawatha From Page 1

The improvement plan includes draft schedules that look at additional frequencies at both the present 79 m.p.h. maximum speed, and the proposed 90 m.p.h. top speed. A draft ten-train schedule at 79 m.p.h. would put the first train out of Chicago at 6 a.m., and the last train at 10:09 p.m. Southbound, the first departure would be at 6:15 a.m. with the last train leaving Milwaukee at 10:42 p.m. Travel time for the express trains would be 1 hour, 22 minutes, while non-express trains would make the run in the current 1 hour, 29 minutes. At 90 m.p.h., the travel times for express trains would be 1 hour, 18 minutes. Non-express trains would require 1 hour, 25 minutes to make the additional stops at Sturtevant and Glenview. Additional frequencies would make the service even more attractive to the target market: automobile drivers. The service development plan notes that in Calendar Year 2011 only 316,000 travellers used air to get between Chicago and Milwaukee; intercity buses offer about 1,760 seats per day between the two cities. Tapping into the automobile market provides the greatest potential for future riders. More trains would also help alleviate standees that have occurred on some runs (particularly trains 332, 337 and 339). The service improvements are a next step in implementing the findings of the 2004 Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MRRI) study (and Connections 2030, WisDOTs long-range transportation plan) that ultimately sees the corridor supporting up to 17 daily round trips. Madison service was also part of the MRRI, and some improvements on the corridor were included in the federal money that Gov. Walker refused in 2010. Subsequently some federal infrastructure money was received to pay for platform extensions at the Mitchell Airport Rail Station and high-speed track crossovers and replacement of decks on two bridges near the Illinois border.
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It is these federal investments in the route that helped make the Canadian Pacific corridor the top choice among alternatives considered (including the Union Pacific Milwaukee and Kenosha subdivisions). The alternatives analysis is a required part of the overall planning process. The State also considered as alternatives either raising fares (to reduce ridership on key trains) or requiring seat reservations to alleviate standees, or adding another coach per train to increase capacity overall. None of those options offered the benefits the State was looking for: to increase schedule options, reduce travel time, improve synergies among transportation modes, and further accommodate more riders. The State concluded those goals are best met by adding frequencies and speeding up the schedule. The State is taking comments on the EA and service development plan. Comments can be directed to Arun Rao, WisDOT Passenger Rail Implementation Manager, at: arun.rao@dot.wi.gov

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/rail/intercity/index.htm

Badger Rails is published 6 times per year by the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, a notfor-profit Wisconsin membership association. WisARP President is John Parkyn, Stoddard, WI, (608)7887004, email: cen10297@centurytel.net Badger Rails Editor is Jim Sponholz. Please send comments or news items to: badgerrails@gmail.com Send membership questions/address changes to: Mark Weitenbeck, 3385 S. 119th St., West Allis, WI 53227 email: weitenbeck@sbcglobal.net Important Links: WisARP on the Web: www.wisarp.org National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org Midwest High Speed Rail Association: http://www.midwesthsr.org/ AllAboardWisconsin Twitter Site: https://twitter.com/allaboardwis

Survey From Page 1

Surveys were conducted both on weekends and weekdays, each with a different, unique mix of riders. The things that passengers most frequently identified as amenities that would make them want to ride more are: Weekday passengers wanted: - On-board Wi-Fi Internet services; - New, modern coach cars; - Faster travel times; - More daily departures. Weekend passengers wanted: - Full on-board Cafe Car service; - Expanded Quiet car seating; - On-Board bicycle racks; - Coordinated baggage service and schedules with the airlines; - Service expansion to other cities. It's interesting to note that the State was moving toward several of these goals (new, modern equipment, Wi-Fi, cafe (Bistro) car, bicycle racks, and possibly faster travel times) with the Talgo equipment, but given the political climate, passengers may be forced to postpone some of these amenities for the time being. On Wi-Fi, Adams said that Amtrak is willing to add the service to corridors if the States supporting the rail service pay for the amenity. He said that Wisconsin and Illinois are both looking into that possibility, although portions of the route may not have sufficient cellular coverage to support the cellbased Wi-Fi. Internal Amtrak studies have shown that the addition of Wi-Fi can increase ridership between 3 and 5 percent. Milwaukee Airport Station Survey Since it was put into service in 2005, passengers using the Milwaukee South Side station have increased to the point where it is now the busiest unstaffed station on the national Amtrak network. 163,772 passengers used the station in FY2012. This station is one of only four stops nationwide that offer direct access to an airport.
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The survey concentrated on the passengers who used the shuttle between the airport and the rail station. About six percent of Hiawatha passengers surveyed reported using the train to get to the airport. Most use the station due to its location and park-and-ride lot. Of those passengers using the airport shuttle, 90% had boarded the Hiawatha in either Chicago or Glenview. 74% of shuttle passengers were using it to connect with flights, while about 20% connected to rental cars at the Airport. If the convenient transfer at MARS were not available, 33% of the shuttle passengers said they would use another airport, while 25% would have driven to the airport. The top motivations shuttle passengers reported behind their decision to use Hiawatha to get to the airport were that the service is: more convenient to their final destination; more convenient than other options; has a convenient schedule; and avoids highway congestion. In its report on the study, Texas A&M researchers noted the synergy between the Milwaukee airport and larger travel markets in the Chicago central business district is strengthened by the rail service, potentially allowing for the Milwaukee airport to evolve into a de facto third airport for the larger region as the connection becomes more fully integrated. The future of the stop as a connection with the air network will continue to rest with the fate of the embattled airline industry. Frontier Airlines went from 18 flights per day out of Milwaukee down to just 7 last June, and four of the airports top eight airlines are in the midst of mergers. The ability to transfer to flights also depends on the Hiawatha schedules ability to arrive in time for the periods when the bulk of flights take off and touch down, especially given the need for extra time to clear security. Additional Hiawatha frequencies would enhance the services use as a flight connection.

Amtrak Service to St. Paul Union Depot Delayed

The almost eerie quiet in the St. Paul Union Depot's historic waiting room isn't going away anytime soon. The depot's meticulously restored rail concourse reopened last month after sitting empty for decades. But passenger rail service will not roll into the transit hub for at least another nine months, Amtrak officials said. The carrier needs to wait for construction of a spur connection from the depot's passenger loading platform to the mainline freight track before service can begin, likely in the fourth quarter of 2013. "We go past the St. Paul Union Depot right now every day," said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman based in the company's regional offices in Chicago. "The project now is to connect at the station to the freight tracks we use now." Officials with the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority had once envisioned escorting train enthusiasts and history buffs onto the depot's rail platform in late 2012. But Amtrak's new projected start date means it will be nearly a year since the reopening of the depot's cavernous waiting room that passengers can begin using it in significant numbers. Closed to the public since 1971, the waiting room officially opened to the public on Dec. 8 after the depot's two-year, $243 million historic renovation was complete. "I knew that there was going to be delays, but I didn't think it was going to be this dramatic," said Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega, chair of the county board. Amtrak is the second major tenant whose absence from the depot has been palpable. Greyhound decided last year against moving into the Union Depot and instead permanently shut down its St. Paul station on University Avenue during light-rail construction. The bus line said it would focus on operating higher-end express services from Minneapolis, without a stop in St. Paul.
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Officials with the Regional Rail Authority said construction of a short track spur from the depot platform to mainline tracks that Amtrak shares with three freight lines will require careful coordination with the freight companies and the Federal Railroad Administration, including complex updates to a signalization system. The details have taken longer to work out than they expected, and construction is still in the design stage. "The heavy volume of freight just east of Union Depot five percent of the nation's volume -combined with the intermixing of three large railroads, has led to the development of a complex signal system for the area," said Josh Collins, a spokesman for the Regional Rail Authority. "Once design work is completed and approved, which we expect to happen by early spring, crews will be able to complete the connection between the completed Union Depot tracks and the freight tracks." Magliari said his office never publicly announced when Amtrak would begin to pick up passengers at the depot, and he termed previous announcements from the county or other sources as "speculation." He reiterated the company's commitment to move into the century-old transit hub off Kellogg Boulevard. The existing Midway Station off Transfer Road, which is Amtrak's sole stop in the Twin Cities, "served us well," Magliari said, "but this is going to be a much better facility for our passengers, because there's going to be connectivity to the light rail and intercity bus." Amtrak's announcement is not a "blow to the depot," said Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough, chair of the Regional Rail Authority. "It became apparent early on we wouldn't be able to get them in that quickly. ... It's a complex issue," he said. "You have to have lots of approvals, you have to have everything in place for dispatching and signaling before you can even begin that connection." Story from twincities.com/Pioneer Press, published Jan. 14, 2013

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January-February,2013