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Transportation

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AndyinPA
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Re: Transportation

#51

Post by AndyinPA »

I knew the story, too, but it was nice hearing him tell it again. :thumbsup:
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Re: Transportation

#52

Post by Volkonski »

Dozens of cargo ships stuck waiting off New York's coast amid port staff shortages and surging demand for goods

https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEH ... id=US%3Aen

Cargo Piles Up as California Ports Jostle Over How to Resolve Delays
U.S. shipping operations remain clogged as ports, truckers and warehouses can’t find enough workers or agree on 24/7 operations


https://www.wsj.com/articles/cargo-dela ... 1632648602
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Re: Transportation

#53

Post by RTH10260 »

Was snooping the Google machine for reasons why the ports would have staff shortages. Did not find a definitive answer, just seems to be part of the overall shortage accross the whole economy.

But I stumbled over this article from min-last year (yeah - finger pointing at the prior administration):
US ports call for urgent action over severe shortage of Customs inspectors

POSTED ON JUNE 17, 2020 BY TRACY220819

A serious shortage of customs inspectors is affecting operations at US ports and threatens to disrupt supply chains.

The Association of American Port Authorities (AAPA) has called on the Customs & Border Protection agency (CBP) as well as Congress to secure adequate allocation of resources to the ports.

In a letter to acting CBP commissioner Kevin McAleenan, AAPA president and CEO Kurt Nagle wrote: “There is an immediate need to focus on long overdue resources for maritime ports and to resolve the CBP staffing shortages to ensure the security of passenger and freight facilities.”

The AAPA pointed out that both cargo volumes and passenger numbers passing through US ports had risen considerably, but CBP staffing levels in these sites remained more or less static.

John Young, director of freight and surface transportation policy, noted that in fiscal 2015, Congress authorised funding for the recruitment of 2,000 new CBP staff, but fewer than 20 were deployed at seaports.

CBP has indicated that it could use an additional 500 staff just on the maritime side, he added.



https://cargonetlog.com/this-is-an-example-page-2/
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Re: Transportation

#54

Post by Volkonski »

“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Transportation

#55

Post by bob »

Not expressly said, but India's concern is drug trafficking.
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Re: Transportation

#56

Post by Volkonski »

In the Birthers Dregs thread bob posted this-
Re Ten fold price Gouging on shipping containers contributing to the braking of the supply chain

Open letter

Hon. AG Garland,

As you might be aware, there is currently a problem with the supply chain, specifically shipping at the ports of Long Beach and San Pedro/Los Angeles

Recently, I became privy to the information that the price of shipping of containers going through the ports of Long Beach and San Pedro has been hiked more than 10 times. Businesses are now charged $20,000 per container which cost only $1,500 a year ago. This represents price gouging and there is a need for investigation of possible kick-backs/bribes to port officials and/or employees, and/or union bosses built in those exorbitant prices. Until and unless the Department of Justice and the US Attorneys’ office investigates this gouging, it will continue and it will result in spikes in the consumer prices in the environment of the soaring inflation.

I hope this matter will be investigated.

Respectfully,

/s/ Dr/ Orly Taitz, ESQ
Orly's numbers aren't wrong but they are not the whole story. Those numbers are spot prices for shipping a container from east Asia to southern California. Those costs have increased due to several factors including increased shipping volumes, shortages of ships and delays at ports. It costs the shipping companies money to have their ships waiting days or weeks to unload. Those waiting ships are not available to take on new cargos. It is not gouging so much as the effect of market forces. Also spot prices are the highest prices charged. Average prices are lower.

https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/ ... d-attentio

https://www.reuters.com/business/china- ... 021-08-05/
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Re: Transportation

#57

Post by RTH10260 »

Also too port authorities are charging high fees upon importers who let their containers sit after unloading, blocking storage space needed for further unloading. Not price gauging, just coercion to get containers moved elsewhere, at best when they can directly arrive at a recipients site.
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Re: Transportation

#58

Post by Volkonski »

Flood damage cuts all rail access to Canada's largest port of Vancouver

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ ... ce=twitter
The port of Vancouver, Canada's largest, said on Tuesday that all rail access had been cut by floods and landslides further to the east, a development that could hit shipments of grain, coal and potash.

Two days of torrential rain in the Pacific province of British Columbia triggered major flooding and shut rail routes operated by Canadian Pacific Rail (CP.TO) and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), by far the country's two biggest rail companies.

"All rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the British Columbia interior," said port spokesperson Matti Polychronis.

The floods have also closed numerous highways, including all main routes to Vancouver, she said.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
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Re: Transportation

#59

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... e-service/
The landmark infrastructure package approved last month positioned Amtrak to pursue entering new cities and to tackle long-delayed maintenance projects. But amid its biggest boost in history, the carrier faces an immediate crisis that threatens service: a scarcity of railroad workers.

Amtrak is struggling to hire and retain workers amid a national labor shortage, down 1,500 people since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It has left the railroad unable to resume pre-pandemic service levels, expand dining services to some trains or launch long-planned routes.
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Re: Transportation

#60

Post by Kriselda Gray »

When I was living in Seattle, my then-boyfriend and I decided to take Amtrak from there to my parents home in Kansas. On the way out we went through LA and parts of the SW, and on the way back, we had a route through Chicago and the Northern Plains states. We were in the regular seats and travelled about 5 days each way, and I LOVED it! There was something so cool about getting to see so much of the country, even if we were just passing through, and I was quite impressed with the service we got from the staff. Even the food was good - much better than what I'd gotten on airplanes :)
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Re: Transportation

#61

Post by AndyinPA »

:thumbsup:
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Re: Transportation

#62

Post by keith »

The last time I was in the States, we took the train from San Francisco to Chicago. It was a great trip, almost got snowed in going over Donner Pass (not really). After Chicago we took the train to Washington D.C. SWMBO had never been to DC. Then we flew to Tucson for a few days, then flew to Denver, rented a car and drove to Wyoming via South Dakota. Then we flew to Vancouver and took the "Rocky Mountain Explorer" train across the mountains to Banff and Calgary before flying back to Oz. Three great, and thoroughly recommended train trips.

I would have liked flying from Jackson Hole to Portland or Seattle, then taking the train across the border to Vancouver instead of flying direct to Vancouver, but for some reason that I cannot figure out, the plane tickets would have cost twice as much for me to get off in Portland or Seattle even though the flight from Jackson to Vancouver DID stop at Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle. Why would it cost more for me to get off than to stay on? Weird.
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Re: Transportation

#63

Post by AndyinPA »

The Rocky Mountaineer is really high on our list.

And, yes, the trip from Seattle to Vancouver is lovely! But SF to CHI is a really great trip, one of the best in the country. I've never done it in the winter, and I'll bet it was great.
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Re: Transportation

#64

Post by Whatever4 »

AndyinPA wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:53 am The Rocky Mountaineer is really high on our list.

And, yes, the trip from Seattle to Vancouver is lovely! But SF to CHI is a really great trip, one of the best in the country. I've never done it in the winter, and I'll bet it was great.
I’ve taken the California Zephyr in winter. We went through Iowa just after an ice storm and the trees literally sparkled. The train had many more stops than usual (frozen switches). Several professional photographers had come on board to photograph the ice display, so the sleeping car attendant opened the door at every stop so they could get great shots through the opening.

Going through the Rockies, the vestibule between our sleeper and the dining car took on quite a bit of snow somehow and the car attendants had to shovel it out with trays. Yes, I tipped very well that trip.
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Re: Transportation

#65

Post by AndyinPA »

Sounds like quite an adventure.

The most exciting :?: thing I've ever seen is the honeymoon couple on the Coast Starlight who came to the dining car for breakfast. She was dressed in a very flimsy nightgown and he had on either undershorts or short pajamas and a loose short robe. They could not have helped noticing that everyone else in the car was fully dressed. To my surprise, they sat them at a table and served them.

I'd seen them the day before in the parlor car, drooling all over each other. They, obviously, loved putting on a show.
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Re: Transportation

#66

Post by Whatever4 »

AndyinPA wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:29 am Sounds like quite an adventure.

The most exciting :?: thing I've ever seen is the honeymoon couple on the Coast Starlight who came to the dining car for breakfast. She was dressed in a very flimsy nightgown and he had on either undershorts or short pajamas and a loose short robe. They could not have helped noticing that everyone else in the car was fully dressed. To my surprise, they sat them at a table and served them.

I'd seen them the day before in the parlor car, drooling all over each other. They, obviously, loved putting on a show.
I’ve seen much on my many train travels! The Amish family accompanying the young couple on their honeymoon. (Something like 4 in coach, the elders in 2 upper roomettes, the newlyweds in a lower roomette.) The guy recovering from surgery who moaned for a day until they managed to get a pain med delivery at a water stop. The weed partiers who suddenly (to them) got evicted to a crossing in Utah, right into the hands of some small town cops. A freight derailment in Nebraska that required switching trains at 2:00 in the morning (eastbound passengers and luggage bussed to the westbound train, and vice versa) and the small town donut shop that made and distributed free coffee and donuts to passengers. The Amish guy who made bats for a west coast baseball team taking a very long trip to see the home field (Lancaster to Chicago to Oakland). Picking up a carload of very smelly boys at Ratan NM (Philmont Boy Scout Ranch), who immediately went to sleep until Chicago. Fortunately, the conductor had cleared a coach car for them; I had to walk through that car to get to the cafe car. Snoring, stinky teenagers. :sick:

Playing “cribbage” with my nephew from Chicago to Seattle. Many tournaments. I put the game in quotes because neither of us knew how to play, but my mom had packed a set in the shoebox of treats she sent with him. We puzzled it out from the instructions; it turned out we missed some the first round, forgot some the second but incorporated the ones we missed, and MAYBE had it right by the end.

Took a trip from Chicago to Sacramento (to tour the Capitol, a hobby of mine) merely because I got cortisone shots in both knees and the doctor said to stay off them for a few days. The train was 9 hours late and I would get into town much to early in the morning to stay with my mother’s friend, so I looked at the map and got off the train with my crutches in Reno. I asked the cab driver for a hotel recommendation and got off at the Silver Legacy. The desk clerk saw my crutches and upgraded me to a sweet suite! I took a car service to tour Carson City and the NV Capitol, the Christmas decorations at the Governor’s mansion, and Virginia City. The driver also wanted to take me to a brothel to chat with the ladies, but I said no. Had a great time anyway.

Plenty of other adventures. (Many many train trips!) I’m due for one, but Covid Times.
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Re: Transportation

#67

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We traveled cross country (PGH-Flagstaff, return from Grand Junction, CO) and felt pretty safe about Covid in bedrooms in June-July.

We've seen other things, including a couple put off the train for marijuana in Reno, but WOW, I love your experiences (some better than others). We've been put up twice overnight in Chicago for late trains. The first time we were bused to a Holiday Inn, the second time we were put up in the only Swissotel in the US in Chicago. When I told the desk clerk we had stayed at one in Lima, he upgraded us. :thumbsup:
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Re: Transportation

#68

Post by RTH10260 »

for all train enthusiast, this report by the British travel vlogger Paul Lucas usually showing off airlines

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Re: Transportation

#69

Post by Phoenix520 »

We tried to plan a trip from here to Seattle a few years back. After we added sitting, sleeping, and eating to our itinerary it was vastly more expensive than flying. I thought it would be much cheaper.

My Aunt Ann and uncle Matt (Landy Oldsmobile, for any old New Jerseyans who lived near Ridgefield) came out to visit one year. They took the train, from NYC to LA. In Chicago, a couple got on and became their instant best friends. The Chicago couple even arranged their return itinerary to they could go back together. They remained fast friends for many years.


The Amtrack Station in Pasadena is no more, but the year they came out it was still functioning as a station. My mom and her friends brought a folding card table, white table linens, roses, and champagne and strawberries to the station. They set them up on the platform before my aunt and uncle arrived and toasted them on their way home. When Ann and Matt got onto the train, they could hear whispers: “Who are they?” “Wow, great idea! Champaigne and strawberries before you board.”

They talked about that for years. :P
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Re: Transportation

#70

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We've done that trip several times, and will be returning to it again next year. The trip out will be on the Empire Builder, the far north route out to the West Coast. We're taking the Coast Starlight down from Seattle to take the Zephyr back to Chicago.

If you want to travel this way, the journey has to be part of the destination. It's an amazingly relaxing way to see the country. Best parts, going into or coming out of Denver, the Rockies, and the Sierra Nevada. I also enjoy going into and coming out of Chicago.

Nice video. I can't believe I watched all of it, in spite of having done it several times.
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Re: Transportation

#71

Post by keith »

AndyinPA wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:18 pm ...
Nice video. I can't believe I watched all of it, in spite of having done it several times.
I watched it all too, but have only done the trip once - west to east.

I can't believe that they haven't done something about the Grand Junction station yet. Is there money for that in the "Build Back Better" bill?

I was going to insert a winge here that my hometown, Tucson, used to have a great train station, albeit small, that they let run down like Grand Junction, and probably tore down when they built the Ronstadt Transit Center for buses (named after the entire pioneering Ronstadt family, of which Linda is a member).

But no, I looked it up and it looks like when they built the transit center (across the street from the station), they refurbished the entire area and the Tucson Station is looking really great, at least from the outside. Its serviced by the "Texas Eagle" and the "Sunset Limited".
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Re: Transportation

#72

Post by AndyinPA »

keith wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 10:23 pm
AndyinPA wrote: Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:18 pm ...
Nice video. I can't believe I watched all of it, in spite of having done it several times.
I watched it all too, but have only done the trip once - west to east.

I can't believe that they haven't done something about the Grand Junction station yet. Is there money for that in the "Build Back Better" bill?

I was going to insert a winge here that my hometown, Tucson, used to have a great train station, albeit small, that they let run down like Grand Junction, and probably tore down when they built the Ronstadt Transit Center for buses (named after the entire pioneering Ronstadt family, of which Linda is a member).

But no, I looked it up and it looks like when they built the transit center (across the street from the station), they refurbished the entire area and the Tucson Station is looking really great, at least from the outside. Its serviced by the "Texas Eagle" and the "Sunset Limited".
West to east is the best direction. :thumbsup:

Yeah, Grand Junction needs a lot of work, but it really takes time and a lot of community support to get the old ones that need refurbishing done. Tuscon's is really great, inside and outside. They also refurbished the Sacramento station, and it's much nicer now. They returned the Seattle station to its former glory, too. And Denver did an absolutely spectacular job. The station became the transportation hub for the city, with lots of restaurants and shops. The upper floors, which used to be warehouse space, has been turned into a boutique hotel. We stayed in a suite there for a few days a couple of years ago, but will be staying overnight next year, so will just book a "regular" room. All the rooms are quirky, as they are built around the original supports of the old warehouse. (We stayed in an old warehouse turned hotel in Copenhagen that was like that, too. You had to duck around the original supports. It was "interesting.")

Our starting and ending point is always Pittsburgh. I understand the city and Amtrak are committed to making it nicer. The Union Station is still there, but they moved the Amtrak station into the basement. It's not the worst station I've seen, but it's not good. Union Station above it has been turned into expensive office and condo suites, so that's never going to be used for the trains again. There is access to the main road, so it's not like there aren't windows in it, but it's never going to be the glorious station it used to be (and sort of still is if you have an office or condo there). The other train station, Penn Station, in Pittsburgh, across the Monongahela River, has also been turned into shops and restaurants, but the main luxurious station is much more accessible than the Union Station across the river. If they had located the Amtrak station there, it could be much nicer, or, at least, it would not be in a basement based on the way the tracks run right next to the river. Oh, well, it is what it is.

An old train station in Wilkinsburg, PA, which originally ran into downtown Pittsburgh has just been refurnished, and it's absolutely beautiful. They needed a lot of community support for it. They went to the same marble quarry in Italy to replace the marble where it was missing. They are hoping to attract a restaurant, which I'm sure they can, but it will also be a beautiful event space, too. To return old, long-unused stations to anything like their former glory takes getting a lot of moving pieces into place.
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Re: Transportation

#73

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... r-omicron/
Amtrak said Thursday that it will reduce its schedule between New Year’s Eve and Jan. 6 as it battles bad weather in some parts of the country and a surge in coronavirus cases among its employees.

About two dozen trains on both its Northeast Corridor and long-distance routes will be affected.

“Amtrak regrets any inconvenience,” the railroad said in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor changing conditions and will make any further adjustments as required.”

Amtrak says 97 percent of its workforce is vaccinated against the coronavirus, but it has seen an increase in positive cases in line with the surge around the country. The railroad had said this week the surge wasn’t leading to cancellations.

The reductions are about 1.5 percent of Amtrak’s trains that were scheduled for the week.
I'm glad to see they have such a high rate of vaccination.
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Re: Transportation

#74

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... agerstown/
Metro’s next series of rail cars will be built at a $70 million plant in Maryland that will employ nearly 500 people and supply rail cars for the Washington-area system and transit agencies across the country.

Hitachi Rail announced Monday it has chosen Hagerstown as the home for an assembly plant that will release Metro’s eighth generation of rail cars starting in late 2024. Metro selected the company about 18 months ago to build 256 cars for its 8000 series, with an option for as many as 800 cars this decade.

The lucrative contract worth about $2.2 billion came with the requirement that Hitachi Rail assemble the cars at a plant in the Mid-Atlantic region. The announcement advances Metro’s lengthy journey to go from bidding to planning for its next rail car, a process that included Congress inserting itself into negotiations over cybersecurity fears and concerns about what would be built domestically.
It's nice that 500 people will be employed, but it's still not an American company and the profits go to Japan.
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Re: Transportation

#75

Post by tek »

If it is anything like the CRRC facility in East Springfield MA, it will be an assembly facility using parts from offshore.

Better than nothing, but far from awesome.
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