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LAND AND SKY
by Dean F. Pottle, PLS

Amtrak, America's national passenger railroad, is aggressively modernizing its northeast facilities to prepare for the inauguration of high-speed train service in 1999.

The Northeast Corridor, between Washington, D.C. and Boston, Mass., is one of the world's busiest rail corridors. During the next two years, Amtrak plans to upgrade its track for operating trains at 150 mph. When the high-speed project is finished, Amtrak trains should be able to travel from Boston to New York in three hours, compared to almost five hours now; and go from New York to Washington in 2 hours and 45 minutes, about 15 minutes faster. Amtrak will not only spend about $300 million to electrify the New Haven, Conn., to Boston portion of the corridor, but also to make improvements to the line south of New Haven as part of an extensive Track Maintenance Management (TMM) program.As a first step in upgrading for high-speed service and to assist in the TMM program, Amtrak required an updated centerline base map and digital terrain map (DTM). Amtrak had an existing base map, based on mile post measurements, but it was in linear format, and the railroad wanted to build a geographic information system (GIS) file of all of the assets on the 450-mile mainline. Amtrak contracted with John E. Chance and Associates from Lafayette, LA., to use its FLI-MAP¨ aerial surveying system and its FLIP 7© processing system to begin development of a database of the track. Improving service, Amtrak hopes, will increase ridership and profits, allowing the railroad to maintain a national system free of federal operating support as Congress has directed.

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