[RP TownTalk] President Obama - Amtrak to DC on January 17 - question

[Robert Oppenheim]

Interesting idea, Sue.

Some research indicates that it will be Amtrak routes, and he will come 
thru New Carrollton someplace close to 5:30 pm. But I am not 100% sure 
of those "facts".

Some info I found online...

On Saturday, Jan 17, 2009, Obama is retracing the journey of Abraham 
Lincoln, who also rode to his swearing-in on a train from Philadelphia, 
making stops along the way.

The inaugural train will stop in Baltimore at about 4:15 pm for an event.

Baltimore Event:
Who: President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden and their 
families, and everyday Americans traveling on the Whistle Stop Tour.
Where: War Memorial Plaza, 101 N. Gay St., Baltimore, MD
Doors Open: 1:00 PM
Event Begins: 4:15 PM
Tickets: Event is open to the public. Attendees are asked to bring a can 
of food for delivery to a local food bank.

Some quotes from the web...

"Amtrak prepares for crowds along Obama train route"

For security reasons, officials say the Presidential Inauguration 
Committee is keeping a tight lid on the details of the 137-mile route 
that Obama will take through 40 jurisdictions in Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland and Washington.

There will be a 4:15 p.m. ceremony at War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore. 
Baltimore's police commissioner, Frederick Bealefeld, said the plaza's 
capacity is 30,000 and he's estimating that 100,000 people could show up.

The Maryland Stadium Authority says that stadium parking will become 
available at 11am Saturday, January 17th. and that shuttle service to 
War Memorial Plaza will be provided.  The Stadium Authority adds there 
will be more details coming.  The President Elect is expected to arrive 
in Baltimore around 4pm Saturday by train and stay for an hour.

The Amtrak train schedule shows that a train takes about 25 minutes to 
get from Baltimore to New Carrollton with no stops. So a rough guess is 
he would travel thru New Carrollton at about5:30 pm. Of course, this is 
not likely to go according to schedule. I am not sure how much before 
then you would want to get to a viewing place, and no way to know how 
long you might have to wait. Perhaps you could watch TV coverage of the 
Baltimore event and see when it is ending, then figure roughly a half hour.

They announced that some stations along the route will be closed, but 
they did not mention the New Carrollton station.

To read the Amtrak announcement, go to www.amtrak.com and look for the 
news bulleton: "Changes to Philadelphia-Washington Operations on January 
17". (However, it does not say much).


Sue Collins wrote:
> I don't know if anyone can really answer this due to security concerns, etc., however....  I've heard on the news that President-elect Obama will travel via train from Philadelphia, PA to DC on Saturday, January 17, and they're expecting people to line the tracks to watch the train pass.  I'm guessing they'll use the AMTRAK tracks, has anyone heard if the train will pass through the New Carrollton AMTRAK station (or where?) and, if so, approximately what time?  I'd like to see the train myself, I didn't know if any of our railroad buffs had this info or not.  
>
> Thanks.  
>
>