Hiawatha Line

[Paul-W]

I rode the Hiawatha line yesterday from Milwaukee down to Chicago and noticed that some of the conductors had Icom radios with them. This is the first time that I have seen Amtrak conductors using Icom radios. They looked like they were very new radios. Is Amtrak now using Icom as their standard radio or are they just adding these to their cuurent inventory? I ride the Hiawatha line several times a year and have only seen the Amtrak employee only using Motorola radios and a few ancient GE radios. The last time I saw them with GE radios was about two years.

 

[burner50]

I rode the Hiawatha line yesterday from Milwaukee down to Chicago and noticed that some of the conductors had Icom radios with them. This is the first time that I have seen Amtrak conductors using Icom radios. They looked like they were very new radios. Is Amtrak now using Icom as their standard radio or are they just adding these to their cuurent inventory? I ride the Hiawatha line several times a year and have only seen the Amtrak employee only using Motorola radios and a few ancient GE radios. The last time I saw them with GE radios was about two years.

As far as i know, Icom and Kenwood are the only ones producing NXDN radios which the railroads have selected for their flavor of digital.

The railroad i work for hasn't issued new motorolas for 5+ years.