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The New Coast Daylight! May 12th, 2012
We support a new daily passenger train linking the Central Coast during the day. For more than twenty years, work on a new Coast Daylight train service has led to studies without results.
The Coast Rail Coordinating Council, a voluntary coalition of regional transportation agencies is leading the service planning, and has prepared a realistic, immediately doable operating plan. However the freight train volume and freight need on the corridor has been vastly overstated by Union Pacific Railroad. This unfairly blocks the public’s right to access the corridor. Amtrak is willing to operate the service, and it is consistent with the State Rail Plan. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Issues
I Would Ride Trains More if they Went More Places May 13th, 2012
Opinion By Noel T. Braymer
I would love to ride trains more often, but I literally can’t because I can’t get there by train. For example I can take Metrolink from Oceanside to San Bernardino once a day leaving Oceanside at 4:20 PM. I would have to leave San Bernardino at 4:48 AM the next day to get back by 7:15 AM. I can catch a train to Riverside from Oceanside at 7:30 AM and to Orange at 2:47 PM and connect from both in under an hour to trains to San Bernardino. I don’t expect to see more direct trains service between Oceanside and San Bernardino anytime soon. But with improved bus connections we can open new markets to existing trains and future trains on existing routes at little capital costs. There are bottlenecks to adding more trains between Oceanside and Orange County as well as more trains to San Bernardino from Orange County. But you can add connecting buses to existing rail lines and increase ridership. Convenience or lack there of is a major factor for rail ridership. Few things make taking the train more convenient than more frequent service to more places.
Posted in Editorials
eNewsletter for May 7, 2012 May 12th, 2012
With tilting the Cascades were able to raise the average speed from 47 to 53 miles per hour. That is faster than any passenger trains in California and close to the fastest legal speeds by road. The plan for the Cascades is to reach speeds of110-125 miles per hour. Washington State DOT calculated that at these speeds they would achieve 90 percent of the ridership at 50 percent of the cost of a higher speed service. They plan to build this incrementally
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
PASSENGER RAIL ADVOCACY GROUPS COMBINE TO LAUNCH PETITION FOR “COAST DAYLIGHT” SERVICE May 11th, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 11, 2012 – The Rail Passenger Association of California (RailPAC), the Coast Starlight Communities Network and the Steel Wheels Coalition® are working together to step up the campaign for an additional passenger train along the California Coast. To be known as the Coast Daylight, this train will provide daily service between the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Posted in Commentary, Editorials
Sunset Limited Early Morning Arrival in LA Information May 9th, 2012
NOTE: The info below is being distributed to passengers arriving on the Sunset Limited, train #1, at Los Angeles Union Station. The scheduled arrival time of this train there is 5:35 AM now with the new timetable effective May 7, 2012.
Posted in Reports
Meeting date: April 26, 2012 in Fresno, California; Reported by Mike Barnbaum, RailPAC Associate Director, Sacramento
Late April was a busy time for the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee. The Fresno meeting kept members busy with legislation pending in Sacramento that would allow for the possible formation of a Joint Powers Authority for the Amtrak San Joaquins.
Posted in Reports
Upcoming Rail Meeting Event Calendar May 9th, 2012
Prepared by Mike Barnbaum, RailPAC Associate Director
The legislation discussed at the April San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee and associated infrastructure changes forthcoming at the Sacramento Valley (Amtrak) Station set the slate for a busy calendar ahead for California and the West Coast. Here is the latest of what we do know through September 30th.
Posted in Issues
Does California need Tilting Turbine Trains? May 5th, 2012
Opinion By Noel T. Braymer
The heyday for Turbine powered passenger trains was back in the 1960′s and 70′s. The conventional wisdom is rising oil prices and high fuel consumption with Turbine Trains caused their days to be numbered. One reason for the decline was the leader in building Turbine Trains was France. The prototype TGV train built in the 70′s was a turbine train which still holds the speed record for turbine trains of 198 miles per hour. The decision to electrify the TGV trains was largely political. During the oil uncertainties of the 70′s the French Government began building more Nuclear Power Plants. The government soon found they had a glut of electrical power from these new power plants so it ordered the railroad to electrify more lines and the TGV trains.
Posted in Editorials
Enewsletter for April 30, 2012 May 5th, 2012
Tax dollars generate economic growth when spent WISELY. On the left we see the San Diego Depot in 1995 soon after the start of Coaster service. On the right is a view 12 years later. Transportation is central to economic activity and growth. Rail service attracts jobs and business.
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
