Month: February 2007

  • Coast Rail Coordinating Council meeting report

    Reported by Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director February 23, 2007 Inn at Spanish Bay, Monterey The primary interest of this group is establishing the Coast Daylight train, which will run from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles. The main thrust of this meeting was a comprehensive report by Bill Bronte, Chief of Caltrans Division of Rail…

  • CA Rail PHOTOS for March

    Los Angeles Union Station. What to look for when you come to the RailPAC/NARP Meeting on March 17! Union Station in Los Angeles opened in 1939, owned by the Southern Pacific, AT&SF, and Union Pacific railroads. Long distance trains have called at these platforms ever since. The facility is now government owned and Amtrak’s long…

  • The CZ: Amtrak’s forgotten train

    Report and Commentary by Russ Jackson, RailPAC As of the date this was written on February 20, 2007, the On Time Performance (OTP) of Amtrak trains 5 and 6, the California Zephyr, was 0.0%. That’s ZERO per cent, meaning NOT ONE of the trains has reached either end point within 30 minutes of its scheduled…

  • CA Rail PHOTOS for February

    What’s new at the Sacramento train station. A January 31, 2007, PHOTO report by Russ Jackson When did you last see two P-32 locomotives together? The State of California owns two like the one on the left, and borrows one from Amtrak when power is needed due to maintenance of the other fleet locomotives. Here…

  • RailPAC Alert: Ridership Report for Amtrak California Trains

    RailPAC Alert: Ridership Report for Amtrak California Trains FROM Capitol Corridor Manager Eugene K. Skoropowski We just received the January 2007 ridership and revenue numbers from Amtrak. I am still in shock. On January 22, Union Pacific started a major track project. On January 17, to accommodate this trackwork, we temporarily suspended 8 of our…

  • CA High Speed Rail January Meeting report

    Commentary and Report by Hal Wanaselja I attended the CAHSR Authority meeting in Sacramento on January 29, and as they say “there is good news and bad news.” First, let me say that the choice of Quentin Kopp as chair is a godsend. He is very astute and knowlegeable. He really belives we shoud have…

  • Trip on Amtrak 4 and 5

    In mid January 2007 I rode the Southwest Chief from Lamy to Chicago and the California Zephyr from Chicago to Sacramento in an economy sleeper. Overall it was an excellent trip, due primarily to an attentive, congenial staff, excellent weather, interesting people, and with some exceptions, a timely schedule. Food ranged from very good to…

  • RailPAC President’s Comments to LOSSAN Board

    Chairman Brown and Members of the Board LOSSAN RAIL CORRIDOR AGENCY JOINT POWERS BOARD January 10, 2007 I’d like to comment on item 6B and 6C, on time performance Ad-Hoc committee and Amtrak’s customer service and performance report. I spent a good part of the first few years of my career with British Railways investigating…

  • Remembering RailPAC’s Byron Nordberg

    January 30th marked the 10th anniversary of the passing of Byron Nordberg.  Called the “heart and soul of RailPAC”, our “founding President” was known for his tireless efforts at promoting passenger rail.  Read Noel Braymer’s photo report at http://www.unitedrail.org/2007/01/30/byron-nordberg-remembered/

  • February’s RailPAC Editorial: Growth is Amtrak’s only option

    Editorial Growth is Amtrak’s only option By Noel T. Braymer Last month we republished excerpts from an article from the NEW YORK TIMES with the headline Surprising Forecast for Amtrak: Growth. This is a sad commentary on the current state of Amtrak that the media would consider a marketing plan for Amtrak surprising. But in…