Month: July 2007

  • Editorial: What really happened at Williams Junction?

    By Noel T. Braymer I think everyone was shocked at news reports that an Amtrak crew left a diabetic man stranded in the middle of an Arizona forest near the Grand Canyon. News reports like this said “PHOENIX–A 65-year-old St. Louis man is missing after Amtrak personnel, mistaking his diabetic shock for drunk and disorderly…

  • Amtrak San Joaquins Come to Vacaville…by bus

    A PHOTO story by Russ Jackson with generous assistance from Art Lloyd! The Past, Present, and Future: The Solano County city of Vacaville was served at one time in its history by two branch rail lines. Since they were abandoned trains roar past the city on what is now the Union Pacific/Capitol Corridor main line…

  • CCJPB July meeting report

    CAPITOL CORRIDOR JOINT POWERS BOARD July 18, 2007 Meeting Suisun City Hall Report and photo by Russ Jackson NOTE: Before the meeting started RailPAC learned some interesting news. First, and this was reported to us the night before the meeting by Gene Skoropowski, two newly rebuilt Superliner Coach cars that the State of California is…

  • RailPAC President/LA Councilmember press conference re Amtrak

    HELP KEEP AMTRAK GOING Los Angeles City Council Member Tom LaBonge and Paul Dyson, president of the Rail Passenger Assn. of California, held a joint press conference at LA Union Station on July 13. Councilmember LaBonge received unanimous council support on July 13 for a City resolution supporting U.S. Senate bill S 294 that would…

  • June CA Corridor ridership/revenue reports

    provided by Eugene K. Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority We have received the ridership and revenue results for June 2007 from Amtrak, and, once again, the Capitol Corridor is setting records. After 9 months in our fiscal year, we continue to AVERAGE a +13% growth rate in riders and more than +21%…

  • How is the California Zephyr doing since its schedule was lengthened?

    Issues Commentary by Russ Jackson, RailPAC We all know that Amtrak trains 5 and 6, the California Zephyr, have been late regularly. From August, 2006 to June, 2007, the combined on time performance of both trains at their endpoints, Chicago and Emeryville, was 0.0%. On June 21, 2007, after arduous negotiations with the Union Pacific…