Month: February 2009

  • BURBANK AIRPORT AUTHORITY PROPOSES TRANSIT CENTER

    Commentary by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President, and member, Burbank Transportation Commission. The facility would provide “moving walkway” link with the Amtrak/Metrolink station. The Burbank Glendale Pasadena Airport JPA has put forward an ambitious plan to improve public transit connections at the Burbank Bob Hope Airport. The airport already has the closest rail access of any…

  • CCJPA February Meeting report

    by Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) met in Suisun City on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. The Board approved the CCJPA FY ’09-’10 — FY ’10-’11 Business Plan Update. The Plan will be finalized and submitted to the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BT&H) by Apr ’09. (Note:…

  • California Corridors January 2009 Stats

    from Eugene K. Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority It appears that the economic slowdown may be starting to impact all California’s services, with the Pacific Surfliners taking the biggest hit. Although the Capitol Corridor is still in growth mode for riders and revenue, and we are the only California service still ahead…

  • Rail Safety Improvement Act will save lives

    By Robert Manning, RailPAC Director Printed in The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, February 8, 2009 Sometimes it takes a major tragedy to provide something good. And that is exactly what happened this past September when the Metrolink train crashed into the Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, killing and injuring people. As a result of…

  • RIC SILVER: A real rail advocate!

    A tribute with PHOTOS to RailPAC’s outgoing, one-of-a-kind former Executive Director, by Russ Jackson We first met Richard L. Silver sometime around 1995. RailPAC was still a small, but noisy, organization of rail advocates who were speaking our minds on California and Amtrak national issues. Alan Wimmergren was president, founders Byron Nordberg and Dr. Adrian…

  • Tracking the News for February

    TRACKING THE NEWS . . . . . . PHOTOS, and COMMENTARY by Russ Jackson February, 2009. Superliners! When you “GoogleEarth” to their U.S. map and zoom in on the Beech Grove, Indiana, Amtrak shop you see a yard area at the top (north) of the property. While the date of the photo is unknown,…

  • Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

    Editorial By Noel T. Braymer After retiring as President of Southern Railway, W. Graham Claytor took over as President of Amtrak in 1982. At that time Amtrak recovered only 48 percent of its costs from revenue. Eleven years latter when Mr. Claytor retired from Amtrak in 1993 Amtrak’s cost recovery was 75 percent. Shortly before…

  • Has it been 30 years already?

    By Noel T. Braymer In 1978 I was in my mid-twenties, single, the rent for my apartment in Los Angeles was $160 a month, and my car was paid for thanks to my parents. About the last thing on my mind were trains. Other than amusement park rides the only train ride I had been…