Remembering George Gaekle May 26th, 2010
By Russ Jackson, with contributions by Art Lloyd, Bruce Jenkins and several of his close friends
TAMC Rail Policy Committee Meeting Report May 23rd, 2010
May 3, 2010 Meeting
Reported by Chris Flescher, Associate Director
There was a recommendation to create an Ad Hoc Committee for proposed stations. The group members would visit the sites of the proposed Castroville and Pajaro Stations, plus the existing Salinas train station. The recommendation passed.
Redding: Come by Train and Bring Your Bike May 19th, 2010
Tracking Rail News: May 2010 May 18th, 2010
Commentary and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson
. . . On Time Performance.
April was again a good month for the Amtrak western long distance trains. There were more “on time” than late, but when it was late was it late! The big exceptions were #6, the California Zephyr, was almost 11 hours late into Denver on April 23, but on other days in April it was close to OT every day; #7 the Empire Builder was late 168 minutes into Spokane on April 14, and its counterpart #8 was late almost 20 hours into Minneapolis on April 10. For the rest of the system, “close to OT” is the operative word and the medal for this month goes to Texas Eagle #22, which was OT or early into St. Louis every day but one, and that was on 4/2 when it was only 45 minutes late. For the FY, since October 1, 2009, the Sunset Limited has been OT close to 90%, and the Coast Starlight (photo) is now 88%. It’s almost getting to be non-news to comment on this topic. On the other hand, we looked at the Acela Express performance on April 6 and found since the FY began Acelas had been delayed 71,700 minutes. Nothing is perfect, even on the Northeast Corridor, but perfection is closer for the long distance trains in the west!
UP Extortion Letter to CA Shows That FRA/Congressional Legislative Guidance Are Needed May 18th, 2010
Commentary by Dennis Lytton, Director
Earlier this week, the Union Pacific Railroad distributed to the media, particuarly the San Jose Mercury News, their letter to the Authority of April 23, 2010. In it they outline their most forceful position thus far of not cooperating with high speed rail.
Transportation: Following the Money May 18th, 2010
Editorial by Noel T. Braymer
Raising money for any transportation project, but particularly rail passenger service is always difficult. Adding to the difficulties are the high price tags for many rail projects. Already there is increasing concern about the price tag for the California High Speed Rail project. There are estimates of 6 billion dollars for construction for just 34 miles between Anaheim and Los Angeles. Such a short segment will provide limited service but is being considered for the first leg to have passenger service. Have we seen this before?
Demonstrating Why We Need New Railcars Now: Amtrak #763 May 17th, 2010
Commentary by Jarrod DellaChiesa, Director and Website Editor
On Saturday, May 15 Amtrak passengers were not allowed to board Pacific Surfliner #763 in Chatsworth. Would-be passengers reported the Conductor designated the train as “overcrowded and unsafe”. Ridership was high on this run due to passengers traveling to the Strawberry Festival.
TAMC Rail Policy Committee Meeting Report May 12th, 2010
April California Intercity Passenger Rail Performance May 11th, 2010
Reported by David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director, CCJPA
After the first increase in 13 months, ridership for the Capitol Corridor in April 2010 was just slightly below April 2009 by 0.5%. As mentioned in previous monthly reports, the greatest impediment to ridership gains is the on-going mandate of three (3) Friday furloughs per month for state government employees (which also impacts businesses, vendors, and service industries in the Capitol).
Our Vision for Rail in California and Nevada May 7th, 2010
CONNECTIONS! It’s all about connections. Depending on your journey you may live close to a station that has a direct service to your destination. But there’s a good chance that you’ll need to transfer, from bus to train, light rail to high speed rail, Surfliner to long distance Amtrak. RailPAC’s campaign is all about connections between these modes so that all of us can enjoy mobility without the automobile.
Our map attempts to portray the statewide system that we want to see over the next two decades. What it cannot show, but is equally important, is the electronic ticketing and information system that is needed to make passenger rail easy to use for 40 million Californians.
