RailPAC: Rail Passenger Association of CA & NV

Year: 2013

  • Why Does it Take So Long to Get More and Faster Trains?

    By Noel T. Braymer The short answer is money: or rather the lack of money. Things looked much brighter back in 2000. In 2000 the State of California had a budget surplus of 12.3 billion dollars! The Federal Government also had a budget surplus and the Federal Debt was shrinking. Unemployment was low and economic…

  • eNewsletter for December 2, 2013

    Editorial: High-speed rail proceeds in fits and start Sacramento Bee – Nov 27, 2013  In a mixed ruling on Monday, Kenny did not question going forward with the project. So the gleeful comment that “The high-speed rail project is derailed,” by Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, is an extravagant exaggeration. The judge…

  • RailPAC PHOTOS of the Month (November, 2013)

    Here are this month’s photos by RailPAC photographers. Click on each photo to see it full size! Contributions to this page are welcome. Send your jpg rail photos to RailPAC Photo Editor, at [email protected]. Russ Jackson, Photo page editor. 1. How’s this for an historic photo? Is that really Mr. & Mrs. Leland Stanford speaking…

  • What’s the Future of California High Speed Rail?

    Opinion by Noel T. Braymer The impact of the recent court decision on the use of voter approved bonds for High Speed Rail is unknown. This ruling doesn’t stop current construction which for now is being paid with Federal Funds. What the judge ruled is that the California High Speed Rail Authority CHSRA) according to…

  • Rail Service We Need Before High Speed Rail in California

    Opinion by Noel T. Braymer The most optimistic deadline for the start up of High Speed Rail in California is 2022 between Burbank and Merced. This includes connecting feeder trains to most of Southern California and from the San Joaquin Valley to the Bay Area and Sacramento. There are many improvements needed for conventional rail…

  • eNewsletter for November 25, 2013

    Boardman fires more Amtrak upper managers Trainorders.com Nov 19, 2013 On Monday Nov. 18, Amtrak fired more upper managers, eliminating twenty senior positions. Causalities reportedly included a 40-year Amtrak veteran and visionary whose last two decades were directly involved with the long distance trains and customer service, with many innovations to his credit. Comment: The person who Gene Poon…

  • What’s Up with the Coaster?

    By Noel T. Braymer                                                                                                      …

  • eNewslettter for November 18, 2013

    Amtrak Serving Free Wine to Steak Loses Millions on Food Bloomberg-Nov 14, 2013 …Almost all of last year’s $72 million in food-service losses were from providing meals on long-distance trains, Inspector General Ted Alves said in testimony at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing today. I remember at least 30 years ago I heard the…

  • New Amtrak Cars, But (sigh) Not For The West

    Commentary by Russ Jackson, URPA/RailPAC On October 24, 2013, Amtrak rolled out the new low-level Viewliner cars at the manufacturer CAF’s plant in Elmira, New York. The order is for 130 cars: 25 sleeper cars, 25 dining cars, 25 baggage/dormitory cars and 55 baggage cars, and Amtrak is excited. They should be. This is the…

  • Capitol Corridor Statistics (October, 2013)

    By David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Service Performance Overview FY2013 Projected Results Year-over-year ridership on the Capitol Corridor trains was even with last September. 132,937 passengers rode the Capitol Corridor trains in September 2013, closing out FY 2013 with a total of 1.70 million riders and representing a ridership decrease…