Month: May 2014

  • Rail Photos of the Month: May 2014

    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 jpeg rail photos to Russ Jackson, RailPAC Photo Editor, at [email protected]. THIS MONTH WE ARE SHOWING TEN (10!!) PHOTOS, including Art Lloyd’s honor by RailPAC; Train Day at LAUS, Santa…

  • eNewsletter for May 27, 2014

    Brown doubles down on high-speed rail amid calls for restraint  SFGate-May 16, 2014  Preparing for looming budget battles with the Democratic-controlled Legislature, Gov. Jerry Brown warned Friday that lawmakers must balance “desire and need” for expensive social programs – even as he defiantly doubled down on support for the increasingly unpopular high-speed rail system, saying it remains…

  • Is there a Future Shipping Oil by Rail?

    By Noel T. Braymer In the last 3 years there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of oil shipped by rail in this country. This new market has been eagerly embraced by the rail industry which naturally is looking for more business. But this has come at a price. The combination of last…

  • RailPAC member rides the Silver Star

    Trip Report and PHOTOS by Anthony Lee, RailPAC Associate Director After spending a couple of days at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center at Disney World as well as Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, I decided to take the Amtrak’s Sliver Service Silver Star instead of driving home. This is my first time riding the…

  • San Juan Capistrano: A Great Rail Destination

    By Noel T. Braymer A great rail destination is one where the station is a destination and a short walking distance to places to see with plenty to do. If you like a place that is different, with lots of history, scenery, places to shop and eat: then San Juan Capistrano is a great place…

  • eNewsletter for May 19, 2014

    A Deeper Look at LAX Connection Proposals Let’s Go LA May 13, 2014 In short, it seems that the central question of an efficient connection between LAX ground side transport and LA Metro has still not been resolved acceptably. This is LAX’s idea of a good connection between their People Mover with LA Metrorail. LAX wants Merto to…

  • Cap and Trade Funds

    Paul Dyson You know that a program has established itself when it sports an acronym.  Cap and Trade is now CnT (or CapnTrade to others) and has everyone at the State Capitol excited as it appears to represent a way to pay for a lot of people’s favorite environmental programs.  As I write in mid-May…

  • How to Increase Rail Ridership to Sacramento

    By Noel T. Braymer The Sacramento station is already one of the busiest Amtrak Station in California. There is excellent ridership from the Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight and California Zephyr trains. The same however can’t be said about the 2 round trips a day on the San Joaquin trains to and from Bakersfield. Why is…

  • eNewsletter for May 14, 2014

    This is the RailPAC table for National Train Day at the Santa Barbara Train Station organized by Dennis and Peggy Story. In the picture visiting our table is Das Williams of the California State Assembly. Also visiting RailPAC in Santa Barbara last Saturday were State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson who also rode the train to…

  • Capitol Corridor Monthly Report (April, 2014)

    from David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Service Performance Overview For April 2014, both ridership and revenue for the Capitol Corridor were above last year’s April results, with 3.2% and 1.5% growth respectively. Capitol Corridor trains carried a total of 126,831 passengers in April, 2014, with revenues of $2.44 million. The…