What Happens if the Southwest Chief is Rerouted? November 8th, 2010
Commentary and Photos by Russ Jackson, RailPAC
Would Amtrak return to the historic Amarillo, Texas station used by the AT&SF "San Francisco Chief"?
Every once in a while the rerouting Amtrak Trains 3 and 4, the Southwest Chief, off the traditional line from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Hutchinson, Kansas arises, because the line has almost no BNSF freight traffic in Colorado and New Mexico any longer. That is a true statement, the railroad no longer uses it and has diverted through freights to the soon-to-be fully double tracked “Transcon” line farther south which was the historic route of Santa Fe’s San Francisco Chief prior to Amtrak. In recent months Amtrak has been forced to add 40 minutes to the Chief’s schedule due to a BNSF lowering of the speed limit on the very rough trackage in western Kansas and Colorado. Train 4 now departs Los Angeles at 6:15 PM. The BNSF has offered to move the train to the Transcon line, which as we will see is more populated. The State of New Mexico now owns the line within its borders and runs the very successful Railrunner trains on the portion south of Santa Fe to Albuquerque. The BNSF still owns the rest.
So, what would happen if Amtrak must abandon the line? Read the rest of this entry »
San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Meeting Report November 8th, 2010
November 4, 2010 Meeting in Madera
Reported by Michael Barnbaum, Associate Director
TAMC Rail Policy Committee Meeting Report November 7th, 2010
September 13, 2010 Meeting
Reported by Chris Flescher, Associate Director
High Speed Rail: The View on November 4th November 4th, 2010
Report by Bill Kerby, RailPAC Treasurer
November 4, 2010 — Public commentary opened and closed the meeting of the California High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) held today in the State Capitol. In his opening remarks, San Mateo’s Assemblyman Jerry Hill announced that he will introduce legislation dealing with expenditures, transparency and disclosure by the HSRA. This proposed legislation will address possible conflict of interest matters which have arisen in a recent state audit. Details of his presentation can be found here.
RailPAC Takes HSR Tour of France October 4th, 2010
(L-R) John Hollenhorst (Publsisher, Mass Transit Magazine), Fred Jandt (Editor, Mass Transit Magazine), Art Lloyd (RailPAC), Isabelle Bonniot de Fleurac (Alstom), Rick Harnish (Tour Director), Bruce Jenkins (RailPAC)
By Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director
RailPAC Vice President North Art Lloyd and Director Bruce Jenkins joined a High Speed Rail Tour of France on September 13 thru 18th. The Tour was superbly guided by Rick Harnish, Executive Director of MidWestern High Speed Rail Association, who is also on the board of NARP. The tour was under the auspices of “The Society of International Railway Travelers”, Louisville, Ky. Eleanor Hardy Pres. The tour was five jam packed days of riding subways, trolleys, trams, funicular and Hi Speed Rail. We went to France with the opinion that the U.S. is a third world country in passenger rail transit, but this tour changed that opinion to forth world country in rail passenger transit!
Coast Starlight on Google Transit September 24th, 2010
Report by Jarrod DellaChiesa, RailPAC Director and Coast Starlight Communities Network Project Coordinator
It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Coast Starlight is now live on Google Transit!
In early 2008, the Coast Starlight Communities Network first suggested that Amtrak share their routes on Google Transit. CSCN began working with Amtrak and Google directly to add data on the Coast Starlight route in late 2008. In July 2009, Amtrak launched the 3 Amtrak California routes on Google Transit with CSCN testing those routes. I’ve been testing the Coast Starlight route on Google Transit over the last few months and this morning the route officially went live.
Try planning a trip anywhere on the West Coast, and if you are traveling between cities served by the Coast Starlight, you’ll see the option show up. I planned a mock trip between Seattle and Los Angeles so that you can see the overview of the entire route.
A trip planned from Seattle to Los Angeles using Google Transit
Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board Meeting Report September 19th, 2010
September 15, 2010 Meeting in Suisun City
Reported by Michael Barnbaum, Associate Director
Travel Observations August 31st, 2010
Comments by RailPAC member Freeman Gosden Jr.
on his recent trip from Santa Barbara-LA-Chicago-Emeryville- Santa Barbara
San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Meeting Report August 2nd, 2010
July 29, 2010 Meeting in Atwater
Reported by Michael Barnbaum, Associate Director
TAMC Rail Policy Committee Meeting Report June 29th, 2010
June 7, 2010 Meeting
Reported by Chris Flescher, Associate Director
The commuter rail extension (Gilroy to Salinas) is now in the right of way acquisition phase. The committee has issued a request for proposals in 3 categories: acquisition agent, legal services, and on-call appraisal. For the on-call group, the committee received 8 proposals. They recommend placing 7 on the list, for future use, but not signing any contracts. For legal services, there were 5 proposals. The committee recommends Meyers Nave. The acquisition agent proposals were many. The committee chose Overland Pacific, Associated Right of Way Services, and Paragon Partners as the top 3. The committee interviewed those agencies, and Overland Pacific was chosen. The committee passed a resolution to support the above choices, and the final contracts will go to the TAMC Board of Directors later this month.
