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eNewsletter for October 17, 2011 October 20th, 2011
Planning for the San Joaquin Valley alignment has been ongoing for at least 5 years. If the people in the Valley and the High Speed Rail Authority can’t come to an agreement soon on where to build HSR, there are plenty of other places which are ready to take the money and run with it. Orange and Los Angeles Counties come to mind. Based on work done or ongoing I believe in a short time with funding we could see construction begun on four tracks between Los Angeles and Fullerton with complete grade-separation. We could get run through tracks at Los Angeles Union Station plus track and signal upgrades between Anaheim and Lancaster for speeds over 100 miles per hour. Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties are planning a freeway between Palmdale and Victorville with a median reserved for fast rail service. With funding this could be accelerated and tied in to rail service to Las Vegas. NB
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
Update: Texas Eagle burglarized at San Antonio October 18th, 2011
Gene Poon has updated this story for us, giving more details of a story that has implications for Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle passengers going through San Antonio and laying overnight on the train there.
Posted in Reports
September 2011 CA Intercity Passenger Rail Performance October 15th, 2011
Reported by David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority
Posted in CA Corridor Statistics
Enewsletter EXTRA: LOSSAN new services October 13th, 2011
The following material are highlights from the information package included in the Agenda for the Board Meeting for the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency held on September 28, 2011 in Los Angeles. This material is posted on the LOSSAN web site.
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
eNewsletter for October 10, 2011 October 12th, 2011
Could HSR derail Hanford Amtrak station?
Hanford Sentinel – Eiji Yamashita Oct 4, 2011
Rail officials predict negligible impact from the switch, while many locals consider the existing Amtrak train system as a key component of Hanford’s …
It seems the plan for HSR assumes the elimination of the San Joaquin Trains. This would leave several communities in the Valley with no rail service or connections to High Speed Rail. The planning for High Speed Rail should include good connections with local rail and bus services with shared transportation centers for seamless transfers. NB
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
Santa Clarita to the Green Line to Orange County by Rail? October 8th, 2011
Opinion by Noel T. Braymer
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is currently conducting a study of what to do with what is left of about 20 miles of what was the Pacific Electric’s West Santa Ana Branch. This right of way has been publicly owned by the Counties of Los Angeles and Orange since the 1980′s between Paramount and Santa Ana. The SCAG study is looking at several modes including Mag-Lev, Commuter Rail, Light Rail, Busway and so on. SCAG plans to complete their study of what to do with this right of way by the end of this year. SCAG is studying service between the Green Line and 710 Freeway to Santa Ana with possible connections to LAX and or downtown Los Angeles. It would be possible to use street running on Santa Ana Blvd in Santa Ana for Light Rail connections from the Santa Ana Transportation Center to the West Santa Ana Branch. In fact the Cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove have proposed doing that as a local streetcar service that would run as far as Garden Grove on the right of way. This right of way is eligible for $250 million in funding in Los Angeles County from the Measure R half cent tax as of 2015 and for possible Federal Funding after the completion after the SCAG study.
Posted in Editorials
Sacramento Rail station improvements underway October 6th, 2011
Commentary and photos by Russ Jackson, RailPAC
Posted in Commentary
eNewsletter for October 3, 2011 October 5th, 2011
The view from the driver seat of a Metrolink Sealed Corridor grade crossing. This is the Almond St. crossing in Orange. Notice the central medians which discourage vehicles from going around the gates. There are quad gates: barriers blocking all corners of the intersection. There are also gates blocking the sidewalks to keep pedestrians from crossing when a train is approaching as well as railings to discourage pedestrians from going around gates to walk in front of approaching trains… This program was begun after the 2005 deadly accident near Glendale when a suicidal driver placed his vehicle on the tracks which caused a chain reaction… These upgrades cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per crossing but are effective in increasing safety at the over 700 grade crossing on the Metrolink system.
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
eNewsletter for September 26, 2011 September 28th, 2011
More rail service could spring from new agency
SignOnSanDiego.com – Sep 23, 2011
The San Diego-LA-San Luis Obisbo rail corridor — known as LOSSAN to officials … no farther than Northern California for a role model: the Capitol Corridor …
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
eNewsletter for September 19, 2011 September 21st, 2011
Suit in fatal NV Amtrak crash says door locked
San Jose Mercury News – Sept 15, 2011
Another lawsuit filed against Amtrak in the fatal crash with a truck in Nevada this summer blames a locked door on the train for making the disaster worse …
Posted in eNewsletter Archive
