RailPAC: Rail Passenger Association of CA & NV

Year: 2014

  • eNewsletter for March 10, 2014

    Amtrak fails to weather winter well Chicago Tribune-Mar 6, 2014    The passenger railroad’s on-time performance plummeted to around 26 percent on one Illinois run in January. Overall for the month, less than half of the state service operated on schedule, Amtrak data show. Even Amtrak’s service between Chicago and Milwaukee, which normally runs like clockwork,…

  • RailPAC rail PHOTOS of the month (February, 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 jpg rail photos to Russ Jackson, RailPAC Photo Editor, at [email protected]. 1. After losing over 45 minutes between Roseville and Colfax, Amtrak train #6 the California Zephyr passes a Sunday…

  • What will and what should happen for Rail in San Diego

    By Noel T. Braymer There is 60 miles of passenger railroad in San Diego County from the Orange County border to the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego. Right now just over half of this 60 miles is doubled tracked. San Diego County is planning to spend a billion dollars over the next 20…

  • eNewsletter for March 3, 2014

    Another View: Opponents’ arguments against high-speed rail are bogus Sacramento Bee – ?Feb 28, 2014 When opponents of California’s high-speed rail program don’t have answers on their side, they often resort to fiction over facts, as Rep. Jeff Denham and state Sen. Andy Vidak demonstrated in their highly critical op-ed ( “New vote needed on…

  • Time is On the Side of Rail Passenger Service

    By Noel T. Braymer Progress for improved Rail Passenger service in California is often uneven. But through the years progress continues to be made. Track work and plans for expanding service are ongoing for the Surflners, Metrolink, Coaster, San Joaquins, ACE, Capitol Corridor and Caltrain. Rail transit service throughout the State is also improving and…

  • eNewsletter for February 24, 2014

    Cities on the Southwest Chief line want state support Dodge City Daily Globe-Feb 20, 2014 The loss of the Southwest Chief passenger rail line would cause a substantial disruption and loss of jobs, said representatives from cities facing an end-of-year deadline to secure a plan to improve or lose the line…About 5,000 passengers per year…

  • Amtrak drops amenities on long distance trains, and there’s bad news for the Southwest Chief

    Commentary by Russ Jackson, RailPAC Associate Director On February 1, 2014, Amtrak’s General Manager Long Distance Services, Mark Murphy, spoke to the RailPAC-NARP meeting in Los Angeles. While this writer was unable to attend the meeting I have viewed the video of his presentation. In it, Mr. Murphy spoke of the future of the long…

  • Capitol Corridor Monthly Report (January, 2014)

    David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Service Performance Overview The service performance results in January 2014 for the Capitol Corridor were mixed. Ridership for January 2014 slightly increased 0.6% compared with prior year-month results, while revenue was 3.8% below January 2013. On-time performance (OTP) was once again a spectacular 97%, moving…

  • eNewsletter for February 18, 2014

    As things stand there is $9.95 Billion dollars in Bonds for High Speed Rail as well as $3.4 Billion from the Federal Government. From the Bond money $1.9 billion is for projects outside of the San Joaquin Valley including transit projects, positive train control and track upgrades to existing rail services. The Cap and Trade…

  • Capitol Corridor’s Expansion Plans

    By Noel T. Braymer After years of planning, the Capitol Corridor hopes to soon start construction needed to extend service 68 miles south of San Jose to Salinas. It is hoped by 2018 to start with 2 round trips a day with expansion in the future to 6 round trips. As part of this extension…