from Eugene K. Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority It appears that the economic slowdown may be starting to impact all California’s services, with the Pacific Surfliners taking the biggest hit. Although the Capitol Corridor is still in growth mode for riders and revenue, and we are the only California service still ahead…
By Robert Manning, RailPAC Director Printed in The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, February 8, 2009 Sometimes it takes a major tragedy to provide something good. And that is exactly what happened this past September when the Metrolink train crashed into the Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, killing and injuring people. As a result of…
A tribute with PHOTOS to RailPAC’s outgoing, one-of-a-kind former Executive Director, by Russ Jackson We first met Richard L. Silver sometime around 1995. RailPAC was still a small, but noisy, organization of rail advocates who were speaking our minds on California and Amtrak national issues. Alan Wimmergren was president, founders Byron Nordberg and Dr. Adrian…
TRACKING THE NEWS . . . . . . PHOTOS, and COMMENTARY by Russ Jackson February, 2009. Superliners! When you “GoogleEarth” to their U.S. map and zoom in on the Beech Grove, Indiana, Amtrak shop you see a yard area at the top (north) of the property. While the date of the photo is unknown,…
Editorial By Noel T. Braymer After retiring as President of Southern Railway, W. Graham Claytor took over as President of Amtrak in 1982. At that time Amtrak recovered only 48 percent of its costs from revenue. Eleven years latter when Mr. Claytor retired from Amtrak in 1993 Amtrak’s cost recovery was 75 percent. Shortly before…
By Noel T. Braymer In 1978 I was in my mid-twenties, single, the rent for my apartment in Los Angeles was $160 a month, and my car was paid for thanks to my parents. About the last thing on my mind were trains. Other than amusement park rides the only train ride I had been…
16th January, 2009, Mr. Joseph H. Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer, NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION, Re: Amtrak Rolling Stock Investment Plans. Dear Mr. Boardman: As you take up your new duties as President of Amtrak, albeit so far on temporary assignment, we’d like to draw your attention to some distressing tendencies in Amtrak policy over…
Reported by Eugene K. Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority After the relatively modest November growth in Capitol Corridor riders (+2.7%), we were expecting to see a significant slowing of ridership growth on the Capitol Corridor in December, reflecting the impacts of both the economic downturn, as well as falling gas prices. It did…
Reported by Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director The San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee met in Merced Thursday, January 8, 2009. RailPAC Associate Director George Gaekle, from Modesto, who also is a SJVRC committee member, introduced the new committee member for Stanislaus County, County Supervisor Vito Chiesa. Ty Holscher from Tulare County reported that “in view of the economic situation…
By Noel T. Braymer The simple fact is most intercity passenger trains make money, on their direct operating costs. The problem at Amtrak is it doesn’t run enough trains to bring in enough money to cover all its overhead costs. Amtrak has some large overhead costs, centered mostly in the Midwest and East Coast. Yet…