-
Amtrak Statement in Response to the Hoosier Announcement
Indiana is fighting back against the FRA ruling, which is excellent news. The whole idea of the ruling is ridiculous. If a State hires a qualified operator to do a job it should not have to become certified to do the job itself. Boardman is again trying to use PRIIA and now the FRA to…
-
Hoosier State Passenger Rail Service to End April 1
RailPAC is still gathering information about new proposed rulings by the Federal Railroad Administration which would appear to have a profound effect on State rail programs. This has the hallmarks of a Washington DC power play involving FRA, Amtrak and others to ensure that the states do not use non-Amtrak operators. However, the burden placed…
-
Thoughts on the February Oxnard Metrolink Accident
The Steel Wheels Column An occasional commentary by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President
-
Taking the Train to and from the San Diego Airport
This February I took my vacation in Dublin, Ireland. As an experiment I decided to try taking the train from Oceanside where I live to the San Diego International Airport and back. One of the problems with taking public transportation is that the airports are often busy when there is little bus and rail transit…
-
Some Observations on the Oxnard Metrolink Crash
Train wrecks are great breaking news stories for television because they are spectacular. I saw this happen first hand. I was in Dublin, Ireland at a McDonalds in the early afternoon on the 24th when it was still morning in California. A breaking live video feed was on the TV of what turned out to…
-
Farewell to Mike Scanlon
Mike Scanlon has done a hell of a good job with Caltrain in comparison to the shape it was in before (awful). Also under his purview is SAMTRANS and San Mateo Transportation Authority. Some of the many improvements made under his watch are: Improved station platforms and elimination of “holdout stations”, 96 trains/day, increased bike…
-
Breaking News!
Approval has just been granted to form a State Assembly Select Committee for Passenger Rail. More details to come…
-
Why Can’t Train Tickets be More like Plane Tickets?
I live in San Diego County. From San Diego International Airport, I can get to almost any part of the United States or the World. I would have to transfer at other airports to get to many of these places. But I can buy my tickets,often at a discount online and it is more convenient…
-
San Francisco Amtrak Station Will Move
Mike Barnbaum Effective Sunday, March 1, 2015, five Amtrak Routes (Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquin, Capitol Corridor, California Zephyr, and Coast Starlight) will be affected by stop and schedule changes in San Francisco, California due to the relocation of the staffed Amtrak ticket office from 101 The Embarcadero (Ferry Building) to 200 Folsom Street (San Francisco…
-
Metrolink to Long Beach?
At the time of the start up of Metrolink in 1992, there were miles of secondary rail lines available for sale by the railroads. Right of way is the most difficult part of a railroad to secure. Many miles of these secondary rail lines were bought by local government before 2000 and many are now…