RailPAC: Rail Passenger Association of CA & NV

Capitol Corridor Monthly Report (April, 2013)

And statistics for the other California Corridors By David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Ridership continues to decline for the Capitol Corridor in FY2013; however, the drop in ridership for April 2013 was not as significant as prior FY2013 results. For April 2013, 151,080 passengers used the Capitol Corridor, representing a…

May 18, 2013
The Many Places Where You Can’t Go by Passenger Trains

By Noel T. Braymer There are several major cities in this Country without intercity rail passenger service. There are many more major cities that are not connected to each other by rail passenger service. The largest city without rail service is Phoenix with a regional population of 4.3 million. That is close to the population…

May 17, 2013
eNewsletter for May 13, 2013

Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner Adopts Wildly Anti-Bicycle Policy Streetsblog Los Angeles (blog)-May 7, 2013 Starting on June 1, the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service connecting San Luis Obispo to San Diego by way of Los Angeles is adopting a new policy that will make life harder for anyone planning on biking to or from the train. The policy is…

May 17, 2013
eNewsletter for May 6, 2013

Draft alternatives released for Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan The Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan team is releasing its draft alternatives today for improving the venerable station as a transit center. Among some of the proposals are replacing the parking lots in front of the station with open space, building a new bus…

May 9, 2013
LA doesn’t have Regional Rail with Airport Connections, but needs it

Story and Photos by Noel T. Braymer A recent international survey of air travelers by Skytrax rated the airports of the world. No American airport rated higher than 25th. LAX rated 109th out of 395 airports world wide. According to a story in the May 5, 2013 Los Angeles Times “What’s Wrong with Los Angeles…

May 9, 2013
RailPAC Rail Photos of the Month (April, 2013)

Here are 5 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 RailPAC Photo Editor, at info@xg1.b3e.myftpupload.com. THIS MONTH: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona 1. The Denton County, Texas, A-Train, diesel-powered commuter trains travel between Denton and the Dallas…

May 3, 2013
A simple way to increase Rail Passenger Miles

By Noel T. Braymer The Department of Transportation keeps records on many elements of this country’s transportation system. This is done by the DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration Bureau of Transportation Statistics. To measure how people travel the DOT counts the Passenger Miles traveled by different modes. For example a person riding a bike…

May 3, 2013
Can California High Speed Rail Succeed?

By Noel T. Braymer The answer to that question will depend on the final evolution of this project.The California High Speed Rail Project has evolved in many ways just in the last 5 years. We can expect more changes to the California High Speed Rail Project before it is running. The California High Speed Rail…

May 3, 2013
eNewsletter for April 29, 2013

I have 34 years of experience as a rail passenger service advocate in California which has been the leader for rail passenger service expansion now for almost 40 years. I have seen and in many cases been involved in what works and have seen what doesn’t work to get more and better rail passenger service.…

May 3, 2013
Should we take the Long Distance Trains off of Amtrak’s Back?

Analysis by Noel T. Braymer Amtrak says that they lose over $500 million dollars a year running the Long Distance Passenger Trains. But Amtrak endures this hardship because of the transportation necessity provided by the Long Distance Trains in much of rural America. Amtrak has been hinting that they would like the States to help…

April 26, 2013