Part 1 of three parts of edited highlights of a great presentation
Report and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson Yes, I know those trains don’t go to Sacramento, but on January 13 we boarded Texas Eagle # 21 at Ft. Worth and headed for San Antonio, then on to Los Angeles and drove up the Valley to Sacramento, combining a winter vacation with attending the very successful RailPAC-NARP…
As promised, we are providing the PowerPoint presentations presented on January 16th. PDF Files of the Presentations: ACE CCJPA – 10 Year Vision for the Capitol Corridor Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility and Track Relocation These files are being hosted by the Coast Starlight Communities Network. For more on the meeting, you should read these great…
Reported by Jarrod DellaChiesa, RailPAC Director In 2009, 29,976 passengers traveled to and from the Hayward station. It is always surprising how few people even know Hayward has an Amtrak station or that a passenger train passes through our town. With plans for up to 22 round trips in 2012-2015 and 32 in 2015-2020, increased…
Commentary by Paul Dyson $2.25 Billion for California High Speed Rail. Too little to make even the smallest impact, and relies on California matching funds. Did anyone tell USDOT that California is broke and can’t even issue passenger rolling stock bonds approved three years ago?Beneficiaries: Consultants and engineering firms. Blue collar jobs created this year…
Commentary by Paul Dyson As we contemplate construction of High Speed Rail and electrification of existing routes we need to ask if catenary height an issue. This may seem arcane, almost academic, but it has real implications for the type of railroad network that we want to see here in California. Indeed it raises issues…
Reported by Russ Jackson, railpac.org editor, with photos by the author. The 60 people who attended the January 16 meeting at the Rail Museum were not disappointed, even on a foggy Saturday in Sacramento. The survival and expansion of rail passenger service was on everyone’s mind, and the speakers were very qualified to discuss the…
Senator Barbara Boxer Washington DC Via Fax 22nd January, 2010 CALIFORNIA REPRESENTATION ON AMTRAK BOARD Dear Senator Boxer: California needs and deserves a representative on the Amtrak Board of Directors. At present there is no Amtrak Board member domiciled west of Illinois. Consider that: The State of California pays Amtrak almost $100 million per year…
Reported by DAVID B. KUTROSKY, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority NOTE: This article contains important future state financial information that Mr. Kutrosky discussed at the RailPAC-NARP Sacramento meeting, which will have impact on the state operated trains. The Capitol Corridor December 2009 results are mixed with a continued ridership decline compared to December…
Report by Noel T. Braymer A Full House in Sacramento The underlying theme of most of the speakers at the RailPAC/NARP meeting was on the challenges ahead for the State’s Rail Passenger services with future ridership growth in the mist of the current economic problems.