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President’s commentary: Amtrak CEO Gives Up On AMTRAK
By Paul J. Dyson, RailPAC President, January 13, 2012 Joe Boardman condemns the long distance trains to a lingering death. Sunset Limited in “immediate danger”. Someone needs to tell Mr. Boardman that he is CEO of the NATIONAL Railroad Passenger Corporation. It seems that since he took the CEO position a couple of years ago…
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RailPAC writes Brown, Feinstein, and Boxer: Peer Review Committee Is Right On High Speed Rail
NOTE: Identical letters were also faxed to Senators Feinstein and Boxer 11th January, 2012 Governor Jerry Brown State Capitol Suite 1173 Sacramento CA 95814 PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE IS RIGHT ON HIGH SPEED RAIL Dear Governor Brown: Our organization has consistently advocated the creation of a network of modern passenger trains for the State of California…
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We hear you, Mr. Boardman, now let’s see some Action!
Commentary by Russ Jackson, RailPAC There has been much discussion in the past month or so about the immediate fate of the Amtrak long-distance trains. This writer provided his share of the verbiage in an article posted on www.railpac.org, titled “Amtrak long distance trains, the kinda good, the pretty bad, the really ugly,” which explained…
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RailPAC’s Bob Manning Goes to Washington, Meets with Senator Boxer and others!
Report and Photo provided by Robert Manning, RailPAC Executive VP Often we complain about things but fail to correct the problem. Yes, I’m referring to the underserved passenger train service in the west. This conveys the sad possibility that some service may be cut while we are attempting to inaugurate daily service between Los Angeles…
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September 2011 Amtrak California Trip Report, Part I
Traveling The Web Of California Bus/Rail Connections Report and Comments by Ralph James I. Trip Overview A fairly unusual circumstance set up the opportunity for a round trip on Amtrak California beginning and ending at the “away” terminal of Grover Beach and turning at the “home” terminals of Auburn and Colfax. Due to the limited…
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September 2011 Amtrak California Trip Report, Part II
Traveling The Web Of California Bus/Rail Connections Report and Comments by Ralph James II. Perspective from the Foothills Given the difficulties of using Amtrak and Amtrak California between the foothills east of Sacramento and the Central Coast illustrated in the preceding trip report (Part I), what would acceptable service look like and how might it…
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Amtrak long-distance trains: the kinda good, the pretty bad, the really ugly
Commentary by Russ Jackson We passenger rail advocates prefer traveling cross-country on one or more of Amtrak’s long-distance trains whenever possible. We do it because we love it. We do it because we want them to be a part of the continuing heritage of this great country. We do it because we want that transportation…
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What’s it like to ride the train?
Commentary and Trip Report by Dana Hawkes I am taking the train from LA to Houston. It is nearly universal that people are surprised, they have never taken a long distance train ride, and they are very curious about what it is like, and when they learn it takes longer than a plane they wonder…
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Amtrak 40th Anniversary Exhibit Train… Coming soon!
Exhibit Train Schedule for the West Coast Can you hear the sound of a whistle? To commemorate our 40th Anniversary, we’ve put together a special train with displays of photos, uniforms, china, and memorabilia from America’s Railroad? while also offering a glimpse into the future. The Amtrak Exhibit Train is coming soon to a station…
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September 2011 CA Intercity Passenger Rail Performance
Reported by David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Continuing the positive trend from the previous nineteen months, the Capitol Corridor performance in September 2011 maintained a steady upward trend compared to September 2010. September 2011 ridership was 145,894 an 11 % increase over September 2010. Revenue showed even better results with…