By John Dornoff, RailPAC Associate Director/InterMountainRail.org The Inaugural run of Utah’s new FrontRunner communter rail service took place starting at the historic Ogden train station on Saturday, April 28, 2008. I was invited to ride this special train, along with dignitaries, guest speakers, and UTA officials. It was cold in Ogden that morning, but it…

April 25, 2008, San Carlos, CA Report and Commentary by Russ Jackson “I cannot make a statement that there will be no train-offs,” said Amtrak’s Jonathan Hutchison in reply to a question from this reporter. “But,” he added, “I cannot say there will be train-offs, either.” A “train-off” is the discontinuance of an existing train…

The “Coachella Express” from Los Angeles to the weekend all-star outdoor rock Festival in Indio April 24, 2008 Photo report by Robert Manning, RailPAC Director The train, led by F59PH locomotive 458 arrives at Indio A special train called the “Coachella Express” arrived in Indio at 5 PM from Los Angeles carrying several hundred music…

State of the Association By Paul Dyson, RailPAC President Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: While it’s normal at an Annual meeting of members to hear a number of reports from Officers of the Association, in the interests of putting together an interesting program, and our activities and plans into a single “State of the Association”…

California State Rail Museum, Old Sacramento Reported by Russ Jackson Photos by the writer except where noted. Amtrak 6, the eastbound California Zephyr arrived at the Sacramento station at 9:45 on 4/19. The gateway to Old Sacramento and the Rail Museum is at the west end of the platform. (Mike Palmer photo) What a great…

Reported by Gene Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Americans won’t ride trains? Are you sitting down? If any evidence to the contrary is needed, just use these California statistics. If the “auto capital of the world” is attracting this kind of intercity passenger market, the naysayers for rail investment can indeed be effectively countered with…

SMART: Sunset Marketing and Revitalization Team Meeting Report, New Orleans, March 29, 2008 PHOTOS and trip report, by Robert Manning, RailPAC Director SMART is a grass-roots organization formed January 19, 2008 in order to “Save and promote Amtrak’s long distance passenger train the Sunset Limited.” This diverse group, comprised mostly of people from the Gulf…

NOTE: Information about the day’s schedule is posted on the Event post. Dear RailPAC members and friends, Amtrak is sponsoring National Train Day on May 10. This is a great opportunity to spread the word about RailPAC and the need for more passenger rail service. There will be events around the state both big and…

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY RAIL COMMITTEE March 27, 2008, Fresno Meeting Report by Russ Jackson and Bruce Jenkins Photos by Russ Jackson What a day it was! The trip to SJVRC meetings on a San Joaquin train is always a treat, and today was no exception. Train 712 was on time to Fresno, which always is…