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What is the Future of Passenger Rail Service in California?
By Noel T. Braymer In my opinion in one word: Good ! We have come a long way since 1979 when I first became involved in rail advocacy and no one was sure then that there would even be any Rail Passenger service in 2015. The question is no longer if there will be any…
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More on the Amtrak Long Distance trains performance vs. the NEC
Commentary by Andrew Selden, President, United Rail Passenger Alliance Amtrak recently told a U.S. Senator in writing (from an Amtrak senior executive officer) that elimination of all of the long distance trains (after transition costs) would increase its need for annual federal subsidy, because the same costs would continue to exist but be spread over…
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What’s Needed to Build a World Class Rail Passenger Service in San Diego:Money!
By Noel T. Braymer A lawsuit against the $219 Billion dollar San Diego County Transportation Plan up to 2050 was upheld in a State Appeals court last November. The lawsuit is based on the fact that the current transportation plan doesn’t meet the State’s target for reducing Greenhouse Gases by 2050. The State’s goal is…
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What’s Ahead for California Rail Passenger Service in 2015
By Noel T. Braymer Construction is the big news for 2015. Construction is needed before we can expand service in many places. The year starts out with the Official Ground Breaking for the California High Speed Rail Project in Fresno on January 6th. This ceremony has been put off for over a year until funding…
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Amtrak’s 2014 – The Real Stats
Amtrak continually tells us about how many passengers they put into seats in the Northeast corridor. What many suspect because of far longer travel distances, but never can get Amtrak to say, is that in passenger miles (passenger mile = one passenger riding for one mile), and is said by some to be the most…
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More Good News for California High Speed Rail
By Noel T. Braymer After passage of Prop 1A in November 2008 which gave the California High Speed Rail project almost 10 billion dollars in funding,everything seemed to go wrong. The project was on death’s door by 2012 with growing opposition from property owners who could be affected by the project. This was particularly true…
