RailPAC: Rail Passenger Association of CA & NV

eNewsletter for December 31, 2012

Bike Nation is a Bicycle Rental Company which often uses train stations as part of serving a downtown area for short trips . Renters can drop off bikes near their destination downtown at a Bike Nation bike rack, then pick up another bike to get back to the train station. This is a start up…

January 5, 2013
What will be in the California State Rail Plan?

Opinion by Noel T. Braymer On February 8th a draft for a revised State Rail Plan will be released and with it will begin during the month of February a period for public comment about the plan. What makes this edition of the State Rail Plan special is that it will cover the plans for…

January 5, 2013
RailPAC: Who and what are we?

By Russ Jackson, Marcus Jung and William Kerby Just what is RailPAC all about? We are frequently asked. Since the late 1970’s when the group was founded as “Citizens for Rail California, Inc.,” which is our legal corporate name, and in 1984 adopted the dba name Rail Passenger Association of California, here is what we are…

January 1, 2013
Planning for Rail Service up to 2030 in the San Joaquin Valley

Here are some excerpts from a report from October 26, 2012 by Stacey Mortensen and Dan Leavitt of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. This report makes very clear that the San Joaquin Trains will continue to run on the BNSF with possible additional stops after 2020 with express trains using the new HSR tracks.…

December 29, 2012
Riding the Train the Day the World was suppose to End

Report and Photos by Noel T. Braymer Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them I woke up early on December 21st and noticed that the world hadn’t ended so I decided that it was good day to go for a train ride. I arrived at my local station in Oceanside for the 7:35 AM…

December 29, 2012
eNewsletter for December 24, 2012

There are 3 potential LAX Light Rail Station sites being considered. One is a possible subway station at the airport terminal area, the second at Lot C on the east side of Sepulveda Blvd as part of a larger transportation center and the third along the old Santa Fe Harbor Right of Way (seen as…

December 28, 2012
eNewsletter for December 17, 2012

Buying 40 ACELA cars as a small stand alone order was uneconomical from the start and that plan should never had gotten this far. If the ACELA is “profitable” as Amtrak claims, then shouldn’t those “profits” finance the purchase of these new cars? Again Amtrak is ignoring the most crowded trains on its system with…

December 22, 2012
2012: A look Back in Pictures

Edited by Noel T. Braymer Much happened with rail service in California and the best way to show it is to look back with photos. To enlarge a picture place cursor over the picture and left click with mouse.

December 22, 2012
Why Not Lease the Coast Line?

Opinion and Photos by Noel T. Braymer Amtrak is leasing for at least the next 25 years 95 miles of railroad from the CSX of the Empire Corridor in upstate New York. The reasons for doing this are so Amtrak can dispatch their train to improve their on-time performance and have a free hand in…

December 15, 2012
eNewsletter for December 10, 2012

Rumor has it? Back in 2011 Amtrak announced its intentions to buy 40 additional ACELA cars to add capacity to the ACELA Trains on the NEC. There was no discussion of “off the shelf” cars or a larger car order with economies of scale for cars to be used on other services besides ACELA. Since…

December 15, 2012