RailPAC: Rail Passenger Association of CA & NV

How to have High Speed Rail in California Sooner, Faster and Cheaper

By Noel T. Braymer Since 1996 with the creation of the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) it has had the dream to build the most sophisticated High Speed Rail service in the World with the highest running speed in California. Such a service would serve the largest cities in the State in less time…

November 10, 2012
eNewsletter for November 5, 2012

With the National Elections upon us I think I speak for most rail passenger supporters in appreciating the efforts and funding for improving rail passenger service by our elected officials. But I also realize that given the unstable nature of politics that we can’t depend on partisan politics to complete a truly extensive, economical and…

November 10, 2012
November 15th workshop for the Sacramento Valley Station Phase 2

Meeting notice from Gregory Taylor, Project Manager, Sacramento Valley Station Phase 2, Department of Public Works “The City of Sacramento is asking for help getting passengers to attend our workshop. We need patrons of the longer haul trains from the station – Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and the San Joaquins. With the active participation of…

November 10, 2012
Transportation Agency for Monterey County meeting report

Rail Committee meeting held August 6, 2012 Report by Chris Flescher, Salinas RailPAC Director Santa Cruz Branch Line George Dondero, the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC), made a presentation. In (last) December, the Sierra Northern Railroad pulled out of an agreement to operate service on the branch line. The…

November 10, 2012
eNewsletter for October 29,2012

Most if not all High Speed Rail equipment running over 125 miles per hour both tilt and conventional use fixed trainset with articulated cars like Talgo. Weight is a major issue at high speeds both because of the need for quick acceleration and because light weight equipment reduces wear and tear on both the trains…

November 3, 2012
Rail Passenger service at San Diego Airport by 2015?

Report by Noel T. Braymer San Diego’s International Airport was created and named Lindbergh Field back in 1928. Charles Lindbergh’s plane the Spirit of St. Louis was built in San Diego and took off not far from the current airport on his way to New York for his non-stop flight from there to Paris in…

November 3, 2012
Rail Improvements in California over the Next 5-7 Years

Story and Photos by Noel T. Braymer With all the talk about High Speed Rail and 130 miles of new construction in the San Joaquin Valley by 2018, what can we expect between Los Angeles and San Diego? The projects we can be sure of have been in the works for years. In San Diego…

October 27, 2012
eNewsletter for October 22, 2012

Amtrak snack bars lost $84.5 million last year; $833 million in 10 years Washington Examiner-Oct 16, 2012 Federal spending over the past 20 years has surged 71 percent faster than inflation, much of it on bloated and wasteful programs and services, …The use of Fully Allocated Accounting by Amtrak opens it to these misleading headlines.…

October 27, 2012
PHOTOS of the Month: October, 2012

5 new Rail PHOTOS taken by RailPAC Photographers! 1. Amtrak’s Capitol Limited arrives at Cumberland, Maryland, on September 28, 2012. Lots of CSX trackwork in the area caused 90 minute delays, but the tracks are much smoother. Photo by Mike Palmer. 2. The Galloping Goose is now running on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic in…

October 25, 2012
Caltrain Modernization Program

Report by Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director Caltrain is the commuter railroad operating on it’s own Right of Way (RoW) from San Francisco to San Jose with a limited six train service further south to Gilroy on Union Pacific RoW. The San Francisco/San Jose leg has been a rail commuter line since 1863 and was known…

October 25, 2012