-
Tuesday was not a good day for the Sunset Limited
Commentary by Russ Jackson, RailPAC, Dallas All passenger rail advocates know Amtrak’s Sunset Limited travels between New Orleans and Los Angeles three times a week in each direction. Many of us ride it. We all know that these trains run with full cars most of the route and that not everyone rides the full distance.…
-
Not Exactly the Happiest Place on Earth – the New Anaheim Station as the Passenger Will See It
From our Orange County Steel Wheels correspondent I don’t think Anaheim City Council was ever shown the trashy view that reality has presented to future riders. You will enter the breathtaking vast public space that is Artic wedged between California Route 57 overhead and the Santa Ana River to be shuffled to the platform to…
-
Cap and Trade Funds
Paul Dyson You know that a program has established itself when it sports an acronym. Cap and Trade is now CnT (or CapnTrade to others) and has everyone at the State Capitol excited as it appears to represent a way to pay for a lot of people’s favorite environmental programs. As I write in mid-May…
-
Rail Photos of the Month: April 2014
Here are this month’s photos by RailPAC photographers. Click on each photo to see it full size! Contributions to this page are welcome. Send your jpeg rail photos to Russ Jackson, RailPAC Photo Editor, at [email protected]. 1. This is one of the new departure boards now installed at Los Angeles Union Station in the ongoing…
-
May Day means Amtrak Day #1
Commentary By Bruce Richardson, URPA Once again, for the 43rd time, here we are on May Day, the anniversary of the official day of Amtrak operations beginning on May 1, 1971. It was the day most of the still-operating passenger trains in the country disappeared, and the freight railroads breathed a sigh of relief because…
-
A trip on the Eagle-Sunset to Tucson, a joyful experience of surprises
Report and Photos by Russ Jackson, RailPAC Associate Director Tower 55 Ft. Worth TX. No BNSF trains waiting to cross, no UP traffic moving across it? No problem? Astounding. But, what happens when a westbound UP freight has a disabled car and blocks access to the Ft. Worth Intermodal Center for the southbound Texas Eagle,…
-
Paul Dyson Testifies at Senate Transportation and Housing Committee
On March 27th, Paul Dyson represented RailPAC and NARP while testifying before the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.
-
Paul Dyson Testifies at Senate Select Committee on Passenger Rail
On March 19th, Paul Dyson represented RailPAC and NARP while testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Passenger Rail.
-
Amtrak budget request hits the Long Distance trains with a cost shift that doesn’t make sense
Report and Commentary by Russ Jackson and Andrew C. Selden, URPA Amtrak published its budget request for the year beginning October, 2014, on March 18. To read the full document, go to this site: http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/412/537/Amtrak-FY2015-Federal-Budget-Request-ATK-14-028,0.pdf In summary, here is what Amtrak has in store for the western Long Distance Business Line, which includes the Coast…
-
Amtrak drops amenities on long distance trains, and there’s bad news for the Southwest Chief
Commentary by Russ Jackson, RailPAC Associate Director On February 1, 2014, Amtrak’s General Manager Long Distance Services, Mark Murphy, spoke to the RailPAC-NARP meeting in Los Angeles. While this writer was unable to attend the meeting I have viewed the video of his presentation. In it, Mr. Murphy spoke of the future of the long…