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September 2011 Amtrak California Trip Report, Part I
Traveling The Web Of California Bus/Rail Connections Report and Comments by Ralph James I. Trip Overview A fairly unusual circumstance set up the opportunity for a round trip on Amtrak California beginning and ending at the “away” terminal of Grover Beach and turning at the “home” terminals of Auburn and Colfax. Due to the limited…
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September 2011 Amtrak California Trip Report, Part II
Traveling The Web Of California Bus/Rail Connections Report and Comments by Ralph James II. Perspective from the Foothills Given the difficulties of using Amtrak and Amtrak California between the foothills east of Sacramento and the Central Coast illustrated in the preceding trip report (Part I), what would acceptable service look like and how might it…
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Amtrak long-distance trains: the kinda good, the pretty bad, the really ugly
Commentary by Russ Jackson We passenger rail advocates prefer traveling cross-country on one or more of Amtrak’s long-distance trains whenever possible. We do it because we love it. We do it because we want them to be a part of the continuing heritage of this great country. We do it because we want that transportation…
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What’s it like to ride the train?
Commentary and Trip Report by Dana Hawkes I am taking the train from LA to Houston. It is nearly universal that people are surprised, they have never taken a long distance train ride, and they are very curious about what it is like, and when they learn it takes longer than a plane they wonder…
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Amtrak 40th Anniversary Exhibit Train… Coming soon!
Exhibit Train Schedule for the West Coast Can you hear the sound of a whistle? To commemorate our 40th Anniversary, we’ve put together a special train with displays of photos, uniforms, china, and memorabilia from America’s Railroad? while also offering a glimpse into the future. The Amtrak Exhibit Train is coming soon to a station…
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September 2011 CA Intercity Passenger Rail Performance
Reported by David B. Kutrosky, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Continuing the positive trend from the previous nineteen months, the Capitol Corridor performance in September 2011 maintained a steady upward trend compared to September 2010. September 2011 ridership was 145,894 an 11 % increase over September 2010. Revenue showed even better results with…
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Sacramento Rail station improvements underway
Commentary and photos by Russ Jackson, RailPAC Did you know the very busy Sacramento Valley Rail Station, known today as the Sacramento Amtrak Station on I Street, was built in the 1920’s on a lake bed? That lake, called “China Slough” and “Sutter Lake,” was filled in when the current historic station that still serves…
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Followup: A trucker looks at the Nevada Amtrak-truck crash
Recently the RailPAC website published four “theories” of how the July accident between a truck and Amtrak’s California Zephyr in the Nevada desert east of Reno might have happened (posted July 15, 2011). We asked Jason Brown, a commercial trucker, for his opinion on the events surrounding that crash. Commentary by Jason Brown for RailPAC.org…
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Theories about how the Nevada Amtrak crash happened
Compiled by Russ Jackson How did the terrible incident involving Amtrak’s California Zephyr and a speeding truck traveling on US 95 in the Nevada desert happen? There are many theories out there. We have compiled four theories advanced by some rail writers we know. Because two of these writers prefer to be anonymous, we will…
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June CA Intercity Passenger Rail Performance
Reported by David Kutrosky, Managing Director, CCJPA (Download: June 2011 Performance Report)