By RailPAC President Paul Dyson — It’s a great honor for me to take on the duties of President of RailPAC. Our organization has been very effective in the past in uniting rail passenger advocates and politicians behind a policy of affordable, incremental investments in improving mobility in the state of California. We identified surplus…

By RailPAC Editor Noel T. Braymer — RailPAC’s annual meeting this January 28th highlighted the great progress we have had, and can look forward to in California. Along with this we have problems that never seem to go away which we must still fight. Since 1990 there have been no major sources of new funding…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — The issue of profits and subsidy for rail service is confusing. Countries differ, but most rail service world wide make or lose money the same way. After World War II, most European and some Asian governments paid subsidies to maintain a high level of rail service in their…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — This seems the right time of year to reflect on what new rail service we have to look forward to and to dream about new projects. I’m writing about my own personal choices, though I’m sure many share some of my dreams. We have many projects to look…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — There were lots of news stories along with misinformation over the action of the Amtrak Board this late September. (For the full story read the accompanying news report from the Bureau of National Affairs) The Amtrak Board created a new Amtrak subsidiary comprised of the entire North East…

Reproduced with permission from Daily Report for Executives, No. 198, pp A-8 – A-9 (Oct. 14, 2005). Copyright 2005 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) Amtrak Board’s Decision to Create New NEC Subsidiary Not a Break-Up, Laney Says By Derrick Cain A decision by the Amtrak Board of Directors to create a subsidiary…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — The key to major reductions in our Oil use is transportation, since 65% of our Oil consumption is used for transportation. New York City on a per capita basis uses about half as much gasoline as the national average; the reason is rather obvious, as New Yorkers drive…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — One of my earliest memories as a child was going to Los Angeles from our home in Orange County to watch the Dodgers play baseball at the Los Angeles Coliseum. This was back in the late 1950’s. What I remember most about that night, my first in the…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — The July 7th bombings of London transit has set off a wave of panic, which is just what the bombers wanted. There are calls to spend massive amounts of money to increase security on all forms of public transportation, comparing the situation to security at the airports. Yet…

By RailPAC President Noel T. Braymer — In the wake of Amtrak’s increasing financial problems, there has been increasing pressure on Amtrak to cut costs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’s investigative arm, thinks it has found an area ripe for cost savings in Amtrak’s Food Services. Food service has long been a target of…