-
What’s the Good News for Rail Passenger Service in California?
By Noel T. Braymer Over the last 35 years or so there have been many ups and downs to expanding Rail Passenger Service in California. While things may seem rocky now, the future is very promising. Just look at how far things have come in Los Angeles since 1990 when the first 22 miles of…
-
Lessons for California from Spain about Trains
By Noel T. Braymer There has been some hysteria from the media about the future of High Speed Rail in California after the recent Train crash in Spain. There is a great deal California can learn from Spain about rail passenger service and High Speed Rail. Spain is slightly larger in size, its population is…
-
Metrolink’s Shrinking Ridership
By Noel T. Braymer Graphic from LOSSAN Why is ridership declining on Metrolink? There are many reasons. Much of the rise in ridership recently in public transportation is directly the result of spikes in the price of gasoline and cost of driving a car. Since last year the price of gasoline has more…
-
Some Interesting Things about Freight and Passenger Trains
By Noel T. Braymer I recently got a copy of Trains Magazine’s extra edition of Railroad Maps. It is a compilation of material and graphics from previous Trains issues about changes in American Railroading mostly since 1980. A fact that stood out was Cajon Pass in Southern California is the busiest railroad pass in the…
-
San Joaquin JPA; a trip and meeting report
Reported, with an editorial, by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President I traveled to Fresno Friday 26th July for the San Joaquin JPA meeting, the third of this newly formed corridor agency. Travel both ways from Burbank Airport via Thruway bus and San Joaquin train was on time and uneventful. The trains were well loaded, about 95%…
-
It’s Hard to get Around California by Train
By Noel T. Braymer …
-
Why is it so Hard to get More Passenger Trains on the Coast Line?
By Noel T. Braymer The Coast Line between Los Angeles and San Jose is a natural for more passenger rail service. The demand is there to fill up more passenger trains. For over 15 years there have been plans to start up day service between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Coast Line. Yet…
-
The Grim Prospects ahead for our Long Distance Trains
By Noel T. Braymer The recent court decision to throw out a part of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 means that the railroads no longer have to give priority to Amtrak Trains on their tracks. This overturns years of precedent which has given passenger trains priority over freight. Since the…
-
Cheaper to go Over than Through the Mountains
By Noel T. Braymer Recently I was looking at a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Environmental Impact Report (EIR) from 2009 for the Las Vegas to California High Speed Rail project. What struck me about it was it seemed the people planning improvements for the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) learned a great deal from the Las…
-
How to build California High Speed Rail While Making Almost Everyone Happy
By Noel T. Braymer The California High Speed Rail Authority put off decisions back at their June 7th Board meeting over the final routes through Hanford and Bakersfield. At this meeting the CHSRA’s board did approve the contract for the first 29 miles of construction between Fresno and Madera. It also handed over most of…