UPDATE: Amtrak angles to keep control of Hoosier State route Indianapolis Business Journal – Oct 1, 2014 A little-used, delay-plagued passenger rail line from Indianapolis to Chicago has become a battleground, as Amtrak tries to fend off competition invited by the Indiana Department of Transportation. October 6, 2014 The above copy of this enewletter is on a…

In 2000 the plan was to replace all low level equipment on the LOSSAN Corridor with the new double-deck Pacific Surfliner equipment. With faster loading about 2 minutes per station stop could be taken out of the schedule. That means with 7 intermediate stations at least 14 minutes could be pulled between San Diego and…

Gastropub proposed for Fred Harvey Room at Los Angeles Union Station! The Source Sep 15, 2014 If the lease is approved by the full Metro Board at its Oct. 2 meeting, the new restaurant would be the first to occupy the Fred Harvey Room at Union Station since the original Harvey House restaurant closed in 1967. The…

To get more riders, Metrolink should lower fares Los Angeles Times-Sep 11, 2014 Letters to the Editor The comments by officials about ridership growth on the weekends due to the $10 pass make my case that ridership is price sensitive. One way to greatly increase ridership on the weekends would be to add frequencies to existing services and…

Metrolink’s annual ridership continues to drop Los Angeles Times-Sep 7, 2014 Once hailed as the fastest-growing commuter line in the nation, the railroad has seen its annual ridership drop by almost 595,000 passengers since 2008, with resulting losses in revenue. That and other factors have left the agency squeezed between trimming service or boosting fares, either of…

Las Vegas rail service plans have seen starts, stops Las Vegas Review-Journal-Aug 31, 2014 Although the loan request’s rejection is now more than a year old, there are indications XpressWest may be gearing for another run. In a recent appearance in Las Vegas, Reid said the loan request may resurface in “a matter of months.”“(California Gov.) Jerry Brown…

Deal reached to extend Indiana Amtrak service The Hill-Aug 21, 2014 Indiana transportation officials said they were trying to keep the route viable until a private company could take over the cost of operating the short-distance trains. “For the Hoosier State, we are hoping to build from the experience of North Carolina’s successful Piedmont service, in which…

The Truth About Obama’s High-Speed Rail Program TIME-Aug 11, 2014 The administration hasn’t spent anywhere near $11 billion. The projects haven’t gone mostly nowhere. There are legitimate questions about the high-speed rail initiative—and the administration’s hype has outstripped its ability to deliver in an era of divided government—but the public debate over the program has been almost…

Amtrak: We’re the best choice for operating the Heartland Flyer Wichita Business Journal (blog)-Aug 7, 2014 Amtrak officials are taking issue with the search for a new Heartland Flyer operator launched by the Texas and Oklahoma transportation departments. August 11, 2014 The above copy of this enewletter is on a PDF file . If you would like…

California High-Speed Rail Bonds Revived by Appeals Court Bloomberg – Jul 31, 2014 The California High-Speed Rail Authority can issue $8 billion in bonds to finance the U.S.’s first bullet train, a state appeals court ruled. The agency suffered a setback in November when a state judge blocked it from issuing the bonds, saying its finance ……