Reported by Russ Jackson, with Bill Kerby PHOTOS by Russ Jackson On Saturday, February 9, Sacramento Regional Transit held an open house to receive a project update and the draft Program EIR review. The project is a proposed extension of the current RT light rail system through the current rail station north across the American…

We have received correspondence from Amtrak saying that the letter published here allegedly written by Joe Deely of Amtrak is “a fake and not created by Amtrak.” We are complying with their request to “immediately remove it from your website and provide a retraction.” RailPAC will continue to investigate this circumstance, as it has not…

Another PARTIAL victory for rail advocates. They never give everything, do they? Are you ready to ride a bus from Sacramento to Portland? Press release and PHOTOS below! Coast Starlight #11 is about to depart the San Luis Obispo station on time on February February 18, 2008, with three coaches, one Sightseer Lounge, and a…

RailPAC NOTE: A Partial WIN for rail advocates! PHOTO ADDED 2/8. Return of full service for trains 11/14 will not be until March 3 or beyond!!!! The “mini” COAST STARLIGHT re-started on February 6th. Here is train 14 arriving at Van Nuys. Photo by Noel Braymer AMTRAK PRESS RELEASE February 1, 2008 Service available between…

Reported by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President This past Saturday, January 19, RailPAC held an open meeting in downtown San Luis Obispo primarily aimed at raising grass roots support for the proposed “Coast Daylight” service. The meeting was attended by over 50 people, more than half of them locals , who had heard about the meeting…

COAST RAIL COORDINATING COUNCIL, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. “What about the FEMA cars stored outside New Orleans?” San Luis Obispo, January 18, 2008 Reported by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President The CRCC TAC met at San Luis Obispo last Friday, January 18, 2008. Amtrak, Caltrans, SLOCOG, Ventura, Santa Barbara County and City, Monterey County, Caltrain (our own…

Report from Gene Skoropowski, CCJPB Managing Director We have just received the December 2007 stats from Amtrak, the third month of our FY08 federal fiscal year. For the Capitol Corridor, and indeed for all of California, the ridership and revenue numbers show continued substantial growth. The San Joaquins nudged out the Capitol Corridor for ‘top…

Notes submitted by Bill Kerby, January 10, 2008 Commissioners were relieved when Executive Director John Barna corrected the minutes from the past meeting that stated “no members were present” to “no members were absent.” Today, the newly elected chair of the California Transportation Commission, John Chalker of San Diego, efficiently led the commissioners and witnesses…

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County Rail Policy Meeting, held on January 7, 2008 “Progress is being made on the Monterey Branch Line service!” Reported by Chris Flescher, RailPAC Associate Director During public comments, one person said that he had rode the Sprinter once, and he was impressed at how high quality the train was.…