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San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee report
January 10, 2008 Merced, California Reported by Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director The meeting was abbreviated because train #701 (north) was delayed due to a grade crossing accident south of Merced. The SJVRC Board entertained a request to change the meeting date to the 3rd Thursday of the month. However, because of schedule conflicts with a…
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BULLETIN: Western blizzard affects Amtrak trains and buses
Special Amtrak release sent to RailPAC by Ed von Nordeck BLIZZARDS IN CALIFORNIA AFFECTING SERVICE . EXTREME BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL AFFECT THE SIERRA NEVADA AND SISKIYOU MOUNTAINS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA THE NEXT FEW DAYS, WITH HEAVY SNOWFALL CLOSING THE HIGHWAYS. . ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 4 AND SATURDAY, JANUARY 5: – ALL THRUWAY BUSES BETWEEN SACRAMENTO…
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Sprinter Inauguration – December 28, 2007
I was delighted to receive an invitation from NCTD to represent RailPAC at these ceremonies in Escondido this past Friday. It’s been nearly 27 years since a group of us, including the late Byron Nordberg and Adrian Herzog, and the very much alive Russ Jackson and Noel Braymer, met at Oceanside and discussed the possibilities…
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POLAR EXPRESS at the Rail Museum
A Trip Report! By Robert F. Mac Donald The California State Rail Museum ushered in the 2007 holiday season with cookies and hot chocolate. To the delight of kids, young and old, they were invited on board the Museum’s “Polar Express†at the old Central Pacific Depot in “Old Town†Sacramento, CA. This “Polar Express 
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California Amtrak Stats for November
From Capitol Corridor Managing Director Gene Skoropowski We have just received the November 2007 stats from Amtrak, the second month of the FY08 federal fiscal year. For the Capitol Corridor, the ridership and revenue numbers again show continue substantial growth. There was also substantial ridership growth on the San Joaquins, and continued modest growth in…
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Amtrak Long Distance November On Time Performance
The Western trains with PHOTOS! (Don’t all Amtrak trains look alike?) Reported by Russ Jackson Here’s our follow-up to the articles we’ve written for the Review and posted on RailPAC.ORG the past few months regarding Amtrak On Time Performance for the western long distance trains. As usual we check the performance at intermediate stations, as…
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Two California rail officials receive Amtrak honors!
Amtrak Honored Caltrans Rail Chief William Bronte and the Capitol Corridor’s Eugene Skoropowski with its prestigious President’s Service and Safety Award. Also honored was Patricia Quinn of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA). Recipients in the State Partner category “must demonstrate extraordinary and creative efforts in developing resources to preserve and expand rail…
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CAPITOL CORRIDOR JPB MEETING REPORT
CAPITOL CORRIDOR JPB MEETING REPORT November 14, 2007 Suisun City, California Report and PHOTOS by Russ Jackson Two rebuilt Superliner cars in California Car colors are operating now, and the other five on order will start arriving at about one a month starting in the Spring, providing capacity improvement for the Capitols and the San…
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Senate passes Amtrak Reauthorization bill: the vote
Report from Russ Jackson Here is the voting on S 294 this week (the Lautenberg/Lott Amtrak reauthorization bill), taken from the US Senate website. Note who didn’t vote: Four of the six Dems were in Philadelphia for that night’s debate. At least their votes weren’t needed. If they had voted they would probably have voted…
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LOSSAN TAC Meeting Report and Commentary
October 16, 2007, Los Angeles Report and Commentary by Paul Dyson RailPAC President NOTE: An important letter from Mr. Dyson to Caltrans Division of Rail Chief Bill Bronte is included in this report. The technical Advisory Committee for LOSSAN met at Los Angeles on Tuesday 16th October. This was the first full meeting of the…