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Amtrak’s Southwest Chief: Anything new?
Report (with PHOTOS) and Comments by Russ Jackson How is Train #3 doing into Los Angeles Union Station this summer? The short answer is, not bad, but with a few exceptions. On May 24, 2012, the Southwest Chief departed Chicago Union Station on time, with three non-regular consist cars on the end and Amtrak CEO,…
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Sunset Limited Early Morning Arrival in LA Information
NOTE: The info below is being distributed to passengers arriving on the Sunset Limited, train #1, at Los Angeles Union Station. The scheduled arrival time of this train there is 5:35 AM now with the new timetable effective May 7, 2012. Train #1, as well as #3 the Southwest Chief cannot be scheduled to arrive…
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San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee Report for the Meeting of April 26, 2012
Meeting date: April 26, 2012 in Fresno, California; Reported by Mike Barnbaum, RailPAC Associate Director, Sacramento Late April was a busy time for the San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee. The Fresno meeting kept members busy with legislation pending in Sacramento that would allow for the possible formation of a Joint Powers Authority for the Amtrak…
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RailPAC Will Participate at National Train Day, May 12. Steel Wheels Conference set for September 15
For information about Train Day activities near you, go to http://www.nationaltrainday.com/events/other/and click on your state for a list of events! Now read about some of the activities in California: RailPAC salutes one of the Train Day events to be held in California: at the Dunsmuir Amtrak station from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This historic…
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The Sunset Route: What’s happening there? A photo report.
Report and Comments by Russ Jackson, RailPAC, Dallas. PHOTOS by Richard Strandberg, Mike Palmer, Russ Jackson. Maps from the Amtrak timetable. This article is not only about Amtrak’s Sunset Limited and the recent developments regarding this train. We will be pointing out the highlights of the improvements that are taking place along that line through…
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Amtrak California gets to the Coachella Valley
RailPAC Report by Russ Jackson, Robert Manning, and from the Amtrak.com timetable. Photo by Robert Manning. In its revised schedule dated December 5, 2011, Amtrak California quietly added a new train-bus service finally recognizing the importance of travel from Palm Springs, Indio, and the Coachella Valley to/from Los Angeles. Until then the only Amtrak service…
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San Joaquin Valley Rail Committee takes stand on Closing the HSR Gap
January 26 Meeting Report by Mike Barnbaum, RailPAC Associate Director Part 1 of 2 reports from that day. Headlines: SJVRC Passes Resolution Supporting Closure of the Southern Gap Caltrans’ Bill Bronte drops a bombshell SJVRC is urged to revive the idea of a JPA for the Corridor Rail was all over the Northern California Map…
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Capitol Corridor considers Draft Business/Operating Plan
Report and a Commentary by Mike Barnbaum, RailPAC Associate Director Part 2 from January 26, 2011 day of two meetings. Headlines: Implement additional service to Placer County Reduce number of trains from 16 roundtrips to 15 After riding Train #521 from Sacramento to Oakland at 4:30am and Train #712 from Oakland to “Atwater”/Merced for the…
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Coast Daylight/CRCC Policy Meeting Report
By Bruce Jenkins, RailPAC Director The Coast Rail Coordinating Council (Coast Daylight) held it’s Policy Meeting on Friday, Dec. 16th in Monterey. The foremost concern now is to achieve a satisfactory capacity model. The initial capacity modeling resulted in unrealistic and unobtainable scheduling. The Coast Route remains a strategic line for Union Pacific freight operations,…
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Southwest Chief and the snow delays
Report by Russ Jackson, RailPAC The first major snow storm of the winter affected Amtrak trains 3 and 4, the Southwest Chief starting December 19, and is still affecting the train’s on time performance as of this writing. As the winter progresses we will see how prepared this season the Amtrak system is for this…