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Thoughts on the February Oxnard Metrolink Accident
The Steel Wheels Column An occasional commentary by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President
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Some Observations on the Oxnard Metrolink Crash
Train wrecks are great breaking news stories for television because they are spectacular. I saw this happen first hand. I was in Dublin, Ireland at a McDonalds in the early afternoon on the 24th when it was still morning in California. A breaking live video feed was on the TV of what turned out to…
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Why Can’t Train Tickets be More like Plane Tickets?
I live in San Diego County. From San Diego International Airport, I can get to almost any part of the United States or the World. I would have to transfer at other airports to get to many of these places. But I can buy my tickets,often at a discount online and it is more convenient…
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Metrolink to Long Beach?
At the time of the start up of Metrolink in 1992, there were miles of secondary rail lines available for sale by the railroads. Right of way is the most difficult part of a railroad to secure. Many miles of these secondary rail lines were bought by local government before 2000 and many are now…
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No One on the Bridge – LACMTA and Metrolink Each in Search of a Captain
The Steel Wheels Column An occasional commentary by Paul Dyson, RailPAC President
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Metrolink Needs a Plan, and some Leadership
By Noel T. Braymer Metrolink has failed to fulfill its mission to be the Southern California Regional Rail Passenger Railroad. The official name for Metrolink is the Southern California Regional Rail Authority. Instead the management of Metrolink at its inception was under the impression that they were running a commuter railroad to primarily carry people…
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What’s the matter with Metrolink?
By Noel T. Braymer Metrolink has been slowly going downhill even before the Chatsworth crash disaster in 2008. Since 2008, safety on Metrolink has been greatly improved and will get better with the full implementation of Positive Train Control. But Metrolink’s problems stem from a lack of leadership and planning. Metrolink has been slow to…
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Metrolink Connections that exist or should exist Now!
By Noel T. Braymer The counties that control Metrolink need to demand that it make good connections. Right now each line on Metrolink is run as a private fiefdom for each county. As a result the emphasis is on what that county wants or will pay for, not what will produce the best ridership or…
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What is Metrolink’s Problem?
By Noel T. Braymer Metrolink’s problem is money; or rather the lack of money. Metrolink is in the red because ridership is below projections. Metrolink blames this on declining commuter ridership to downtown Los Angeles. What Metrolink needs to do is increase its ridership to more places in Southern California for more revenue. In the…
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Can We Connect Metrolink to LAX?
By Noel T. Braymer Recently Shawn Nelson, Chairman of the Orange County Transportation Authority called for closing the gap of about 2.5 miles between the end of LA Metro’s Green Line (which by 2019 will connect with LAX) to the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs Metrolink Station. No doubt LA Metro would agree, but would ask who…