Your daily source of fresh takes on news affecting America's passengers. See also the weekly NARP Hotline.
October 16, 2013
Written By Sean Jeans Gail What’s the best way to celebrate a record year of train ridership in the U.S.? Riding more trains, of course. Amtrak is thanking the passengers that helped set a record ridership of 31.6 million trips in Fiscal Year 2013 by offering a 31% discount on companion rail travel: To take advantage of this discount, passengers must purchase tickets between Oct. 15 throug...
October 15, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton On today’s eastbound Capitol Limited (yesterday evening’s Chicago departure), Amtrak conducted its first over-the-road test of vertically-mounted bicycle restraints installed in the lower-level baggage area of one Superliner coach. This represented the first time unboxed bikes were carried on a Superliner-equipped train since they were carried on the Cardinalbefore t...
October 11, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton Virginia State Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke), a long-time train supporter, hosted a town hall meetingin his home city on Wednesday to discuss the Commonwealth of Virginia’s plan to extend the state-supported Northeast Regional train currently terminating in Lynchburg west to Roanoke. Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Director Thelma Drake said th...
October 10, 2013
Written By Abe Zumwalt Intercity railroads have always been about property development. This is the reason why historic downtown cores across the nation are usually within remarkably close proximity to train stations. This has held true for towns and cities of all sizes. Earlier this year, Washington D.C. and the mess of stakeholders involved with its secular cathedral also known as Union Station...
October 10, 2013
Written By Malcolm Kenton In a presentation organized by the Japan International Transport Institute in Washington DC, Grady Cothen today made an excellent presentation on Positive Train Control (PTC). He retired from the Federal Railroad Administration in 2010 after over 36 years there working on safety and policy initiatives. He sees PTC as relevant to the administration’s higher-speed rai...