Your daily source of fresh takes on news affecting America's passengers. See also the weekly NARP Hotline.
December 17, 2015
Congress yesterday revealed a $1.1 trillion omnibus budget bill to keep the government funded in 2016, including $57.6 billion in transportation funding. The final document clocks in at just over 2,000 pages, which—given the wide-ranging focus of the budget bill—has industries and advocacy groups all across the country scrambling to see what the bill means for them. NARP has reviewed the om...
December 11, 2015
Like the man once famously said, "There you go again." Newspapers and media outlets up and down the Northeast Corridor are once again buying into the mythology that Amtrak's NEC operation is profitable, and thus the railroad could be a going concern if it were just freed from its yoke of long-distance service. It's a tidy, compelling narrative. Trouble is, it's just wrong. Editorial boards...
December 3, 2015
My family and I just returned from a wonderful 10-day trip to Tokyo. I was excited about this trip for many reasons, but one of the biggest was the chance to try out the city’s extensive rail transit network. The Narita Express train, left; the luggage rack on the Express train, right. My first chance to ride the rails was getting from Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo. We bought round trip t...
December 3, 2015
Readers have responded to NARP’s posts on the recently introduced FAST Act—which is already halfway to becoming a law—with a lot of really good questions. We wanted to make sure we took the time to give you the answers. On the Amtrak NEC authorization: how much of the critical repairs (catenary, tunnels and bridges) is this amount be likely to cover? This question is best answered in two p...
December 2, 2015
The FAST Act is a 1,300 page bill—not exactly light reading, even if you’re the type who enjoys dense, legal text. But don’t worry! NARP went through the passenger rail title to analyze all the promising provisions, the worrisome proposals, and everything in between. From Gulf Coast restoration to pets on trains, we've got you covered! NATIONAL NETWORK — What the bill says: Provides $5....