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The most extensive coverage of North American passenger rail on Twitter and now railmag handle over on bksy.
Baton Rouge, LA
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In lieu of our usual Control Point (CP) Sundays edition this morning, we have an updated Transformative Rail Vision Map ready (), including MTL-TOR HFR, Ethan Allen to BUR, Vermonter to MTL & a couple glaring gaps: Big Sky Explorer to Sandpoint & KNX-CHT.
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When you’re white, wealthy & emotionally estranged, you view everyone else as an inconvenience at best and a threat at worst.
@elonmusk
proves time and again he should have no role in planning communities.
Elon Musk on public transit: "It’s a pain in the ass. That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s like a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great."
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Thinking about the Boeing assistance situation today? If they need $60b & are valued at $71b, then people should own it outright. This happened in transportation before with Conrail. The government formed it for $7m in ‘76, sold for $1.65b in ‘87. Return profits to taxpayers.
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Bill introduced in Minnesota Senate for $99 million for MSP-Duluth Northern Lights Express construction; total estimated capital cost: $425 million (federal at 80% would be $340 million)
[scoop by
@ThunderWolf08
]
#trains
#rail
#MN
#WI
#TwinCities
#Amtrak
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I’ll explain this in train terms…
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Transit & bikes: always an obvious pairing. This was captioned 1898 where I saw it.
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This might be a first: a bill signing onboard a moving train...
WATCH: Colorado Gov. Polis
@GovofCO
signs a transit bill on board a moving RTD train from Westminster to Denver.
The new law will help expand affordable transit use, including creating a grant program to provide youth with free fare year-round.
#copolitics
@DenverChannel
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Tyler’s question below seems sincere, and wanted to share that this is one of the common fallacies presented towards transit/rail: if it doesn’t work for everyone, how can it work for anyone? Modes don’t need to capture market share in order to be successful.
A new high-speed rail system just broke ground that will connect Las Vegas to Southern California in a little over 2 hours.
I'm all for it and love it!
But you can hop on a flight for $19 right now that'll take a little over 1 hour.
How does this train make sense?
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Let’s help the rail & transit industry understand why window wraps so diminish the customer experience. Here’s video of the same type of vehicle on the same day:
@GoBrightline
’s Siemens Venture coaches on their 125mph stretch between Orlando & Cocoa (different directions)
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Happy 2023! Some big-time rail projects set for opening this year:
Brightline (W. Palm Beach-Orlando Intl. Airport)
Honolulu HART (East Kapolei-Halawa/Aloha Stadium)
Montreal REM (Central-Brossard)
Ottawa Trillium Line extension
Metrolinx Eglinton Crosstown
MBTA S. Coast Rail
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New Orleanians: modern streetcars would ruin the character of a historic city like New Orleans.
Prague:
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My friend just sent me this photo from where she’s staying in rural Switzerland.
Says it's safe, reliable, and beautiful. These regional MUs connect medium-sized cities at a low cost.
In America this would be unthinkable.
What is the sickness that has infected our democracy?
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Thoughts before Brightline's MCO debut tomorrow:
•Its close integration a Class 1-quality freight RR is rare and few other corridors are comparable.
•It can't get rid of most of the grade crossings.
•The 125 mph top speed is noteworthy, but not as much as its hourly frequency.
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Stop. Using. Police. To. Enforce. Transit. Fares.
🚐🚌🚎🚃🚋🚞 💺🚇🚊
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Run more trains & people will ride them…
Wednesday, November 23 is shaping up as a monumental day for train travel. Locally, the Vermonter northbound and Valley Flyer 494 are both sold out. Southbound Vermonter and Flyer 471 are at 90%! Maybe add a car or two!
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Apparently, this weekend saw the launch of intercity/regional passenger rail service between Salina Cruz to Coatzacoalcos in Mexico, which seems to be branded as Corredor Interoceanico using former Amtrak and UK equipment. Details are sparse on service level. Some links are below
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I think Brightline has plenty of work to focus on with its Sunshine Corridor->Tampa expansion and Vegas-SoCal project to occupy itself for the better part of a decade, but if I had to pick which corridor they should pursue next, it would be Charlotte-Atlanta. Here’s why…
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Long-distance trains are empty is an arrogant and inaccurate take.
The Empire Builder averages 410 riders per trip. They have 348 seats to sell on the train (maybe less these days with the Superliner shortage). Yes, they can sell seats more than once, and they do.
The massive profit Amtrak makes on these tickets will go to subsidizing empty trains in North Dakota instead of investments in the northeast corridor that improve speed and capacity so we can have better trains with lower ticket prices
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"VPRA announced today that it is in preliminary discussions with Norfolk Southern Corporation to purchase the Manassas Line and to pursue an option to extend passenger rail service to the New River Valley (NRV) on the Norfolk Southern main line (N-Line)"
!!!! 😃👍🫰!!!
VPRA and Norfolk Southern in Discussions for New Rail Agreement
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Except for electric railroads. Anything but electrified railroads.
@JoeBiden
never talks about electrified railroads.
@SecretaryPete
never talks about electrified railroads.
@USDOT
doesn’t mandate or even incentivize railroad electrification.
Cars, buses, trucks: all great!
The future of the auto industry is electric, and we’re working to ensure that future is Made in America.
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Space & purpose of parking Avelias in Philadelphia is dwindling as the timeline from Alstom for launch on the NEC remains indefinite, so new sets are being stored by a shoreline in Upstate N.Y. until needed.
Evidence abounds of the profound lack of urgency in U.S. passenger rail
Morning Glory: Spectacular start to the day in Andover, NY—rare sighting, too, as new
@Amtrak
Acela train is pulled through here. Eventually these “next gen” trains will be put into service along Northeast Corridor.
@Brennan_Somers
@BobLonsberry
@spann
@wxbywilliams
@JimCantore
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This rendering is gonna give some of y’all conniptions, innit?
🚄 Contract award for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel moves us closer to solving the Northeast Corridor bottleneck. More details in our latest release: .
#Amtrak
#FutureOfTravel
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Boston University 1938 vs now, with streetcar line that became today’s Green Line B route in dedicated lanes back then.
Planning a list of N American colleges & universities directly served by rail transit (within a 5-min walk of a classroom or dorm); share your contributions👇
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The Adirondack is coming back (again), hopefully this time with upgraded tracks in Quebec that can withstand the heat better next summer…
(the improvement of the railroad in Canada was funded by Amtrak and its riders)
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Run trains frequently enough that photographers or directors won’t be tempted to do shoots or music videos on them…
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WMATA: still not covering windows with wraps. Creative is colorful and multi-faceted.
Don't accept window covering elsewhere.
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In a shocking plot twist, transit operator reports that when you provide more service reliability & frequency, you attract more riders...
Bucking the trend of declining transit usage in LA County (and nationwide), Metrolink has announced record ridership for 2018-2019
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⚡️The main benefit of electrified regional rail is acceleration. The main benefit of electrified regional rail is acceleration. The main benefit of electrified regional rail is acceleration. The main benefit of electrified regional rail is acceleration.⚡️
You asked, we listened. We can easily say, we know who won this race! 🤭
Electrification coming Sept. 21st!⚡️
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@ZelkoDvorak
And making sweeping, particularly paranoid generalizations about the people who ride transit.
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Any normal, well-adjusted human being is captivated by a passing or stopping train. It's the connection to the larger world. In frontier towns in the 1800s, the day's entire routine was based on the arrival of the train.
WATCH: Joe Biden gets easily distracted by a train.
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Currently, speeds are limited to 65 mph, but
@metra
is exploring up to 90 mph in some sections.
IMO, the agency’s vision under CEO Jim Derwinski has been much more ambitious than it had previously.
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Wanted to note that from a policy/advocacy level, the transit industry is pushing for better marijuana testing that tests for immediate impairment, not past use weeks later. It’s a major issue related to the hiring challenge in states with decriminalization. No fed law changes.
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The recent Battery-Electric Multiple Unit (BEMU) order by Metra is encouraging, as while standard EMUs are always better, anything that gets more agencies accustomed to even a bit of catenary & pantograph loosens the ground for & opens the possibility of full ⚡️later.
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Have to address this misconception:
NEC/Acela prices are not high to subsidize the long-distance network.
1) By law, Amtrak must maximize revenue to strive for profitability. Even if LDTs didn’t exist, Amtrak would still need to maximize revenue.
Cont…👇
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Announcement today from
@SiemensMobility
that its 2 initial dual-mode Chargers (technically, SD-42DMs) are shipping out of Sacramento en route for delivery to Metro-North.
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Not sure I get the point of someone opining the obvious “Seattle Link should have been a metro” every hour or so. Is there any practical way for it to be rebuilt as such at this point? The conversation in the late 90s/early 2000s wasn’t “LRT or metro?” but “rail or no rail.”
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Seen a few "this should be rail" reactions to this news. The only meaningful rail solution for PHL-PIT true high-speed rail with bridges & tunnels over/through the mountains. The historic Pennsy main line won't get much faster. Fortunately, we only need to start in Harrisburg.🚄
Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines is announcing new twice-daily service to from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, which will come as welcome news to those looking to avoid the ever increasing tolls on the PA Turnpike.
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N. America Rail Transit Openings Update
•LA Metro Regional Connector: today!
•Honolulu Rail Transit (Skyline?) Phase 1: June 30
•Ottawa Line 2: October (?)
•MBTA South Coast Rail, Montreal REM Phase 1, Edmonton Valley line, Toronto Eglinton Crosstown:
all TBA
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Look what
@wmata
was able to do for its Veterans Day wrap: not cover any windows!
Still conveys the visual impact they were striving for...
Join us in honoring veterans. Today, Metrorail will operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. with normal weekend frequencies. Metrobus will run on a Saturday Supplemental schedule. To learn more, visit:
#wmata
#VeteransDay
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Be sure to check out the video. This portion showing the train's ease in handling this slight curve and downgrade is worth the watch alone. Lots of new ballast dust kicked up that will be less common as the railbed is worn in. And the sound of the top speed is identifiable...
Brightline announced one its trains reached a record speed in testing.
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Imagine you can finally take the train from Detroit-Toronto. You've settled in your seat. But, 10 mins into the trip, the train will sit in Windsor for 3 hours while you get off the train with all your stuff, be cleared thru customs, maybe get a drink and wait. Sounds awesome!🚆
@ryangs
@winteri44425404
"The proposed schedule would see a three-hour layover at Windsor’s train station..."
3 hours! Why would you take the train from Detroit to Toronto if you had any choice in the matter if there was an extra 3 hours on top of the travel time?
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People in Columbus, OH (pop. 2.1m) don't disproportionately love their cars more than those in Brunswick, ME (pop. ~20k). 100 Brunswicks could fit in the Columbus metro area. But Brunswick has 5 daily roundtrips a day to Portland & Boston. Columbus has 0 trains/day to anywhere.
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Since Connecticut is perpetually unable to keep the full, 4-track New Haven Line in reliable & reasonable condition, a federal entity of some kind needs to obtain ownership, guarantee the number of existing New Haven Line trains & upgrade infrastructure to increase Amtrak speeds.
Something crazy about me: I don’t think it should take 104 minutes to travel from NYC to New Haven, or just 38 miles per hour, on the world’s biggest economy’s only ‘high-speed’ rail line.
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On Corridor ID program:
-FRA will hold at least one more round of project applications/selections, next year. Projects that didn’t apply or weren’t selected this year have another chance, but
-These projects are a step ahead now and likely will reflect federal priority.
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But keep telling us how horrific it to start a new passenger rail route - - anything at all - - to give anyone an alternative to highways.
Witnessed and recorded the most INSANE car crash yesterday, you can see Autopilot also swerve and avoid the rouge tire for me $TSLA
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Wooo boy…
Bring on the Alstom doomscrolling
We just released our shortlist of qualified potential suppliers for California High-Speed Rail’s electrified trains!
The shortlist includes two teams:
@AlstomUSA
@SiemensUSA
We look forward to moving this process forward to get high-speed trains here in California.
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This account is the fierce resistance to train/transit negativity. Recent positive energy:
•Amtrak Borealis
•Return of NOLA Loyola/Rampart Streetcar
•Upgraded Fredericksburg Amtrak/VRE station
•New Metra Peterson/Ridge Station (UP North Line)
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Here’s your
@GoBrightline
110 mph video, folks. Welcome to higher-speed rail in Florida! 🚄
Here’s the 110-mph test. Looks similar to 90, but it has a noticeably quicker approach
Clears the crossing in a few seconds:
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For the “no one rides Amtrak” crowd, 2 rider stories from this train I’ve heard today:
1) grandma traveling from Birmingham to Slidel, LA for a funeral; she doesn’t like to drive long distances or at night and no one flies Birmingham-New Orleans, let alone Slidel.
(Cont. for
#2
)
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This is not AI. It’s Norfolk Southern’s (fmr Erie) Southern Tier Line thru Letchworth State Park in Western N.Y. When NS need to replace the speed-limited Erie bridge over the Genesee River, it didn’t need years of public meetings, EIS steps or referendums. They just rebuilt it.
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A bit of a busy news day with announcements of both MARC extending to Newark, DE and Metra selected to operate Chicago-Rockford service breaking today. Frequency of both operations has led reactions so far...
(Newark ext. map by
@theGreaterMarin
; Rockford by
@KetuAlbrecht
)
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So, if the public will have at least a 1/4 stake in Brightline West, can we push for a permanent connection between the new infra and UP's Cima Sub so that future Desert Wind conventional service to Salt Lake City could use the high-speed network south of Vegas? See map below...
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Sometime today, someone at the FRA Crash Worthiness Office is going to come across this, walk to their den, pour themselves a bourbon, take a sip and say to themselves, “that’s g-ddamn right.”
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Exciting News: a group of investors has proposed reactivating the former Florida East Coast’s Overseas Extension between Miami and Key West, seeking to emulate Brightline’s successful model. It will be known as the Florida Overseas-Over Land System & launch 1 year from today!
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We need to emphasize the many ways passenger rail/rail transit in North America can be better but it’s also helpful to recall in most instances it’s much better than 40-50 years ago. This was NJ Transit’s Somerville station in 1981 vs today. Platforms & equipment were derelict.
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Honest question here, seeking responses: is Brightline’s MCO-Cocoa Jct segment the first purpose-built, exclusively passenger intercity railroad in U.S. history? There’s a couple commuter lines, for sure. But the NEC was not built as exclusively passenger. Nor the Cutoff.
Just east of Orlando Brightline is booking — but are we hitting 125 miles per hour??
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Folks, we did it!
@GoBrightline
has listened to voices calling for no window coverings with vehicle wraps on their latest advertising partnership. Let’s the Florida sunshine in on their trips that are getting more crowded by the day!
@GoBrightline
has released a new train wrap for its partnership with Red Bull. They paid attention to rider feedback and this new wrap does not completely cover the windows. The train debuted on 3/22 in association with a special onboard experience for the Ultra Music Festival.
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😡
•Ridership is low so we can’t build new subway
•Ridership is low because frequency is bad
•Frequency is bad because 4 routes share one line thru downtown
•Subway would improve frequency, but there will be no subway…
The Dallas downtown subway transit project, on drawing boards for years, has been shelved. DART announced Tuesday that the project has been removed from the 20-year financial plan.
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It’s possible to take a train from this station (pop. 3,600) some times of the year to Duluth (86,000), while it is impossible to take a train at any day of the year from Dallas to Houston, Cleveland to Cincinnati, Atlanta to Nashville or Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
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The FRA/Amtrak Long-Distance crayon is exciting; service to all these places is needed. Anything beyond 500 miles is concerning, but even playing within the PRRIA minimum 750 miles, most routes are way too long. I'll look at each route in optimal segments below...
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Secret Tunnel Saturday (this will not be a regular series, but perhaps an occasional one)
There’s a number of former abandoned rail/subway/streetcar tunnels in the U.S. (and elsewhere)…can you name these 4 closed-off tunnels (all in the U.S. shown here?
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Happy 110 MPH Operation in Illinois Day! These changes to UP’s operating rules are the culmination of nearly two decades of work and PTC delays in achieving higher speeds for Chicago-St. Louis Amtrak trains, and finally turning the page on federal ARRA funding from 2009…
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This happened to
@GoBrightline
yesterday, service is now restored. While the truck driver is immediately at fault for being unaware his trailer was sitting on the tracks but the signaling system on the parallel roadway didn’t cycle to green to clear the cross street in time.
Car transport truck just sitting on the tracks gets rammed by Brightline earlier today. This prompted suspension of service between Miami and Fort Lauderdale (via TikTok)
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Plenty of people know what to do with this: restore passenger rail service from Scranton to New York. The problem is the bridge is owned by NJ but service restoration benefits Pennsylvania. Federal investment & leadership is needed for an interstate asset.
This N.J. rail bridge is beloved by many, but nobody knows what to do with it
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Happy
@Amtrak
Borealis launch day! Official opening ceremonies were held at St. Paul Union Depot, but trains departed on schedule from both St. Paul & Chicago. Here's the northbound version from Chicago heading through Wadsworth, IL heading towards WI & MN with CPKC train waiting
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@MarkWarnerVA
Senator, imagine - if you will - a system where you didn’t have to deal with highways. Based on proven, environmentally-friendly technology. Thar serves downtowns directly. That’s
@AmtrakVA
& we need to you to support improvement and electrification!
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Pete on HSR: "...federal dollars get stretched thin no matter how many of them there are, so we definitely don't feel any pride of authorship that it has to be public sector, but nor should we fall into the idea that it has to pencil-out & be profitable to be a good investment."
@PeteButtigieg
at a Hunter College event answers a question about how he views the potential for high speed rail in the United States.
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N. American cities: you are not a real city unless you have one of these (and pro sports). Vancouver, Honolulu & Montreal are smirking at you. Your taxpayers will leave you for them. Their automation is so much bigger. Beyoncé & Taylor + their fans will never be allured by you.🤭
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Often the poor service levels in Cincy are painted as reflecting service levels everywhere without the context that Brunswick, Maine (for example) has 5 roundtrips per day. Cincy + elsewhere have poor service because their states (so far) choose not to invest in passenger rail.
Cincinnati’s train station blew my mind today. On one hand it’s adaptive reuse is an incredible revitalization story. On the other it offers a sad commentary on the state of America’s passenger rail system. I was told one train a day comes thru, at 2am 🤯
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Photos of DART’s Silver Line FLIRTs testing in Plano, TX, yesterday. The 26-mile line is expected to open in late 2025 or early 2026.
📸: David Hawkins on KCS Railway Fans on FB.
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Not disagreeing here overall, but that upper level was never really bustling even when the rest of the hall was flourishing. There was a time when a mall was the most obvious & our lucrative use for large spaces; we’re no longer in that period.
It’s just wild to me how Union Station, a 5 min walk from the Capitol, is now a complete ghost town.
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Before you see the train: please not Brightline, please not Brightline…
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Now the S Line gets $1 billion...
$11.4 billion available for non-NEC.
-$3b Brightline West
-$1b S Line
=$7.4b remaining
DC/VA looking for about $800m for Long Bridge...
Plus everything else, but I expect many Corridor ID project just to be shortlisted with $500k planning funds.
Wow: Senator Thom Tillis is announcing a $1 billion grant to build passenger rail from Raleigh to Richmond. The funds are from the bipartisan infrastructure law, which Tillis supported
@wsoctv
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Often lost in discussions about Acela is it represented a significant increase of NEC trips and seating capacity vs the Metroliners they replaced. Amtrak had more railcars available to host more riders with Acela trainsets joining Northeast Regionals.
Americans don't ride trains 🙃
From 2001-2020,
@Amtrak
's share of DC-New York travelers jumped to 80% of the air+rail market from 45%.
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Ukraine is under wartime conditions and is managing to improve its international rail connectivity.
The U.S. & Canada have been at peace for more than 200 years and have massive economic synergy. Yet there's a total of 4 scheduled daily roundtrips between the two counties. 🇺🇸🇨🇦
Starting from Dec 10, 2023, a new direct train 143/146 Vienna - Chop - Vienna will run. The arrival of several trains from Kyiv, Rivne, Lutsk, Lviv has been adjusted to connect with this train in Chop.
Tickets for train No. 143/146 are available at international ticket offices.
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Crime is ⬇️ on WMATA because ridership is ⬆️. Ridership is ⬆️ because service is more reliable & frequent. These other steps play a factor but the normative pressure of more people to behave is the most effective crime prevention measure.
.
@wmata
reports crime down 14 percent following security steps.
The authority has increased MTPD patrols in stations, began utilizing cameras throughout its system and works with a team of crisis intervention specialists to bolster safety.
#TransitSafety
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This morning,
@GoBrightline
opened ticket sales for Miami-Orlando service with availability no earlier (so far) than September 1. First NB departure at 6:50 am, arriving at 10:15 am; first SB departure at 5:00 am, arriving 8:30 am. Shortest trip 3h 25m. $79/one-way for SMART.
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Do you ever just get spontaneously upset how SEPTA, the State of PA & Lehigh Valley regional leaders just gave up on the Reading’s Bethlehem Branch, the easiest & best connection between the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Corridor for passenger rail? 😡
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We need run-through regional rail infrastructure projects fully-funded in the following downtown cores producing massive ridership ⬆️:
•LA Union Station
•Boston North-South Rail Link (
@NSRailLink
)
•Chicago (concept by
@StarLineChicago
)
•Bay Area (concept by
@theGreaterMarin
)
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I see your Charlotte and raise you Buffalo…
I see your DC metro and raise you Charlottes light rail system
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Yeesh: why is the phrase "commuter train" so pervasive with U.S. Americans? Just as a reference for your headline editors,
@DLNewspapers
: no one is commuting the 252 miles from Fargo to St. Paul. These are intercity passenger trains.
Commuter train from Fargo to St. Paul would include additional stops in Detroit Lakes, Staples -
#GoogleAlerts
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Pretty sure no other state interferes with transit in its largest city like Indiana does with Indianapolis. Texas generally has allowed its cities to build what they want. Alabama didn’t stop Birmingham from building its BRT. It’s a low bar, folks. (WI dumps on transit often tho)
@d_yetter
Headline: Despite opposition, House committee passes bill effectively killing Indianapolis Blue Line
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Still might have a few miles left in them…
An Acela passing Princeton Junction in the snow at 150 MPH
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“a developed [city] is not a place where everyone has a sleigh. It's where the Easter Bunny takes public transit" - Gustavo Petro
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State capitals with most # weekday daily roundtrip trains (approx; Amtrak & commuter):
Boston: lots
Trenton: 108 (+ River Line: 156)
Salt Lake City: 35
Austin: 17
Harrisburg: 14
Hartford: 14
Albany: 12
Santa Fe: 10
Raleigh: 6
Springfield: 5
Salem: 3
Jefferson City: 2
Current states connecting largest city/metro region to state capital (those where they’re different places):
CT, NY, NJ, PA, VA, WV, NC, IL, MN,* NM, OR, CA
*Minneapolis (largest city)-St Paul (capital) one region but connected by light rail
-AK, HI essentially impossible to link
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@the_transit_guy
This is clearly a train schedule. Hot/Iced is only a seasonal stop. The first trip is an early morning short-turn for the earlybird commuters. The 4th trip is truncated before the terminal due to overnight trackwork. Pretty simple to understand…
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US commuter rail systems/lines impacted if a Class I RR strike:
•MARC Brunswick & Camden
•VRE (both lines)
•Metra (4 lines)
•Northstar (MN)
•Sounder (both lines/not sure about Lakewood segment)
•Altamont Commuter Express
•Caltrain (San Jose-Gilroy)
•Metrolink (5/7 lines)
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Summary-New U.S. rail transit equipment orders announced recently:
-Metra: 8 battery-electric FLIRTs from Stadler (instead of battery-electric locomotives)
-TRE: 5 new Siemens Chargers to replace aging engines
-MTA Maryland: will replace light-rail fleet with low-floor LRVs
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The Empire State Passengers Assoc. routinely shares Amtrak ridership data for trains operating in N.Y. Empire Service, Maple Leaf & Ethan Allen are all carrying more passengers than in 2019, Lake Shore Ltd, is just a bit shy. And, then there’s the poor Adirondack…
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30 years ago, Amtrak brought is X2000 tour to Buffalo on the Empire Service route, seen here passing under Main St. & along the Niagara River (footage by
@WGRZ
). Today, Amtrak still is basically running the same equipment and the same exact number of trips (thanks Cuomo 😉)
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U.S. rail agency hires experienced international expert as CEO. Sounds promising. The more high-profile leaders we have besides Andy Byford & Randy Clarke showing proficiency makes it more expected and less fluky.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Board of Directors has appointed Ian Choudri as the next CEO for the program.
Choudri brings more than 30 years’ experience in the transportation sector, including working on HSR projects in France & Spain.
🔗
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This (PDX) is actually the largest Amtrak station I could understand some protective measures by station staff in restricting access to the platforms prior to boarding. The platforms are at rail height and there’s almost no barriers preventing absentminded wandering into danger.
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