Taking a Moment to Observe

Congratulations to Coach Attendant Sharon Diaz!

March 20, 2019

By Carolyn Cokley, Director, Customer Programs Congratulations to Coach Attendant Sharon Diaz. Sharon was honored this past Monday with the March 2019 Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee (ACAC), Customer Service Award. The special celebration took place at the Miami crewbase where Ms. Diaz was presented with the award by an ACAC Subcommittee Chair who is also a RailPax At-Large Council Representative and me. As a frequent rider on the Silver Service, our member is used to observing top notch, on

More Details from White House Proposal to End National Network

As we reported last week, the Trump Administration’s budget continues a series of attacks on the National Network. The release of the full budget this week gives us more details—and more reason to be concerned. We need your help to fight it!

March 20, 2019

As we reported last week, the Trump Administration’s budget continues a series of attacks on the National Network. The release of the full budget this week gives us more details—and more reason to be concerned. We need your help to fight it!

How would passengers travel without trains?

Less than 10% would take a bus instead

March 19, 2019

On average, trains primarily compete with cars, then planes. A larger share of passengers on trains today wouldn’t travel at all than those that would otherwise take a bus.

Amtrak Takes the Fight Against Train Delays Online

March 18, 2019

Amtrak's new strategy for casting a spotlight on the causes of passenger delays is grabbing national headlines.

It’s All About That First and Last Mile

Forget A & B - How Do You Get To Points C through G?

March 14, 2019

by Joe Aiello | Northeast Field Coordinator “I hear the train a comin'. It's rollin' 'round the bend” - Johnny Cash Once the train gets “on down to San Antone” - how is everyone getting around? When we were in Miami back in October, I was tasked with creating a first/last mile panel to give a local view of a universal transportation issue in this country. It’s something that I have been working on for some time here in the Northeast and, as the Regional Coordinator, I wanted to shi

60 Minutes Loses Forest for Trees in PTC Story (Part 2)

Railroad investments are made largely for the sake of private gain, rather than public good

March 12, 2019

By Abe Zumwalt Last week, instead of inserting needed nuance into the conversation surrounding 60 Minutes’ piece about American Railroad safety, there was first and foremost need for a reality check. Passenger Trains in the United States are about 17 times safer than passenger automobiles, on a mile-per-mile basis. With a gap that big, we can say with certainty that passenger trains save American lives every year, given that about half of Amtrak’s millions of riders would otherwise drive p

Trump Administration Budget Would End National Rail Network

March 11, 2019

The White House released a budget proposal today that would slash Amtrak funding and eliminate long-distance routes, replacing corridor train service with subsidized bus service.

“What Could [Should] Have Been”

A Look Back at the 1993 “Central Artery Rail Link Task Force” Report

March 7, 2019

by Joe Aiello | Northeast Field Coordinator It is no secret that I am an unabashed supporter of the North-South Rail Link. It is, in fact, the main project that got me to where I am today. I could write an entire series of blogs on the NSRL alone - which I will probably do. This week though will be more of a visual offering, thanks to a Twitter thread by Rail Passengers & MA Sierra Club Executive Committee Member Robert Kearns. Two of the photos that Robert dug up for this thread really st

What The WSJ Did Not Say

The Wall Street Journal Wasn't Wrong On Illinois...But They Overlooked Important Facts

March 6, 2019

by Jim Mathews / The paper that hates California high-speed rail for being too ambitious is lukewarm on Illinois' fast-rail project for being too limited. You can't have it both ways.

60 Minutes Loses Forest for Trees in PTC Story (Part 1)

Let’s put aside opinion and look at the facts -- presumably Job One for an investigative news organization

March 5, 2019

In a report aired this past Sunday, 60 Minutes examined the United States’ implementation of Positive Train Control across its rail system through the lens of a 2018 collision between a CSX freight train and an Amtrak train in Cayce, South Carolina. Unfortunately, in their pursuit of a compelling story they got basic facts about the U.S. rail industry wrong.