Taking the ‘commuter’ out of America’s rail systems
In recent decades, the vast web of rail lines that surround many older urban centers were only convenient if you worked a 9-to-5 job downtown. Fares were double or triple the cost of a bus ride, although many professionals had them covered by monthly passes paid by their employers. Commuter rail was very expensive to those who couldn’t afford it, and often free for those who could. But even for those with higher-paid jobs, a schedule that even slightly deviated from the norm could make the system impractical. The pandemic, however, calls that whole concept into doubt. [governing.com]
’Amtrak Joe’: Will Biden’s infrastructure plan revive railroads?
During the 36 years he served as a senator, President Joe Biden famously commuted 90 minutes each way every day on an Amtrak train from his home in a suburb of Wilmington, Delaware. He knows the zigs and zags of the US rail system perhaps better than anyone else who has sat in the Oval Office. Not surprisingly, Amtrak is thrilled with the $80 bn train ambitions the White House recently unveiled. But some transportation experts say Biden’s American Jobs Plan – a blueprint for reviving the nation’s infrastructure, including its railroads – is underwhelming and misguided. [aljazeera.com]
America’s highest railway just got a $100 million makeover — and it’s finally reopening to the public
After three years of renovations, the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway is reopening to the public. The scenic Colorado train will resume taking visitors to and from Pikes Peak beginning in May following a $100 million renovation that includes new trains, new track, new depot and a new visitor center. Since taking its first passengers up the mountain in June 1891, the train has remained famous for being the highest railway in America and the highest rack railway in the world at 14,115 feet. [travelandleisure.com]
California needs a night train now
The Coast Starlight, Amtrak’s L.A.-to-Seattle train, takes about eleven hours to travel between the San Francisco Bay Area (Oakland) and Los Angeles. That’s on par with Amtrak’s overnight service between Washington D.C. and Boston, and with the services in Europe. It currently runs between Oakland and L.A. during the day. But alternating morning and nighttime departures could create an overnight L.A./Oakland service. Existing Amtrak sleepers could be used, so there would be no additional expense. [cal.streetsblog.org]
