Maine loves its Amtrak train. Can other states follow in its tracks?
Every Friday evening, Wayne Davis strolls up to open the Amtrak station in Brunswick, Maine, and prepares for the arrival of his train. This small town is home to Bowdoin College and is the terminus of the Downeaster line, one of the most successful state-backed services in America’s passenger rail system. Before the new station opened in 2012, a train hadn’t reached Brunswick since the 1950s. Mid-century transportation planners thought trains would never be back, and Davis has spent the last 30 years proving them wrong. [governing.com]
New trolley line may keep San Diego livable if not less congested
The new La Jolla trolley line seems ideally located to reduce traffic because it runs by the region’s number 1 job center and a notorious area for brake lights and bottlenecks, but experts say the impact will be more nuanced. Instead of clearing Interstate 5, the new line is more likely to help the city absorb hundreds of new development projects without congestion getting any worse. Experts say the 11-mile line from Old Town to UTC mall, which began running in December, will help the area avoid becoming so congested that people and businesses consider relocating. [masstransitmag.com]
Where is South Jersey’s long-awaited Glassboro-Camden Line?
Robert Bryant commutes from his home in Burlington County to his job at a dairy plant in Cumberland County by way of public transit. He said his trip to work takes 90 minutes. How much time would he save if there was a rail line that travels straight south of Camden to Glassboro? “I would save at least an hour,” said Bryant. Trains along the 18 mi line would make 12 stops between the Philadelphia suburb of Camden and Glassboro in about 35 to 40 minutes. The River Line, first proposed 25 years ago, is slowly becoming a reality, but will not be completed until at least 2027. [whyy.org]
Qatar’s gleaming metro system built under the desert
It’s fast. It’s driverless. It has a Gold Class for premium passengers. And it’s one of the most advanced metro train systems ever built. This is the Doha Metro, a gleaming transportation system that will carry fans to their destination in next year’s soccer World Cup and, it’s hoped, will go on to revolutionize transport in Qatar. Constructed mostly underground and across the Qatari capital and its suburbs, the network has been operational since 2019, providing a reliable transportation alternative in a rapidly expanding city where traffic is frequently gridlocked. [cnn.com]
Faster trains and cheaper tickets to boost European rail travel
Trains will run faster on key routes across Europe and ticket prices and provider costs could be slashed under a European Commission plan to boost faltering efforts to make rail Europe’s default mode of transport. A new speed requirement to ensure trains on a core network of track are able to travel at 160 kmh (100 mph) or faster would be introduced by 2040. Cross-border travel would be encouraged by making ticketing easier and potentially by cutting track access charges faced by rail companies. [theguardian.com]
