This Week in Amtrak

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Volume 7, Number 17
June 14th, 2010


A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from



United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

America's foremost passenger rail policy institute



Jacksonville, Florida USA

Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail info@unitedrail.org . http://www.unitedrail.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Positive news for commuter operations, and ponderings on the future of high speed and intercity operations. But let us begin with two brief preludes; first, a short poem, called a "Grook" by its author, Danish poet and philosopher Piet Hein.


Thoughts on a Station Platform

It ought to be plain
how little you gain
by getting excited
and vexed.
You'll always be late
for the previous train,
and always in time
for the next.

A second lead-in: a note on why we are all here. Marcus Garnet, of Transport Action Atlantic in Canada, writes in a Progressive Railroading internet journal ,

What is commonly overlooked, is that time spent on a full-service
long-distance train is also available for other purposes, including
overnight sleep, meals, work, meetings, socializing or simply the
enjoyment of scenery. Overnight train travel serves a transportation
function, but also offers a total experience, especially for those
who are able to afford a bedroom. These passengers do not just
travel on the train, they live on the train. Whether for tourists or
traveling Canadians, this is a vital market distinction from other
land transport modes.

Mr. Garnet sums up many of our feelings and motivations for being passenger train advocates. Yes, trains are a vital part of our national infrastructure, but we want trains because of what they do for us personally, what they do for our friends and families and neighbors, what they do for our economy and our ecology. Trains are special and we need many more of them.

One last item, from the Inbox: Reader Ole Amundsen wrote in regard to the referenced article on VIA Rail Ocean Train Service:

The comments around this exceptional piece of work seem to be
getting at the heart-wood of the rail passenger conundrum in this
country. My positions come from being 70 years of age, nurtured by
an old school conservative view of individual responsibility,
educated in business and economics, and experienced in national
agendas...

When Amtrak was started, I was only interested in getting the
/Montrealer/ re-instated so I could avoid driving from my new home
in Vermont to family in Connecticut. It is easy to look back and say
Amtrak should have been done differently: it has performed the task
of "place holder" for passenger rail but that is about it. Those
were dark days for railroads, but we are now in a very different
world: then I paid 16 cents a gallon for fuel oil to heat my drafty
Vermont farm house! Today, we have 75 million boomers aging out;
they control about 75% of the nations wealth, they love to travel,
they are fit but getting more prone to medical situations, they have
"done it all" and want to continue to have adventures, they enjoy
creature comforts and are enjoying being grandparents. This is not a
market block to be ignored, it is not solely a market for "luxury
train travel;" it is a major component of the traveling public which
does not opt for speed alone, but which prefers reasonable mode
frequency, reasonable adherence to published schedules, reasonable
and clean accommodations, reasonable food, accessible and
accommodating equipment and a minimum of hassle...

My friend, the late Paul Weyrich, had all the conservative
credentials a person could have; and he was a strong voice for
passenger rail and trolley ("light rail") as well as integration of
inter- and intra-urban service. This problem, this opportunity, must
be addressed without falling back on old reasons not to, and [there
must be a way we can] come together with fresh ideas on how to
really run the railroad.

Now, on to the news.

The /San Mateo County Times/ reported on 27 May that

Caltrain officials have convinced federal safety authorities to
allow quick European-style electric trains to zip from San Francisco
to San Jose... common in Europe, the smaller electric trains... [had
been considered] unsafe. But after three years of tests and
research, Caltrain will become the first railroad in the nation to
use the technology after being granted a waiver... [this] will
essentially be a pilot operation for the trains, called electric
multiple units. If successful, commuter railroads and planned
high-speed rail networks throughout the nation would have access to
cheaper, greener and faster trains...

Even with several restrictions, the advent of modern equipment used successfully and safely for years elsewhere around the globe is a huge step forward for the implementation of regional rail lines around and between American cities.

For those who saw the Ayn Rand quote last week as being "the politics of the past," we turn to Paul Merrion 's article in Chicago Business this June 10th , regarding high-speed rail (emphasis mine):

In a move that reportedly "stunned" the rail industry, the Federal
Railroad Administration last month proposed stiff terms for the
grant agreements that railroads must sign with states to get funding
to upgrade their rail systems... Among other things, *the FRA said
railroads must be required to pay, without limit, for any further
improvements or fixes needed to meet on-time performance goals* set
out in the grant agreements, or else pay back the federal
grants.Even Boston-based non-profit, National Corridors Initiative
Inc., a high-speed rail advocacy group, questioned whether that is
feasible."While the objective of these guidelines --- to protect the
taxpayer against the (mis)use of their money when federally assisted
railroad projects are built --- is a valid one, the prescriptive,
punitive nature of the proposed FRA regulations are and will be
non-starters for any normal businessperson who has to carefully
assess projects for risks to his company, or face the wrath of his
stockholders," the group said in a statement on its Web site...

The FRA holds over the railroads, not just the billions in high-speed rail grants effectively controlled by Amtrak, but also the impending imposition of Positive Train Control (PTC), a worthwhile safety and capacity improvement but one that will cost billions and take years. It is still not certain how much of PTC the railroads are expected to shell out of their own pockets. Is the Obama administration seriously going to require the railroads to pay /any/ price so Amtrak can operate its government-funded high speed trains?

In parallel developments, concerning the Gulf oil spill, "Obama said he had no interest in undermining the value of BP" (Reuters story , 12 June 2010), but meanwhile "U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday BP should be subjected to unlimited liability costs and should pay all damage claims" (Reuters story , 11 June 2010). How can one impose unlimited liability without undermining industry? What person or corporation in their right mind would continue operating under those conditions?

(Caution: Ayn Rand reference follows; the timid may avert their gaze.)

In /Atlas Shrugged/, Rand populates her dystopia with officials who do not understand how the world works. Rand's bureaucrats have only ever ridden, as a Mr. Guthrie would put it, "their fathers' magic carpet made of steel," never seeing the engineering brain-power and the technical muscle-power behind a railway, imagining that trains function by magic, that oil pumps itself, that commerce and industry exist in a mythical land of everlasting continuation unaffected by taxes, regulation, and legislation. Rand posits a government whose popular and well-intentioned enactments "for the public good" strangle commerce and industry, slowly as a gentle flurry at first, finally escalating to a murderous avalanche.

Arthur Laffer explained in the /Wall Street Journal/
one June 6th why this neverland of perpetual sameness does not exist:

People can change the volume, the location and the composition of
their income, and they can do so in response to changes in
government policies... It has always amazed me how tax cuts don't
work until they take effect. Mr. Obama's experience with deferred
tax rate increases will be the reverse. The economy will collapse in
2011.

Dire predictions of impending doom aside, will the Obama administration, having already started down the dystopian road (One of the characters in Rand's 1957 book asks, When they nationalized health care, did anyone ask what the /doctors/ wanted?), truly enact scorched-earth policies in one economy sector after another? If so, look for oil and rail executives to be among the first to relocate to Galt's Gulch.

Back in the high speed arena,

Amtrak announced it is reorganizing and establishing a new
department to pursue opportunities to develop new intercity
high-speed rail service in select corridors around the country...

"Amtrak is the unparalleled leader in high-speed rail operations in
America today and we intend to be major player in the development
and operation of new corridors," said President and CEO Joseph
Boardman...

-- Amtrak press release, 22 March 2010


Aside from the omission of a word (does Amtrak intend to be /*a*/ major player, or /*the (only*/) major player?), does it not sound as if Amtrak might be jockeying for a near-monopoly in high speed rail? Will we see a resuscitation of the dead corpse of its former monopoly over all intercity trains, moved to HSR? Prior to the passage of S.738, the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997, U.S. Code: US Code, Title 49, section 24701(b) read (emphasis mine):
"Except as provided in section 24306 of this title, a person may provide intercity rail passenger transportation over a route over which Amtrak provides scheduled intercity rail passenger transportation under a contract under section 401(a) of the Act *only with the consent of Amtrak*."

The "monopoly clause" indeed prevented state agencies as well as private companies from even talking to railroads about running passenger trains.
Would Amtrak have approved trains like New Mexico's RailRunner?
Doubtful. Certainly not in the short time it took from its announcement to the first cue for the "Meep-meep!" of the RailRunner departure door chimes.

That provision having been rescinded, will the liability issue now be how private operators are forced out of business?

Perhaps echoing liability concerns voiced frequently by North
America's Class I freight railroads, Amtrak President and CEO Joseph
Boardman has cited similar concerns "emerging as a significant
obstacle to the improvement of existing passenger rail service and
the development of new, including high speed and intercity corridor,
passenger rail service in the United States."

Boardman, in a five-page letter to four congressional leaders dated
Feb. 26, says in part, "The core of the problem is the unwillingness
or inability of a growing number of entities, including states and
other public bodies, to enter into the kind of agreements for risk
allocation ... and/or to purchase insurance at all or at sufficient
levels ..."

"Moreover, the attitude from a number of private parties and state
entities alike seems to be that Amtrak, in significant part because
of its federal funding, should assume the greater share or risk of
liability." That, Boardman warned, could curtail or terminate
state-supported services Amtrak currently provides...

-- Railway Age, 2 March 2010


Airlines are feeling a similar pinch. According to Susan Stellin in the /New York Times/ , this 7 June, reporting from the first meeting of the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee, air travel will look much different within half a decade.
Small cities will continue to lose air service, or at best will have ever-fewer flights at ever-higher prices, while some large cities with aggregated volume will see volumes above today's and low prices from further rate wars.

...Glenn Tilton, United's chairman, stated it more bluntly: "There
are clearly going to be winning cities and losing cities," he said,
addressing the fact that the industry cannot sustain service to
destinations that don't have the passengers to fill planes...

High speed trains have the same problem as airplanes: They just do not serve enough places. California's governor Schwarzenegger has proposed running a "high speed lite" train before he leaves office. Here is what Noel Braymer of RailPAC has to say in a letter to the /Los Angeles Times/:

According to the letter signed by the Governor, it looks like there
are plans to run rail service between Los Angeles and San Diego by
November in about 2 hours. It looks like the new train would only
have 3 stops at Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego. Just dropping
the six other intermediate stops would save 30 to 36 minutes on the
current schedule of 2 hours 40 minutes.

Generally express trains are not successful. By skipping stops such
trains also loses the business from those stations. Amtrak has tried
several express trains and they have all failed. A local example of
this was the /San Diegan Metroliner/ which ran for about a year
starting in September of 1984. It rarely carried more than a busload
of passengers. It lost the traffic the other trains carried from the
skipped stations. There was only one train a day leaving Los Angeles
for San Diego in the morning and returning in the afternoon. Saving
10 minutes wasn't worth the extra money for passengers if the return
train ran at an inconvenient time. Another problem with the
Metroliner was most cities with train stations lost a train to run
this new train. Many of these cities had gone to great trouble to
build new or rebuilt their stations and had not been consulted about
this decision. These cities were not happy...

Precisely this same scenario is playing with the English Javelin trains, the California HSR project, the Florida HSR, and soon coming to a minor city near you whose airport terminal will lose scheduled flights.

Looking back to Mr. Garnet's thoughts about the vital market distinction of rail, clearly the nation's towns and smaller cities, the ones left without air service, and nowadays without even bus service or anything at all, are the market for regular passenger trains. Even fifty or a hundred years of mangled government transportation policy cannot hide the basic utility and need of trains over cars and airplanes. The difficulty will be to create something that works more like a free market, replacing today's lack of choice or hope for too many towns and people.

The way forward involves tort reform, reasonable liability caps, and getting government back to /governing/, not operating, passenger trains. The same prescription holds for the freight railroads, the oil industry, even our highway and airway systems. This involves the dreaded "C" word -- Change -- and nobody much likes change; not lawyers, not unions, not management, not stockholders, and certainly not government.

We had better get started quickly.

\\/
William Lindley

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William Lindley
c/o wlindley.com, l.l.c.
PO Box 3621
Scottsdale, AZ 85271
480-947-6100

This Week in Amtrak

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This Week at Amtrak; March 8, 2010

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

America’s foremost passenger rail policy institute

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203 • Jacksonville, Florida
32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail info@unitedrail.org • http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 7, Number 8

Founded over three decades ago in 1976, URPA is a nationally known policy institute which focuses on solutions and plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, Texas, New York, and other cities. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org .

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from any outside sources.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack Benny, one of America's most beloved comedians and reputed tightwad extraordinaire, was perpetually 39 years old; Amtrak, this first of May, will join Mr. Benny at milepost 39. Benny's radio and television persona never sold his ancient Maxwell automobile, but Amtrak does seem to have traded in some sputtering old ideas for new ones.

First off, the news items:

* The State of Oregon reports it has purchased two new TALGO
trainsets for
service between Eugene and Vancouver, British Columbia.
* Jolene Molitoris, currently Director of Ohio Department of
Transportation, and former Federal Railroad Administration chief,
this Wednesday "gave a passionate speech about ODOT" and the
nascent 3-C (Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati) corridor.
According to "Linking Ohio ," Ms.
Molitoris emphasized "that no corridor has ever gone from zero
passenger rail options to high-speed rail in one step. She
described projects like in Maine and North Carolina that all
started with standard speed rail before upgrading to
higher-speed." Linking Ohio, which is a project of the 501(c)3
non-profit All Aboard Ohio, noted that improving current speeds --
39 mph average, 79 mph top speed -- needs to be the first phase
"of a larger passenger rail strategy."
* And then from North Carolina comes the news, according "The
not-so-fast track for high speed rail
"
(Stateline.org, 25 February 2010), that a "$520 million chunk [of
the Federal high speed funds]... will go toward 30 specific
improvements between Raleigh and Charlotte, and another $25
million will be used to reduce [rail] congestion between Raleigh
and Richmond, Virginia... Eugene Conti, North Carolina’s secretary
of transportation, says work on the upgrades will start within a
few months. The projects include adding more double-tracking that
would allow freight and passenger trains to pass each other and
separating rails from roads. The changes are designed to cut down
on delays for both trains and auto traffic."
* On the flip side, Buena Park, California may have to demolish a
brand-new passenger station if the planned high-speed trains whiz
past there without stopping (AP story, 8 March
),
and Florida's newly-awarded high-speed train is not planned to
connect with SunRail commuter trains (cable-only local news
"channel 13" story, 5 March
;
and commentary on The Infrastructurist
).
Doesn't anyone talk to anyone else anymore?
* Saturday's Amtrak Town Hall, sponsored by TRAINS magazine
(Kalmbach Publishing Co.) was the first of its kind.
Presentations, plans, and candid discussions indicate Amtrak has
some good people who are making real progress. More on this
shortly, but one remark overheard afterward was, "For the first
time I heard discussion of 'per revenue passenger mile' rather
than just 'per passenger.'"
* And a personal note: "Gentle Readers" is how Isaac Asimov -- a
modern-day Renaissance man, author of nearly 500 books, and my
chief inspiration to learn about science, arts, literature,
history and everything -- addressed his audience, and I will
occasionally use his phrase in remembrance.

Next, some feedback --

On the PIRG report, C.B. Hall writes:

I saw the document as an expression of advocacy, not an analysis of
high-speed rail's actual prospects. Chief among the obstacles - and
an obstacle I don't recall US PIRG even mentioning - is the
likelihood of political winds shifting in Washington, DC. We now
have a national administration that is exceptionally well disposed
towards passenger rail, but that administration has less than three
years to go. We're not going to get HSR, or even a major part of it,
done by the next presidential election. What we can get done is a
foretaste of HSR can ultimately do.

The investment should go to a very limited number of corridors where
visible results can be achieved on the shortest timeline. Three
years from now, we may have a national administration that returns
non-NEC HSR funding to the $25 million or whatever it was all
through the 1990s. That likelihood will decrease, however, if in the
meantime HSR in a few model corridors is far enough advanced to act
as good advertising to the rest of the country. Otherwise, the risk
of stagnation and skepticism only grows.

Yes, Mr. Hall, the report addressed "here's what we need and how we can get there" more than it asked, "what stands in our way." Being guardedly optimistic, it exemplifies elimination of once-widespread socialist dogma which stunted rail passenger advocacy for decades. Look, if you want to start an argument, propose a project that will "reduce Global Warming." If you want to get something done, propose a project that will "reduce Pollution." Same project, but which one will get built?
Eliminate the rhetoric from passenger train advocacy and let's get people moving.

To Mr. Hall's other point, a perfect example of a results-oriented approach is the San Diego Trolley, which built its first, highly successful, line at low cost, and proved its value to the community.
North Carolina is doing the right thing already: read on.

Regarding continued expansion of passenger rail, reader Stan Probstein asks:

[W]hy does Amtrak continue to be the best kept secret for rail
travel? Why isn't Amtrak advertising on cable networks like Fox News
channel, MSNBC and CNN as well as on the broadcast networks? How can
rail travel make a comeback if new rail ridership isn't informed?

True, the only market-specific advertising ever run in Phoenix by sputtering old Maxwell-style Amtrak was in 1996 to announce the closure of Union Station and the re-routing of the Sunset Limited. However, if updated thinking as was heard at this week's Chicago's Town Hall meeting is any indication, -- Stay tuned.

Now, let's look at a hypothetical 81-mile passenger train route. By the way, that happens to be the distance from Tampa to Orlando.

Key to investing our dollars wisely, is understanding the difference between Average speed and Top speed. Trains do not accelerate like sports cars; subway trains with their powerful electric motors accelerate at about 2.5 miles per hour per second, or in the parlance of race cars, "zero to 60 in half a minute or so." A conventional diesel-electric passenger train takes perhaps two minutes from a standing stop to 60 mph. Similar figures apply to slowing down. Thus, it is far more important to eliminate slow sections of track than it is to have short stretches of theoretical high speeds.

Amtrak today operates the 81-mile Orlando-Tampa route with six intermediate stops in almost exactly 2 hours - about 40 mph average speed. Eliminating most of the stops would save perhaps fifteen minutes, but at a severe impact to ridership and to the detriment of Kissimmee, Waldo, Ocala, Wildwood, Dade City, and Lakeland.

I have here a spreadsheet with rough estimations of times for a route with one station stop and a 1/4 mile section of 10mph (like a bridge or slow curve). Plugging in some sample numbers, let's look at what happens as we increase top speed.

top speed, *59* mph: *1 hour, 27 minutes*
top speed *79* mph with curve upgrade to 30mph: *1:08* (saves *19*
minutes)
*90* mph, *1:02* (saves an additional *6* minutes)
*110* mph, *53* minutes (saves an additional *9* minutes)
*168* mph, *44* minutes (saves an additional *10* minutes)

The biggest time savings comes from increasing the top speed to 79mph versus 59mph. Beyond 90mph, we save only twenty more minutes by nearly doubling that speed. Going three times as fast (180mph vs. 60) doesn't get you there three times as fast, either: only about twice as fast, because of acceleration and deceleration.

And the cost of a 168mph railroad is far beyond a 90mph railroad. Beyond 110, trains cannot share tracks with heavy freight trains, nor can there be grade crossings, so an entirely new guideway is needed.

Removing bottlenecks is the single best thing: upgrading that one curve to 30mph saves about 1 minute; to 59mph, about 2 min. Compare two minutes savings for the cost of a single curve or bridge against 20 minutes saved upgrading 80 miles of track, and you're looking at a pretty favorable cost-benefit ratio.

The practical impact is that incremental investments up to 79mph have direct, positive impact on freight and passenger trains alike; much above 90mph starts to diminish the utility of corridors for freight; and above 110mph removes passenger trains from most existing corridors, at stratospheric costs for new rights-of-way and without the benefit to industry and jobs that accrue from better freight service.

Looking again at North Carolina, Secretary Conti says that the high-speed funds there will result in noticeable "improvements in stations, on the track and with equipment in the next couple years...
Our focus is to show progress in the immediate sense..." (stateline.org)

Amtrak of late seems to be involved with sensible projects that will get built, like North Carolina's upgrades, while also talking refreshingly favorably about intercity routes at the Chicago Town Hall. Will America's modern passenger trains finally catch their stride at Amtrak's 39th birthday? Stay tuned, Gentle Readers.

\\/
William Lindley,
Scottsdale, Ariz.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are reading someone else’s copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can
receive your own free copy each edition by sending your e-mail address to

freetwa@unitedrail.org

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where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet
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other than distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.

All other correspondence, including requests to unsubscribe should be
addressed to

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Copies of This Week at Amtrak are archived on URPA’s web site,
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URPA leadership members are available for speaking engagements.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Amtrak Plans $11 Billion of Train Equipment Purchases (Update1) (businessweek.com)
• How Does Chicago's Union Station Compare? (chicagoist.com)

This Week In Amtrak

Image via Wikipedia

This Week at Amtrak; December 15, 2009



A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from



United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

America’s foremost passenger rail policy institute



1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203 • Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail info@unitedrail.org • http://www.unitedrail.org





Volume 6, Number 51



Founded over three decades ago in 1976, URPA is a nationally known policy institute which focuses on solutions and plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, Texas, New York, and other cities. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.



URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from any outside sources.



1) It’s that time, again. Amtrak has put out the Fall 2009/Winter 2010 national timetable, and these things just keep getting better with every edition. Amtrak’s timetables are one of the few bright spots in the company; each one becomes more user friendly than the previous edition, and the design – which was stagnant for years – shows some zip and imagination.



Notable are the number of paid advertisements by outside agencies and vendors. These people are obviously interested in the business which can be created by Amtrak’s passengers, and they are reaching them in the most expeditious manner, plus helping reduce the cost of producing the timetables.



Whoever is creating the timetables needs to keep doing whatever they are doing. It’s working, and working nicely.



2) It’s begun. Yesterday’s San Francisco Business Times reports the California High-Speed Rail Authority is submitting a business plan to state lawmakers increasing the price tag of the California bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco by $9 billion, from $33.6 billion last year to $42.6 billion now.



Ridership estimates have also fallen, from 51 million riders a year down to 41 million; the Authority says the lower ridership estimate is based on projected higher fares, from $68 to $104, now almost $105 instead.



The cost increases for construction are due to inflation, more right-of-way purchases, and additional track work required.



The Authority expects the intrastate project will be funded by $9 billion for 2008's Proposition 1A approved by California voters, local funding of $4 to $5 billion, private funding of $10 to $12 billion, and you and me as federal taxpayers will kick in $17 to $19 billion over the life of the construction project, which isn’t planned to be completed until 2020, 11 years from now.



3) This will give you an end-of-the year giggle. There is a mini-crisis brewing in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital. Senator Paula Dockery, who lost the battle to defeat SunRail this go round earlier this month is never saying “die.” Her new approach: Ask for all of the e-mails swapped between various government officials, departments heads, etc., relating to SunRail. Senator Dockery has particularly been gunning for the Secretary of the Department of Transportation.



Here’s the fun part: Florida has very strong sunshine laws governing all public communications, including intra-governmental e-mails. It seems while the legislation was being formed, Florida’s Department of Transportation was in constant contact with CSX, the main beneficiary of the law; CSX is selling its right-of-way and infrastructure to the State of Florida to make SunRail in Central Florida possible.



Horrors! says Senator Dockery. Florida DOT, as it was crafting legislation, was in contact with CSX, the beneficiary of the legislation. Something crooked must be going on!



Most likely, it never occurred to Senator Dockery, in all of her vitriol and seeking revenge against CSX and Florida DOT, perhaps, since both parties are going to have to agree to this deal, if the parties communicate while the deal is going on, there will not be a prolonged period at the end for negotiations? Perhaps, if agreements are made incrementally, then upon final drafting of the deal, only signatures will be required instead of more and more negotiations?



That’s what a reasonable person would think.



The folks at Florida DOT didn’t help themselves, though, by creating what is now known as “Wafflegate.” It seems the DOT people MAY have wanted to avoid public records disclosure searches by labeling all of their e-mail pertaining to SunRail with the names of breakfast foods.



Yes, you read that correctly. E-mails traded between DOT officials had subject headers of “pancakes,” and “French toast.” When the initial public records search was made using key words such as “SunRail,” “CSX,” and “commuter rail” the search engines somehow completely ignored “pancakes” and “French toast.”



So, a tempest in a teapot has come to be. Somebody, drinking the breakfast tea, should have used better judgement in labeling e-mails. A very good commuter rail project is now mired in election year political backbiting and witch hunts because somebody was just being foolish.



3) Does everyone understand the concept of an unfunded mandate? This is what Congress and the federal government frequently do; laws are created everyone must follow, but no money is provided often for the billions of dollars it will cost for private industry or individuals to follow the new law’s mandate.



Positive Train Control, as mandated for 30 of our nation’s railroads in the Amtrak reauthorization signed last year by President George W. Bush is an unfunded mandate, which the railroad industry estimates will cost $10 billion to comply, says ProgressiveRailraoding.com. The railroads (including Amtrak) will be required to install the monitor-and-control system. Industry benefits on the $10 billion investment are expected to be about $600 million, far, far short of the cost of installation.



As a result of this, some railroads are looking at their track networks and trying to figure out how much of the networks have to have PTC by the mandated start date. Some railroads, such as CSX, are looking at lightly used main lines, like the Sunset route east of New Orleans into Florida, and making decisions not to upgrade that track, electing instead to move freight trains over a nearly parallel route further to the north, and dropping back into Florida for the gateway at Jacksonville to all of Florida’s peninsula.



Other Class I railroads are correctly doing the same. With a mandated investment in the billions, and return on investment in the low millions, railroads have to take a rational approach to PTC. No track is being torn up, but routes are being downgraded until the long term business climate looks more favorable.



This puts Amtrak in a bit of a difficult position. Any route expansions or restorations have to take into account for the first time whether or not PTC infrastructure is in place. If not, the cost of the expansion includes the addition of Positive Train Control on the new track.



Some TWA readers have wondered what all of this is going to do to Amtrak as it shakily stands today.



Most likely, the host freight railroads are going to look to Amtrak as much as possible to bear the cost of PTC on their lines, especially on routes which are lightly used for freight movements, but constantly used by Amtrak. Parts of the Southwest Chief route on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway qualify under this condition.



The freight railroads will look at Amtrak like one of their investment bankers; Amtrak has less controversial access to cash from the federal and state governments than the private railroads. Don’t be surprised sometime in 2010 or soon after for Amtrak to make a large grant request to Congress, perhaps in the hundreds of millions of dollars, solely for the purpose of PTC upgrades along established routes.



This only makes sense; it was Congress, in its rush to prove its chops after the many fatalities of the Metrolink crash in Southern California earlier in 2008, which said any line carrying passenger trains and certain hazardous freight loads must be PTC equipped if used in regular, scheduled service.



If Congress believes its own publicity and believes it acted correctly with the Amtrak reauthorization in 2008 which included PTC mandates, then it should have little, if any, problems coming up with the big bucks it’s going to take to fund Positive Train Control.



Since Congress mandates host railroads MUST handle Amtrak trains, and Congress mandates host railroads MUST offer the safety of PTC, the Congress MUST pay for all of this. It’s one thing to make railroads host passenger trains, it’s entirely another to penalize them with additional expense to create a multi-billion dollar mandate nearly 40 years after Amtrak was created.



4) Here is the latest from Ken Orski at Innovation NewsBriefs. This is Volume 20, Number 24; for further information, consult www.innobriefs.com.



[Begin quote]



December 12, 2009



Using the Jobs Stimulus to Reform the Transportation Program



Writing recently in the National Journal's Transportation blog, we observed the new Obama-proposed job stimulus might dim the prospects for an early enactment of a long-term surface transportation authorization. "The jobs stimulus," we wrote, "or rather its infrastructure component, could be the death warrant for any foreseeable reform of the federal surface transportation program." ("What Have We Learned from the Recovery Act", December 9, 2009, http://transportation.nationaljournal.com)



The crowded senate calendar, we reasoned, means congressional action on the second stimulus proposal — or at least its $50-70 billion component dealing with new infrastructure spending — must wait until next year and may not reach the President’s desk until late Spring 2010. With the newly authorized infrastructure funds added to the still unspent $16 billion left over from the Recovery Act (ARRA), federal stimulus spending for transportation projects could stretch well beyond 2010.



Assuming the job stimulus becomes law, we asked, does any one think Congress would still have any appetite to enact a $500 billion multi-year authorization in 2010, on the eve of a congressional midterm election? Most likely, we concluded, a multi-year authorization would be delayed until 2011and some pessimists think that with a new Congress and an increased emphasis on deficit reduction, an even further slippage could occur. "Is the tradeoff worth it? You decide" we wrote.



Well, the response is in and it largely supports our point of view. It came in the form of responses from fellow bloggers and in a December 9 Newsweek column by David A. Graham, entitled "Putting the Cart Before the Horse: Could a transportation-based jobs stimulus stymie infrastructure reform?" Wrote Graham: "The stimulus bill would spend tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure but do little to remake a flawed financing and planning system. That’s a missed opportunity, according to some observers, who are concerned a stimulus, while better than nothing, would fall short of its potential by ignoring the issues the surface transport bill aims to address." The column goes on in a later paragraph to say: "The worry is that by pumping large sums into infrastructure this spring, Congress might kill any appetite for a meaningful overhaul of surface transportation funding any time soon." It quotes my fellow National Journal Transportation blogger James Corless, director of the liberal Transportation for America coalition as "very concerned." "We worry greatly," the column quotes Corless, "that putting tens of billions of dollars into these existing stovepipes is not going to have the intended outcome," i.e. a true reform of the surface transportation program.



Meanwhile, the objectives of the proposed second stimulus are becoming more elastic as we speak. At a December 10 Brookings Institution forum on Infrastructure, U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said he sees no reason why some of the infrastructure funds in the stimulus program should not be allowed to be diverted to fund the operating expenses of transit systems which have been hard hit by the economic recession. It's difficult to see how such a move would help to promote job growth, but then the entire rationale and objectives of the second infrastructure stimulus have been poorly articulated and, not surprisingly, are coming under increased scrutiny.



Hopefully, by the time Congress is ready to act — most likely, only after the President’s State of the Union address in January — the hemorrhaging of jobs will stop and Congress will be able to shift its focus, as several of my fellow bloggers suggested, from "ready-to-go" maintenance projects (which seem more effective at preserving existing jobs than at creating new jobs) to a longer lasting goal of investing in infrastructure projects that improve national connectivity, increase metropolitan accessibility and enhance economic growth. Such action would make it less urgent to enact a multi-year transportation bill, whose prospects of passage in 2010, we still believe, are anything but certain.



[End quote]









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J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-7739

brucerichardson@unitedrail.org

http://www.unitedrail.org

Front Runner South Construction Update

Image by Jose P Isern Comas via Flickr

Greetings,



Construction is progressing on UTA’s FrontRunner South Provo to Salt Lake Commuter Rail line.

Below is the FrontRunner South construction update for March 2 – 8.

To learn more about the FrontRunner South project, click here .



Area 16 — Downtown Salt Lake City to 4500 South (Murray)



Construction Activity:

Crews will install micro-fiber throughout the area this week.



Traffic Impacts:

There are currently no traffic impacts in this area.



Salt Lake Central Station:

Station complete.





Area 15 — 4500 South (Murray) to 7800 South (Midvale)



Construction Activity:

Fiber optic work continues in the area with crews installing micro-fiber.



Traffic Impacts:

There are currently no impacts to motorists in this area.



Murray-5300 South Station:

No station construction activities to report.





Area 14 — 7800 South (Midvale) to Bangerter Highway (Draper/Bluffdale)



Construction Activity:

Progress continues in Area 14 behind Salt Lake Community College’s campus at 9800 South as crews construct a bridge that flies over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. This is the area where FrontRunner will move from the east side to the west side of the tracks. Crews will be installing rebar and pouring concrete for one of the piers this week.



Crews are also finishing construction on a bridge adjacent to the current Union Pacific Railroad bridge at 144th South. Crews will be repaving and restriping the road under the bridges this week.



Fiber optic work will take place throughout the area with crews installing micro-fiber and micro-duct.



Traffic Impacts:

A temporary traffic light has been placed at 144th South and the Union Pacific Bridge to help with traffic flow. If the signal light is flashing, construction crews have flaggers on the road to help speed up traffic although there may be some delays while crews are moving equipment. Crews anticipate removing the temporary traffic light this week and will be placing stop signs in their original locations at the bridge.



We thank motorists in this area for their patience and support during construction and ask that you continue to be cautious while driving on the one lane road under the bridges.



South Jordan/Sandy Station:

No station construction activities to report.





Area 13 — Bangerter Highway (Draper/Bluffdale) to Thanksgiving Point
(Lehi)



Construction Activity:

Crews continue to establish access in this area and prepare the site along the railroad corridor in Bluffdale and Lehi. Excavation and embankment work throughout the area will continue this week as will fiber optic micro- installation.



Crews will install and backfill a wall on the East Jordan Canal bridge and continue installing temporary shoring for construction of a bridge spanning the Jordan River.



Traffic Impacts:

There will be a partial lane closure along Garden Drive this week as crews work on reinforcing water pipe casings in the corridor. Flaggers will be directing traffic.



Draper/Bluffdale Station:

No station construction activities to report.







Area 12 — Thanksgiving Point (Lehi) to Main Street (American Fork)



Construction Activity:

Crews will form and pour concrete for the walls and deck of the pedestrian tunnel that will run underneath the Union Pacific trackway at the Lehi Station. They will also continue excavation and embankment work for the new Union Pacific Railroad siding on the west side of the corridor near the Lehi station.



Traffic Impacts:

There will be a partial lane closure along Garden Drive this week as crews work on reinforcing water pipe casings in the corridor. Flaggers will be directing traffic.



Lehi Station:

No station construction activities to report.







Area 11 — Main Street (American Fork) to 800 South (Orem)



Construction Activity:

Construction continues on a bridge spanning the American Fork River.
Crews will backfill and remove the temporary shoring for the bridge this week.



Crews will be installing micro-fiber in the area to prepare for fiber optic relocations.



Traffic Impacts:

There will be a partial lane closure at 400 South in Orem while crews pothole to confirm location of a water line. Flaggers will be directing traffic.



American Fork-Main St. Station:

No station construction activities to report.



Orem Station:

No station construction activities to report.





Area 10 — 800 South (Orem) to Center Street (Provo) Construction Activity:

Significant progress has been made in Area 10 along the Union Pacific Railroad corridor between University Parkway in Orem and West Center Street in Provo. Crews have prepared a path for FrontRunner by grading and clearing the right-of-way and relocating water lines.



Crews will continue fiber optic relocation work throughout the area this week by installing micro-duct and micro-fiber.



Traffic Impacts:

There will be a partial lane closure at Freedom Boulevard in Provo while crews pothole to confirm location of a water line. Flaggers will be directing traffic.



Provo Station-University Ave. Station:

No station construction activities to report.

Blog Entries of Note...

Image via WikipediaFrom the Bike Utah Valley Blog comes:

Are You Green?

I have pointed out before, highway supporters always try to demonize transit supporters by calling them anti-car and the like. I am not anti-car, in fact I can see a bright future for the auto industry even if more people switched to transit but it would take a change of attitude of some executives in the auto industry.

From the Mobilizing the Region Blog:

NYC Comptroller: Car Fees Could Raise $1B for Transit

Proposal to charge an annual fee in addition to the regular state license fees for vehicles. The fees would also charge more for bigger vehicles such as large SUV's.

What We’re Thankful For in 2008

Here in Utah we have a lot to be thankful for this year. We have several new TOD projects going up, we have seen groundbreaking on all the new transit lines except the Draper extension, we had the grand opening of Front Runner along with the TRAX extension to Central Station. People in this region have a lot to be thankful for.

From the California High Speed Rail blog:

Biden Calls for Rail Investment

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months. During the current administration we defiantly saw a move away from new rail projects despite the voters in many states (including here in Utah) with their wallets by supporting rail transit.

Electric Stimuli

The benefits of electrifying rail lines.

From the Track Twenty Nine Blog:

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

A Subway for the Prairie

The Track Twenty Nine blog gives a brief glimpse into the Caltrain commuter rail service between San Jose and San Francisco plus the Edmonton Light Rail line.

From the Transit Miami Blog:

Dolphin Ricky Williams Waxes Nostalgic For Toronto’s Rich Urbanism

Interesting that a NFL player misses the urban living of Toronto where he could actually walk to everything.

From the Trains for America Blog:

Will the election of Obama change anything when it comes to our transportation priorities? The Trains in America blog seems to feel that nothing is going to change.

From the Overhead Wire Blog:

On Systems Efficiency

Perhaps I Have Had Too Much Hope

Another blog posting that questions whether we will get any true change from the up coming administration or will it be more of the same.

From Streetsblog:

Will Transit, Bikes, and Peds Get a Stimulus We Can Believe In?

More discussion on what President Elect Obama will do with his Stimulus package and if it is going to be auto centric.

From the Sprawled Out Blog:

New crisis means new rules for community development

We all know that all of the new developments in our area are dependent on chains. While now that dependency is biting many in the butt now. Many of the so called big boys are struggling this year and closings are way up. Is it time to start giving incentives for locally owned business like the big boys get?

From the Seattle Transit Blog:

City Council Panel Approves Streetcar Plan

Seattle comes closer to approving expansion of its short streetcar line.

From the RT Rider Blog comes:

Street-level commerce

John compares Sacramento street level where he lives to the Oakland street life where he works.

Blog Postings

Image via Wikipedia*From the Mobilizing the Region Blog:

The Way Out for Long Island

While many think of New York as a place that is very transit and pedestrian friendly, many of the outlining regions face the same problems that we are facing here in Utah. This entry talks about the problems faced in Long Island including the lack of affordable housing, politicians refusal to fund important transit projects and of course NIMBYism.

New Haven Passes Complete Streets Legislation, Launches Safety Campaign

The city of New Haven, Connecticut has passed complete streets legislation in order to make the city more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

*From the California High Speed Rail Blog:

Next Steps

Now that California voter have approved construction of the high speed rail line, what are the next steps to be taken?

How Useful is High Speed Rail, Really?

A letter to the editor from a Merced, California newspaper rightly mentions how important the connections to high speed rail will be. It will mean that transit agencies who are often self serving and not looking beyond their tunnel vision will need to work with the officials at High Speed Rail to create a complete system.

*From the Denver Transit Stop:

Price appreciation near light rail

Prices of houses within a half mile radius of light rail stations in Denver appreciated at 4% last year while the rest of the housing market in Denver depreciated at a rate of 7.5%.

*From the Transit Sleuth Blog:

Non-Market Funding, What's the Solution?

Adron over at the Transit Sleuth blog has some interesting ideas about how transit and transportation in general is funded.

*From the Transit Miami Blog:

Tri-Rail Switches to Biodiesel

Tri-Rail which is Miami's version of Front Runner, has switched their locomotives from regular diesel to Biodiesel. Miami also has a set of Colorado Railcar DMU's but they will not switch due to warrenty considerations.

Move The UDB For Lennar? Just Say No.

Developer in Miami wants the Urban Development Boundry moved so that it can develop 900 acres near the Everglades for a new "self-contained" development.

Obama’s Potential Secretary of Transportation

One of the potential candidates for DOT secratary is Representative Earl Blumenauer out of Oregon who is a regular speaker at Railvolution, rides a bike every day to the capital and has ben supportive of transit projects.

*From the Trains for America Blog:

Amid declining numbers of flights, Chicago sees more visitors arriving by train

While rail travel numbers are still small, as airlines start haveing to charge higher fares and decrease flights, rail service is becoming a serious alterntive for some travelers.

Private developer builds his own Amtrak station

New Buffalo, Michigan is getting a new train station thanks to a local developer.

*From Streetsblog LA:

Having a Kid Doesn’t Mean Having a Car

Story about Carla Saulter whose Seattle PI newpapers blog is called "Bus Chick". She talks about the benefits of taking her "Chicklet" on transit.

With Election Over, It’s Time To Focus on Federal Transportation Policy

Good comments about what we need to start focusing on.

*From Streetsblog (New York):

City Planning Unveils Bike-Friendly Zoning Regs

The City of New York is working toward changing zoning regulations to help the needs of bicyclists in the city.

Vote on Tuesday

Image via Wikipedia

First of all, I want to encourage everyone to get out and vote on Tuesday if you have not voted already. While I try to stay out of politics when it comes to this blog, it is clear that the last 8 years have not been very kind to transit.

Here in Utah there are no initiatives directly related to transit on the ballot. However, the state to watch on Tuesday will be California.

First you have the big one, the California High Speed Rail initiative. This would create the funds to build a high speed rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles and eventually to San Diego plus a branch to Sacramento. While the residents of California have shown support for rail in the past with their pocket books, this one is very expensive and not coming in the best of economic times. However, it also comes at a time when people are more aware that ever that we need alternatives to both the automobile and airlines and it is currently got a slim lead in the polls.

In Los Angeles County they will be voting to build several new transit projects including the subway to the sea along the busy Wilshire corridor. It would also see the construction of several other important rail and transit projects plus fund road improvements.

While many may not care what happens in other states, if these are improved in these tough times it will hopefully show Washington DC what the people really want.

Blog Entries of Note...

Image by SheepGuardingLlama via FlickrFrom the Bike Utah Valley Blog:

Transportation Open House Report

Brad over at Bike Utah Valley has some good comments about the recent transportation meeting. One comment he makes is that UDOT is still UDOT and is solely thinking about highways. Once again this shows that the people who are advocating turning UTA over to UDOT have one purpose in mine: to get UTA's funds transferred to highways because they are highway foamers.

My Dream for Orem

Brad tells us his dreams for Orem including rail instead of BRT which makes a lot of sense. I would only add that a rapid and regular streetcar would work fine instead of full blown LRT on some of his route suggestions.

From the Mobilizing the Region Blog:

NJ Pioneers an Urban Approach to “Safe Routes to School”

A New Jersey program that is designed to win federal funds that are targeted toward pedestrian improvements around schools. Creating safer environments for pedestrians especially school children is very important to build a truly pedestrian friendly area.

New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Line Scoping Hearings Announced

Connecticut DOT who operates commuter rail service in the state is looking at changes to Amtrak's neglected step child of the northeast corridor the New Haven to Springfield line.

ConnDOT, NYSDOT Commissioners Tout Transit-Oriented Development at Mayors’ Institute

New York and Connecticut are pushing transit oriented development to lesson the need for cars in the very congested region.

From the California High Speed Rail Blog comes:

Why is Adrian Moore Lying to the LA Times?

There is several good points made in this blog. First it has a link that shows how much oil money the supposed "independent" so-called think tank the Reason Foundation gets (much like its counterpart the Heartland Institute home to anti-transit mouth piece Wendell Cox).

It also shows how much new passengers high speed rail is carrying in Europe.

From the Track Twenty-Nine Blog:

Streetcars V 2.0

Washington DC is already looking at one streetcar line but Matt shows his proposal for a comprehensive streetcar network that would benefit much of the Washington DC area.

From the Transit Miami Blog:

Of Buses and Trams

According to the University of British Columbia, modern streetcars are the most cost effective and efficient investment of transit dollars. Second is Light Rail (which serves a different market from streetcars), followed by trolleybuses.

Coming soon to a Health District Near You!

A new health center being built just a third of a mile from a Tri-Rail commuter rail station but will have tons of parking but still qualifies for silver LEED certification.

From the Trains for America Blog:

Amtrak offers national rail pass

For years Amtrak has a rail pass but it has only been available to international tourist. They also have had another product that US residents could by but it required you to travel at least one segmant on the VIA rail network in the United States.

Now you can purchase a rail pass for US only trips.

From the Overhead Wire Blog:

Euclid Corridor BRT opens in Cleveland

Interesting article about the Federal New Starts program and how their effectiviness is calculated by the FTA.

From the Streetsblog (New York) Blog:

Park, Ride and Wash in Fahrradfreundliche Muenster

While UTA and Salt Lake proceed on thier bicycle center, maybe they can take some ideas from Muenster, Germany.

Blog Entries of Note...

Image via WikipediaFrom the Bike Utah Valley Blog comes important information:

Mountainland Transportation Planning Meeting

It is important to get out and have your voices heard. The people with the extreme political bent are always out there trying to say they represent the majority so it is important that the average person is present to let the bureaucrats know what is truly needed.

From the California High Speed Rail Blog:

Quantifying Prop 1A's Economic Stimulus

California has proposition 1A on the ballot that would support construction of a high speed rail line from San Francisco to Southern California. The blog talks about a study that shows the benefits the system would bring.

From the Track Twenty-Nine Blog:

Transit 101

We are lucky here in Salt Lake that the University of Utah was progressive when it comes to transportation planning. Too many Universities are still living in the 50's and don't want their students to have easy access to transit. It would be interesting to see the correlation between who the universities get donations from and their anti-transit attitude.

From the Overhead Wire Comes:

San Francisco May Do Fees Right

San Fransisco is looking toward rewarding developers who locate near transit when it comes to impact fees.

Transportation Secretary Short List

While I am trying to stay out of the Presidential election, this posting shows the possible candidates for Transportation Secretary in each administration. Notice that the one side favors highway lobbyist. What do you really think their transportation priorities will be?

From Streetsblog Los Angeles:

“Best of Streetfilms:” San Francisco Giants’ Bike Valet Parking

Valet parking for bicycles?

Governor Signs Complete Streets Legislation

I mentioned this legislation before. Amazing the Governor in California actually signed this considering how he is steeling transit funding to support highways.

From the RT Rider (Sacramento) comes:

"Park District" funding for transit

John from the RT Rider looks toward some creative financing ideas for transit. As I have mentioned in the last couple of days the biggest problem we currently have is that our transit funding is tied to a very volatile form of taxation. John has one way we could deal with the situation.

From the N-Judah Chronicles out of San Francisco:

A Modest Proposal For Purchasing MUNI Passes and Tickets...

MUNI in San Francisco is looking toward putting ticket machines in select places throughout the city in order to make it easier to board trains and buses. The author has the idea that these type of machines should be used to sell passes also.

How about putting ticketing machines at busy bus stops around along the Wasatch Front and make it possible to sell monthly passes out of them? On top of that, how about creating a tourist pass like I used in Miami that gives multiple days of riding for a low price to encourage visitors to use transit.

From the Cap'n Transit Rides Again Blog:

Why we need the bailout plan - NOT!

The blog talks about comments from Senator Reid that we needed the bailout to sell more cars and be able to put people in debt for those cars.

From the Baltimore Innerspace Blog Comes:

Owings Mills

A wonderful posting on how to make a transit station work better. Just look at the development of the new hospital complex and how unfriendly it is toward the transit station that is right across the street. Instead of building a complex that would complement the station IHC built a complex in spite of the transit connection.

Blog Postings from this week...

Image by xde19 via FlickrFrom the Mobilizing the Region Blog:

TSTC Is Kicking Transit-Oriented Development Up a Notch

Two organizations in the Tri-State area of New Jersey, Lower New York and Connecticut are working together to provide grants for transit oriented development. While some road warriors will use this as ammunition against transit projects, as not in this blog and others there is plenty of subsidies going to big box retails and developers.

From the California High Speed Rail Blog:

Orange County Knows Better on Proposition 1A

Orange County's Ultra-Right Wing newspaper has come out against the proposed high speed rail bill that is on the November ballot. No surprise there but there is some good comments about public/private ownership.

From the Transbay Blog Comes:

Freeway Revolts of the Future

For those not familiar with the situation, San Francisco is the first and so far only place in the nation to actually tear down a freeway after it was damaged in the 1989 earthquake. Instead of a elevated two story freeway along the water front you have a nice pedestrian friendly boulevard with the F line historic streetcars traveling north of Market Street and the quasi Light Rail/Streetcar lines traveling south. Who will be the next to get rid of a freeway?

From the Trains for America Blog:

Amtrak funding bills tied into rail safety, pass house

A bill that will give Amtrak $13 Billion over the next five years about also include privatization and safety improvements has passed the house.

From the Streetsblog Los Angeles:

City Council Moves Bike Sharing and Advisory Committee Reforms

Los Angeles may be moving to offering a bike sharing program.

From the RT Rider Comes:

Tax Increment Financing For Transit

I have mentioned in the past that one of the biggest problems transit agencies face is that they are usually totally dependent on the sales tax which is very cliclical. The RT Rider in Sacramento hsa some alternative ideas to the sales tax that may be worth exploring since something like a property tax is dead before it gets started.

From the N-Judah Chronicles comes:

Assessing The Damage Caused by Crazy Governor, Goofy Legislature on MUNI, BART, et al...

What would happen if they actually turned UTA over to UDOT? Would we be dealing with the same kind of stupidity that California is now facing? It just proves the stupidity of that idea but we must remember it is promoted by the people pulling the puppet strings who want UTA's money to highways.

From Baltimore Inner Space comes:

Pratt Street

Talk about making a street in Baltimore better.