For current news, please visit our newsletter page (and sign up for the mailing list). You’ll also find new material at our Train Time podcast. The posts here offer other information, some historical tidbits, and guest opeds.
Fast, Low-cost Ways to Improve Passenger Rail Service Now: A Conversation with Jay Flynn of TransitMatters
We spoke to Jay Flynn, officially “Bus Lead” but generally known as one of the TransitMatters gadflies. Jay worked in government for years before becoming a transportation advocate with TransitMatters. We’ve observed that TransitMatters seems to be good
From 1991: “The Housatonic, the Little Railroad That Could, and Did”
The Housatonic, the Little Railroad That Could, and Did - New York Times By Randall Beach Feb. 10, 1991 A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 10, 1991, Section 12CN, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: The Housatonic, the Little Railroad That Could, and Did. NINE years ago, John Hanlon Jr. heard about an overgrown, abandoned railroad line from New Milford to Canaan. With an entrepreneur's vision, he imagined the tracks cleared and trains again bringing passengers and freight from northwest Connecticut to Manhattan. "It just seemed like a good thing to do," said Mr. Hanlon, a custom-car designer. "This [...]
Watch a Chinese high-speed train take off from Shanghai to Beijing
China has been investing billions in a high-speed rail network across the country, between major cities and into rural regions. Here’s what it's like to ride one of these trains leaving Shanghai for Beijing. It will get up to 350 km per hour (that’s 217 miles per hour). High-speed rail is expensive, but it makes sense on popular routes where it can draw people away from carbon-intensive air travel. And it’s convenient. I’m no longer surprised when a Chinese colleague says, “Why didn’t you take the train?”
Guest Post: Massachusetts Sierra Club comments on East-West Passenger Rail
This letter was sent to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation during the comment period for the draft East-West Rail Study and is published as a guest post with permission. The Massachusetts Sierra Club simply urges you to commit to East-West Passenger Rail and to develop and implement a plan to achieve it as soon as possible. Our highways are operating at overcapacity. Massachusetts is home to the first, second and fourth largest cities in New England all of which are located along the congested I-90 corridor. Yet vehicles are the overwhelming mode choice along this route because other mobility options [...]
Guest Post: Letter to MassDOT from Steve Strauss, NYS Council Representative – Rail Passengers Association
This letter was sent to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation during the comment period for the draft East-West Rail Study by Steve Strauss, and is published as a guest post with his permission. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on MassDOT’s East-West Rail Study. The document represents an informative first step with good documentation of existing conditions, understandable maps and tables and identification of three reasonable alternatives. The Study does a good job of breaking the project into the three logical and distinct segments (BOS to WOR; WOR to SPG and SPG to PIT) and explaining the particular situations, [...]
Guest Post: The Timidity of the East-West Rail Study by Andrew Jennings
This letter was sent to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation during the comment period for the draft East-West Rail Study by Andrew Jennings, and is published as a guest post with his permission. After reviewing the East-West Study Draft Report I realized how timid it was. Recommendations were few and most decisions were punted until further research was done. Much of the additional research could have been included within the scope of this study. This timidity may result in the consignment of this study to a shelf to gather dust. Being overly cautious kept ridership estimates and benefits low, likely [...]
