Amtrak

If high-speed rail fails, 130 miles of track will have to go to Amtrak. But critics say that the backup plan comes with no guarantee that Amtrak would even have to use the tracks and is, therefore, a useless backup plan.

In California, a recent poll, according to Charles Chieppo, brought bad news stating that 53% of the states voters approved a $9.9 billion bond three years ago, but of those polled, 64% support a re-vote, and 59% would vote no if they had the chance.

Caltrain, the 77-mile, Gilroy/San Jose - SF commuter railroad, is suffering an unwelcome resurgence of ‘suicide by train’--16 deaths this year, of which 11 are confirmed suicides. Bay Citizen investigates the psychological effect on train engineers.

A key Senate subcommittee has appeared to have eliminated funding for high speed rail while preserving funding for Amtrak, highway, and transit. However, the full committee may not adopt these mark-ups. And then there are the changes the House makes.

Due to budget constraints, the current C train (code name: R32) will continue to serve New Yorkers until 2017, making it one of the oldest subway line in the world.

House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica has proposed a bill to privatize Northeast Corridor rail operations. This post from Pedestrian Observations looks at what such a plan would mean.

It's not just the High Speed Rail project making news these days in California. The three 79 mph, state-subsidized inter-city lines: Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin, and Pacific Surfliner (nation's second busiest), all registered riderships gains.

The noted "antiplanner" tells the story of how, while riding a train across California, he discovered that transportation policy is driven by corrupt politics - and how he got the girl in the process.

Without doubt, the pride of the Amtrak fleet is the ten-year-old Acela train, the closest thing to high speed rail in existence in the United States. This piece looks at the current service and Amtrak's hope for the future for the northeast route.

Amtrak may work with NJ Transit to build a second set of tunnels (previously known as ARC that was scuttled by NJ Gov. Christie) under the Hudson River, possibly to connect with New York's Penn Station, according to an Amtrak VP and NJ Transit.

Yonah Freemark looks at how to increase rail ridership without adding trains.

Officials in the Pacific Northwest are calling for a high speed rail line that connects British Columbia with California.

Amtrak has unveiled a $117 billion plan to build and increase high speed rail in the U.S.

As Amtrak seeks to create and expand high-speed passenger train operations in the United States, the company on Thursday named Philadelphia rail expert Albrecht "Al" Engel to head its new high-speed rail department.

Amtrak Chief Joseph Boardman says now is a good time for the much-troubled national rail system. Support from the federal government is helping the system grow and improve, according to this interview.

The new Northeast Regional extension to Lynchburg, Virginia has met its goal of 51,000 riders project for its first year in the first six months.

Beef by-products, turned into bio-diesel, make up 20% of the fuel being used today by Amtrak's Heartland Flyer between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.

The Infrastructurist's Melissa Lafsky is a guest on Fox Business News to discuss what role, if any, Amtrak will play in the U/S/ high speed rail network.

A 'staggering' number of the bridges used by Amtrak trains in and around New York City are in poor or worse condition.

The Senate transportation spending bill, signed last week, contains a provision requiring Amtrak to allow guns on its trains or lose its funding.