Yonah Freemark looks at how to increase rail ridership without adding trains.
There will be no new tunnel under the Hudson for the foreseeable future, so New Jersey Transit and Amtrak must take other measures in order to grow, says Freemark. He argues that New Jersey Transit should remove a dozen seats per car on their commuter trains to up capacity from 1,400 to 2,000. Amtrak, he says, should lengthen its trains on intercity routes-the Acela only has six passenger cars when most stations it stops at can accommodate eight.
Both companies must rethink how to do business without ARC, or they risk leaving potential passengers behind, writes Freemark:
"New Jersey Transit and Amtrak have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the limitations in tunnel capacity to reform the way they do business, to improve and speed up operations in ways that will bring some benefit to their customers but also seriously increase the number of people that can travel under the Hudson River to work every day."
FULL STORY: ARC Project Definitively Canceled, But There Are Other Ways to Improve New Jersey’s Transit Future

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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