By announcing this week that it will scrap plans to upgrade Acela trains incrementally, and instead replace them all with new equipment, the passenger rail carrier is signaling that it is speeding up the timeline for higher-speed rail service.

Tom Gara reports on Amtrak's announcement yesterday that in order to meet growing ridership demand in the Northeast Corridor (NEC) it will replace all 20 of the carrier's existing Acela Express train sets with "new next-generation high-speed train sets," a move that Angela Greiling Keane says may be "Amtrak’s biggest equipment purchase since it bought the original trains [in 1996]..."
"Essentially," writes Gara, "instead of adding new cars to the 1990s-era trains currently running the service, beginning in the second half of this decade Amtrak will start introducing brand new trains, with more seating, more modern bells and whistles for riders, and higher speeds, once upgrades to the network allow it."
"Those new trains will run side-by side with the existing ones up until around 2025, when the old ones are phased out and the next-generation of trains capable of speeds of up to 220 miles per hour start to be introduced, alongside the next wave of network upgrades."
On the same day that Amtrak announced plans to speed up the NEC's modernization, in The Atlantic Cities, Eric Jaffe looked at a series of fascinating photographs that "stand as a unique window onto the early life of Amtrak, which began operations in 1971."
FULL STORY: Amtrak’s Next-Generation Train Service, One Step Closer

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Texas Bills Could Push More People Into Homelessness
A proposal to speed up the eviction process and a bill that would accelerate enforcement of an existing camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.

USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.
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